Times staff
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Thousands of voters declared their choice for who they want to represent them at the local, state and federal level. Here's a look at the results of some primary races around the Tampa Bay area.
Incumbent Kevin White, a Hillsborough County commissioner, lost his seat Tuesday in a three-way Democratic primary for District 3. Les Miller, a former state legislator, unseated White with 50 percent of the vote. Fellow challenger Valerie Goddard took 30 percent; White came in third with 20 percent and conceded the election before 10 p.m.
In the commission's other closely watched race, Mark Sharpe held off former Hillsborough County Republican party chief Josh Burgin in the at-large District 7 primary with 55 percent of the vote.
Hillsborough School Board incumbent Jennifer Faliero was losing in the four-way District 4 race. Faliero was behind two other candidates who will meet in a November runoff.
In Hillsborough, James Grant, the son of former state Sen. John Grant, won the Republican primary for the District 47 state House seat. Grant took 37 percent and will face Democrat Michael Steinberg in November. He beat former wrestler Brian Blair and retired lobbyist Irene Guy, who each got 24 percent of the vote, and businessman Tom Aderhold, who got 14 percent.
In Pinellas County, 10-year incumbent Susan Latvala gets to defend her commission seat. Latvala won the three-way primary against Republicans Carl Folkman, a wine and spirits broker, and Beverly Billiris, the former mayor of Tarpon Springs, with 44 percent of the vote. Latvala faces Democrat Bob Hackworth in November.
