ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — With four seats up for election this year on the St. Petersburg City Council, there's a crowded field of candidates vying for your votes.
In total, there are 14 candidates running for council seats in districts 1, 3, 5, and 7. However, in the races for districts 1 and 5, there are no incumbents running for re-election. Council members Charlie Gerdes and Steve Kornell termed out and are not eligible for re-election. Now there are seven candidates running for those two seats.
Robert Blackman and John Hornbeck are running for the District 1 seat and will face-off in November. The other five candidates running for District 5 will join the candidates racing against incumbents in Districts 3 and 7 in the August 27 primary.
The top two candidates with the most votes in each race will face-off in the general election on November 5.
Spectrum Bay News 9's Trevor Pettiford met with each of the candidates running for District 1 and 5, and asked two simple questions about their qualifications and their goals as a would-be council member.
Why do you think you're the best candidate to fill the seat? And what's the one thing you want to accomplish as a council member?
To hear what they had to say, watch the video above: