Pinellas County has 24 distinct municipalities, each with its own distinct electoral and governing systems and unique tax bases. For residents of these municipalities, their local low-turnout Council or Commission races play an outsized role in determining what their government does (or doesn’t do) over the next three or four years, never more than in 2026 as big revenue cuts loom for Pinellas communities.

Today, Poliverse continues its profiles of the critical races in smaller Pinellas communities with looks at the non-partisan Dunedin City Commission and Belleair Beach Council races.

Dunedin City Commission

Two candidates are standing for the sole contested Dunedin City Commission race, Seat #4, to replace term-limited Commissioner Jeff Gow. The winner will join Mayor Moe Freeney and three other commissioners. Operating a commission-manager system, the mayor and commissioners supervise the appointed professional City Manager and approve the city’s budget, set at $139 million for 2027.

Commissioners are paid $15,600 for the part-time role. All Dunedin residents are eligible to vote.

The race pits Mark Ossian, an attorney and CPA, against Nan Bennett, a former civil servant who last served as Dunedin’s Director of Utilities and Engineering. Ossian boasts a family history dating back to Dunedin’s founding; Bennett is a Pinellas County native and has lived in Dunedin since 1998.

Ossian and Bennett are deadlocked in fundraising; Ossian has raised just shy of $15,000 to Bennett’s $14,000. Bennett boasts the endorsement of the Dunedin Fire Association, the Suncoast Sierra Club and the Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors. Ossian is endorsed by Andy Polce, a local realtor and founder of Dunedin House of Beer, and former Judge Jim Stearns.

Ossian declares that his desire is to “scrutinize the numbers, ask difficult questions, and put Dunedin’s long-term interests ahead of political convenience.” Bennett, who prior to her career as a civil servant was a nurse, referenced her oath to “first, do no harm” as a guidepost for her decision-making as a civil servant. She points to her experience managing complex organizations and scrutinizing budgets as touchstones of her experience.

Bennett, who has spoken of affordability as a critical issue in the booming seaside city, told Poliverse in a statement she opposed Amendment 3. “I am all for a reasonable plan to correct property taxation – with a plan for how essential local services will be funded. That said, without such a plan, I don’t support Amendment 3,” Bennett said. Bennett also said she preferred the issue to be handled outside a constitutional amendment.

Ossian did not reply to requests for comment.

Dunedin voters can vote early at any early voting site; the closest are The Centre of Palm Harbor, 1500 16th Street, Palm Harbor; the Countryside Recreation Center, 2640 Sabal Springs Drive, Clearwater; and the Supervisor of Elections Office at the Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Clearwater. Completed mail ballots may also be securely dropped off at any mail ballot drop-off location, including Dunedin Public Library, 223 Douglas Avenue.

Belleair Beach Council

Belleair Beach, a seaside community of about 1,600 people, will go to the polls to fill three seats on the City Council.

Kathy Thornberry, Belleair Beach Clerk, told Poliverse that Belleair Beach reduced its council from seven members to five and switched to on-cycle elections with election day in November; previously, all Belleair Beach elected offices had been chosen in off-cycle elections in March. As such only the highest vote getter of the three will receive a full four-year term; the remaining two seats will be for abbreviated two-year terms. All voters are eligible to cast three votes.

The Council meets once monthly. Councilmembers receive $3,000 per year for their service. Belleair Beach has a budget of $6.3 million for FY 2027.

The four individuals voters will choose from are:

  • Current Councilmember and real estate broker Jody Shirley
  • Current Councilmember and engineer Kent Goff
  • Current Vice-Mayor Lloyd Roberts
  • Finance executive Annette Hopper, the sole non-incumbent challenger

Shirley will be on the ballot for the first time since her 1-vote victory in 2022.

None of the candidates appear to have publicly available campaign social media pagers or websites. However, a recent review and update of zoning regulations in the wake of the 2024 hurricanes spanned dozens of pages and inspired controversy over their granularity, as reported in the Tampa Bay Beacon. Candidate Hopper took to public comment Sept. 9 to the doubling of the code enforcement budget to police them.

“At the top of the budget it has an org chart, and the org chart says, ‘the citizens,’” said Hopper. “And so I think before we go to adopt certain things, it needs to be further debated and citizen comment heard.”

Belleair Beach voters can vote early at any early voting site; the closest is the Supervisor of Elections Office at the Pinellas County Courthouse, 315 Court Street, Clearwater. Completed mail ballots may also be securely dropped off at any mail ballot drop-off location, including the St. Pete Beach Public Library, 365 73rd Avenue, St. Pete Beach.