District 2 Largo Commissioner Curtis Holmes and his challenger in the Nov. 3 election, Matthew Faustini, agree on one thing – they disagree on almost everything. And there’s little love lost between the two.
“Ninety percent of what he says about me is caca. It’s just completely wrong,” Holmes told Poliverse.
“I’ve told him to his face – I want the old Curtis back. The Curtis pre-2020 was a fiscal conservative,” Faustini told Poliverse in reply; he also questioned Holmes’ fitness to campaign after a series of health issues this year.
The fierce race is a study in contrasts. Holmes is a baby boomer; Faustini a millennial. Holmes is a 17-year veteran of Largo politics; Faustini is embarking on his first campaign. Holmes is a longtime member of the Pinellas GOP; Faustini describes himself “a proud liberal.” Holmes is running an aloof campaign, focusing on his record and purporting to avoid negative messaging; Faustini has an aggressive ground and social media campaign focused on contrast.
But they also clash over the cost of living crisis. Nearly 250,000 people have moved to the Tampa Bay area since 2020. Combined with inflation, under-investment in residential construction (new housing starts this year are the lowest since 2021), and mortgage interest rates pushing 8%, some people believe Pinellas bedroom communities like Largo have become unaffordable.
Faustini is one of them. A former Chair of the Largo Planning Board, he describes his campaign pitch as “Housing, housing, housing,” and touts an ambitious plan to build 10,000 homes during his term on the Commission.
Holmes is not – reading from the back of a Faustini mailer, he rhetorically asked, “He’s got on [here] ‘Make Largo Affordable Again.’ We’re not affordable? Really?”
It falls to the 82,000 citizens voters of Largo to decide who’s right.
Taxes and spending
Faustini first declared for the Commission race some two years ago. By his own admission, the choice to face Holmes – whose three colleagues on the Commission all secured re-election unopposed – was tactical as well as ideological.
“The main reason why I’m running against Curtis is he’s been one of the least pro-housing commissioners, literally to the point where I’ve been at commission meetings and before the commission meetings start, being like, ‘I want house prices to be as high as possible.’
“He’s also, to be honest, out of the three incumbents that were up for re-election, he was the weakest politically. He’s never won an election with over 51. He actually lost in 2020 and then came back in 2022.”
Holmes may not agree with that characterization, but he does not dispute that Faustini’s focus on government solutions to social problems clashes with his own.
“He said we’re a ‘property-owning democracy.’ Well, no such thing. We’re not a democracy. We’re a republic.
“‘Legalize housing.’ He actually has that on [a mailer],” Holmes continued. “‘Legalize housing.’ What’s that? I have no idea what that is. ‘Cheaper child care’? City of Largo has absolutely nothing to do with it.”
On taxes, Faustini purports that he, not Holmes, is the fiscal conservative in the race, pointing to 11 occasions where he says Holmes voted to increase local use fees on stormwater or wastewater, while at least one saw Holmes vote for property tax rate that, while a reduction, was not the lowest “rollback” rate under state law that corresponds to increases in property value.
Holmes points to his consistent votes to cut tax rates over his time in office, including two votes this year to cut property taxes. Since FY 2024 Largo’s actual expenditures have increased from $234 million to $282 million, a 21% increase, driven by rising property values. The budget projects a small decrease for FY2027.
Holmes also touts his business-friendly credentials, in addition to endorsements from the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association, Firefighters Local 4966 and Pinellas County Commissioner Chris Latvala (R-Clearwater), along with former appointed and elected Largo officials. His campaign site pictures him prominently with Republicans Senator Rick Scott, Governor Ron DeSantis and Secretary Marco Rubio.
Right makes might
In a city that voted for Trump 55%-44% in 2024, where Republican voters go – and if they turn out at all – will prove decisive. While Faustini describes Holmes as “MAGA First,” some of the sharpest criticism Holmes has received has been from Republican activists.
In 2025 Holmes nominated Democrat Eric Gerard to the Largo Library Advisory Board. Gerard is a co-organizer of Pinellas No Kings, and the husband of former Democratic Pinellas Commissioner and Largo Mayor Pat Gerard. He is also a Democrat.
Several posts on his personal Facebook from activists such as Amanda Capes, digital engagement director for Congresswoman Anna Paulina Luna (R-St. Petersburg), lambasted him for advancing Gerard.
“This is unacceptable! Everyone on Twitter is calling you Commie Curtis. Do you know what people went through to get the trash books out of the libraries? What does this guy have on you?” Capes asked in a post on Halloween 2025.
Holmes was unsparing in his reply to those critics. “I took so much heat from those people. I finally said, you know, you come back to me and you just show me exactly what’s your objection. I said, ‘So the guy’s a liberal Democrat, big deal. He’s qualified! That’s the whole point.’
“And I said, ‘I don’t like the way [Republican State Rep.] Berny Jacques was going about it, where Berny would just go in, you know, running roughshod over the staff in the library and say you got to take those books and get rid of them. Well, we’re not a bunch of Nazis! That’s what the Nazis did.
“But there’s a difference about putting a book in the proper location versus banning it. And I was never in favor of that. Never.”
Amendment 3: ‘Betwixt and between’
Holmes noted that he was “betwixt and between” on Amendment 3, which would increase the homestead exemption to $250,000 and trigger severe local government cuts.
“I own commercial real estate. I own residential real estate. That me is going ‘hunky dory, I can save some money on property tax,’” he explained. “The Commissioner Holmes is very well aware of the services that the city offers citizens, because he has been a beneficiary of things.”
“Am I just going to vote my own pocketbook, or am I going to vote what’s best for the city?” he asked. “I’m going to vote no on 3.”
Faustini points to efforts he’s made as a private citizen to push tax and spending cuts, but also intends a “no” vote. He’s concerned that 70% of Largo residents would pay no taxes under Amendment 3, and relying on cuts or state money to fill a $15 million gap would hurt home rule.
If it does pass, Faustini proposes a fire fee that would be approximately $250 per household per year. He would also consider folding the Largo Police Department, which he says would save $5 million annually. He emphasized that a referendum would be required and that he would not want to cut officers; law enforcement would be transferred.
“The citizens of Largo can decide. They can say, ‘instead of cutting our library, instead of closing our cultural center, we would rather outsource and sacrifice our Police Department.’ Not an easy decision, but I want to be able to give them that decision and that possibility.”
Why they’re running
“Largo invested in me and my community,” Faustini said. As a child, he said, he was the beneficiary of a local, affordable community center that helped set him on the right path. “It transformed our neighborhood, and allowed people like my parents to have the extra money to buy a home. I’ve seen the impact of small, little decisions.”
“That’s why I want to serve. I have seen it, when governments start to do the right thing – it can really have positive beneficial outcomes to people like me.”
When asked why he was standing for election again, Holmes replied simply. “Experience. By a long shot.”
On Nov. 3, Largo will decide.
Early voting is open for Largo voters at any early voting site; the closest is the Supervisor of Elections at 13001 Starkey Road. Completed mail ballots may also be securely dropped off at any mail ballot drop-off location, including the Largo Public Library, 120 Central Park Drive, Monday-Saturday 10am-5pm.