‘I share his commitment to protecting taxpayers, making Pinellas affordable again, and ensuring our neighborhoods are safe places to live and raise a family.’
Sen. Nick DiCeglie is endorsing Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters in her re-election bid for the District 6 seat.
Describing Peters as a civil servant with “unwavering dedication to our communities,” DiCeglie said it’s clear she is the “conservative choice for the Pinellas County Commission.”
“She has consistently demonstrated fiscal responsibility while leading on critical local issues like storm resiliency and beach renourishment. I am proud to endorse Kathleen Peters, and look forward to continuing our important work together on behalf of Pinellas families,” he said.
Peters said she was honored to earn DiCeglie’s support.
“Nick has been a tireless advocate for Pinellas County, and I share his commitment to protecting taxpayers, making Pinellas affordable again, and ensuring our neighborhoods are safe places to live and raise a family,” she said.
Peters, a Republican, is seeking her second re-election to the dais after first securing a spot in 2018. She faces a Democratic challenger, David Glenn Jr.
DiCeglie’s endorsement comes about a week after Peters also secured support from U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, and it adds to another recent nod from Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri.
Peters will have significant resources to defend her seat. She has raised $126,000 via her official campaign account and $24,500 through her affiliated political committee, Florida Speaks. Glenn, meanwhile, has raised just $3,400. Both totals are current as of the end of March.
Peters also benefits from a voter registration advantage. There are 23,000 more Republicans in District 6 than Democrats, a 25-percentage-point advantage.
Peters served in the Florida House from 2012 until 2018. Prior to that, she was the Mayor of South Pasadena. She left the Legislature before term limits required it, arguing the chamber had become hyperpartisan.
She now serves on a Commission with a GOP supermajority, with just one Democrat sharing the dais.
Peters continues to assert her independence even with the political majority, pushing vociferously for beach nourishment. It’s a critical issue for coastal residents, and one that became particularly prevalent in the aftermath of the back-to-back hurricanes in 2024 that brought devastation to many communities along the Gulf coast.
In that capacity, Peters serves on the boards for Tampa Bay Water, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and on the Department of Environmental Protection’s Tampa Bay Aquatic Preserve Management Plan. She’s also a strong advocate for the UF/IFAS Extension program the county jointly funds with the University of Florida.
Peters established herself early on as a champion for mental health, an issue that easily transcended partisan politics and earned Peters a place as a lawmaker who did what was right, not just politically expedient.
She continues this year to work on behalf of behavioral health access reform to the Opioid Abatement Funding Advisory Board and advocated for moving forward with a new behavioral health urgent care center.
Content shared in partnership with Florida Politics.