The NAACP Clearwater/Upper Pinellas held a city council candidate forum on Monday, February 28, 2022 from 7 p.m. to 8:40 p.m. at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Center.
Zebbie D. Atkinson IV, President of the NAACP Clearwater/Upper Pinellas Branch served as moderator.
The candidates and audience participants were asked to refrain from speaking while the moderator or a recognized candidate was speaking, or after time expired. All participants were asked to be respectful of each other and to refrain from using inappropriate language, facial and hand gestures during the forum.
The candidates running for city council in two seats were given 1 ½ minutes to answer each question from the approximately 60 audience members on topics such as affordable housing, districting, sidewalks, and reasons why they wanted to run for city council.
The candidates who are running for Clearwater City Council are:
Seat 4
- David Allbritton
- Maranda Douglas
- Gerry Lee
Seat 5
- Aaron Smith-Levin
- Lina Teixeira
- Jonathan Wade, Sr.
The NAACP Clearwater/Upper Pinellas hosted the forum and provided literature about the organization.
Bay News 9 came out to video the candidates and a portion of the forum.
Questions for the candidates came directly from the audience.
The League of Women’s Voters were also in attendance to register voters.
City Council Election Day is Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
More photos:






Note: The video camera stopped a few times for no reason. Sincere apologies for inadvertently cutting off anyone’s remarks.
NAACP Clearwater Upper Pinellas
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Neighborhood Center Coalition, 1201 Douglas Ave., Clearwater, FL 33755
The Clearwater MLK Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping the residents of our community with creative solutions to problems.
Related articles:
City of Clearwater Forum Video – Seat 4
City of Clearwater Forum Video – Seat 5
Why You Should Vote on March 15