CLEARWATER, Fla.
City Council, Seat 3 Candidate Jared Leone vows commonsense and accountable leadership on the Clearwater Council following news from the Tampa Bay Times that his opponent’s company has failed to file mandatory reports for multiple years, placing it in hot water with the IRS.
The Clearwater City Council oversees a nearly $730 million budget, and the voters deserve a candidate who cares enough to pay attention to the details, Leone said.
“We need credible, reliable, experienced leadership representing all of Clearwater’s residents. Those who are faithful with very little will be faithful in much. The residents deserve leaders who have earned their trust and have shown—not just talked about —steadfast leadership,” Leone said.
The Tampa Bay Times dropped a bombshell report on Thursday that exposed that his opponent Mike Mannino failed to provide oversight for the nonprofit organization he operates, Finish Lines for Scholarships. Throughout the campaign, Mannino has touted his connections with the organization and the $100,000 he has donated to charity.
Mannino’s nonprofit, however, failed to file annual reports with the IRS for three years, according to the Times reporting. As a result, the IRS revoked the company’s tax-exempt status.
Worse, Mannino blamed someone else for the error.
Leone promises voters that he will never pass the buck in representing them on the Clearwater City Council’s Seat 3.
“As a neighborhood leader I’m proud of the efforts and improvements I’ve been able to accomplish for the Spring Branch Neighborhood including working with the city to recognize and expand State Street Park to 9 undeveloped acres, improvement projects like getting 100-year-old street signs restored and working to remove more than 5,000 pounds of trash from our community,” Leone said.
Besides his career in reporting at the former St. Petersburg Times, as editor of Clearwater Patch and while at the University of Florida, Leone has operated a small business himself for years in Clearwater as a freelance journalist.
Mr. Leone juggled his two careers while also volunteering on the City of Clearwater’s Environmental Advisory Board, raising five guide dog puppies in training and forming a neighborhood association.
“As chairman of the Environmental Advisory Board for the last seven years, I was instrumental in resurrecting GreenPrint, the city’s dormant sustainability plan, advocating for the city to hire a sustainability coordinator to oversee that plan and wrote various legislation that was unanimously approved by the City Council,” Leone said. “I don’t just serve as a volunteer on different boards and groups, I am a man of action who has gotten results for every organization I am part of.”
Mr. Leone is the only viable choice who will be the steward of the people’s money and affairs and will ensure a sustainable environment in Clearwater for local small businesses (like his own), police officers, firefighters, teachers, and other blue-collar workers as well as ensuring our actual environment is clean and safe for us and the next generation.
Clearwater’s nonpartisan election is March 19. The last day to register to vote in the election is Feb. 20.
To learn more email jaredforclearwater@gmail.com or visit jaredforclearwater.com.
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