Tuesday, November 6, 2012
A disagreement over campaign signs caused a back-and-forth exchange between a campaign volunteer and Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos, who served as a poll worker Tuesday at a Dunedin church.
Two campaign signs. Two swaths of grass. Two reactions. A First Presbyterian Church of Dunedin maintenance official removed a "Bob Hackworth for Mayor" yard sign planted on a vacant swath of prime campaign real estate. A sign for incumbant Dave Eggers rested against a tree nearby. The swath of grass belongs to the church and borders its parking lot, where voters parked to cast their vote at precinct 537 on Tuesday. Another grass patch, which runs a stretch of Highland Avenue and is divided by a public sidewalk, is considered public right of way. Campaign signs are allowed there. It was cluttered with a rainbow of signs, with no visual breathing room. Campaigner Bill McElligott, who'd been standing on the corner much of the day, returned …
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
A campaign sign for Mayor George Cretekos was in the median near the Greenbriar subdivision for weeks after the election. It was removed by Wednesday morning.
On the campaign trail, Mayor George Cretekos and his wife Carolyn walked neighborhoods, knocking on doors and talking with potential voters. Many asked for political yard signs, Cretekos said. In other cases, he asked to put up signs. Cretekos would explain the rules for displaying the signs, which include removing them seven days after an election and not putting them in the right-of-way. And after winning in a landslide election, Cretekos said that he and his wife went scouring the city for the signs. But weeks after the city election, a single blue sign still waved at cars in support of his campaign. The sign, in the median of Greenbriar Boulevard, was brought to Cretekos’ attention Tuesday. “My intent was to get them all out. I’ve been…
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-82.75486
Greenbriar Blvd & Virginia Ave, Clearwater, FL
/articles/yard-sign-there-one-day-and-another-then-gone
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Friday, February 17, 2012
Before the new council took their oaths of office, outgoing councilmember John Doran and Mayor Frank Hibbard were honored for their service.
Before the new City Council took the dais Thursday a ceremonial gavel exchange from the former members included well wishes from residents and former and current elected officials. Mayor George Cretekos and councilmembers Jay Polglaze and Doreen DiPolito were sworn in as new city leaders after outgoing Mayor Frank Hibbard and councilmember John Doran were roasted and toasted. Showing some short scruff, Mayor Frank Hibbard (he called it his “post mayoral beard”) took the gavel for the last time and laid out his final Thursday on the dais: “This is a little unusual, so what we're going to do, I'm going to open it up to public first for some comments. And then we are going to allow some of the staff to speak, and then the council, and then …
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
George Cretekos defeated challenger Christine Marketos-Cuomo in the city's mayoral election.
George Cretekos is the next mayor of Clearwater. Cretekos beat out political newcomer Christine Marketos-Cuomo with slightly more than 70 percent of the vote in Tuesday's election, which saw 17,152 people make a choice at the polls for the city's future leader. There are more than 66,599 registered voters in Clearwater. Residents also voted against two changes to the city charter that included adding time council members serve on the City Council and the time between charter reviews. Voters overwhelmingly rejected (72 percent) the change that would add time a council member can serve. A few years ago, a council member could serve a maximum of two consecutive three-year terms, for a total of six years. However, changes in recent years …
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Island Way Grill
20 Island Way, Clearwater Beach, FL
/articles/cretekos-is-clearwater-s-next-mayor
929328
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27.96801
-82.76693
1700 Drew St, Clearwater, FL
/articles/cretekos-is-clearwater-s-next-mayor
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Voters hit the polls early Tuesday to vote in the Republican Presidential Preference Primary and Clearwater mayoral elections.
Democracy was in action early in Clearwater on Tuesday morning. Voters were hitting the polls on their way to work. A handful of voters already had cast ballots at precinct 528 and 569 before 7:30 a.m. While Republican voters select their choice for a presidential candidate, Clearwater voters also will choose their next mayor and make changes to the city charter. George Cretekos and Christine Marketos-Cuomo are vying for the city's top seat. Voters also will decide charter amendments including adding time that councilmembers can serve on the city council and extending the time between making changes to the charter. It's an exercise Bob Reese has practiced for 70 years. Voting is important to the 89-year-old, who first cast a ballot when …
Friday, January 20, 2012
In the final forum before the Jan. 31 election, mayoral candidates George Cretekos and Christine Marketos-Cuomo tout their experience to voters while talking about issues concerning economic development, East Gateway and the Harborview Center.
The East Gateway was once a thriving business district. Many who still live and work in the area are committed to seeing it's success including Emma Alaba who has lived in Clearwater since 1976 and owned the Computer Learning Center in the East Gateway corridor since 1998. The blighted area of downtown has garnered a lot of talk lately including at candidate forums over the last few weeks and that is just fine to Alaba. For her, the difference in the Clearwater mayoral candidates comes down to passion and experience. “We suffer from a lack of knowledge,” Alaba said after mayoral candidates George Cretekos and Christine Marketos-Cuomo made their case to voters Thursday night at City Hall. “You got to know how the wheels turn." In the final…
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-82.80118
City of Clearwater - City Hall
112 S Osceola Ave, Clearwater, FL
/articles/candidates-spar-at-final-forum
930274
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Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Mayoral and city council candidates George Cretekos, Doreen DiPolito and Jay Polglaze spoke on local business, Scientology and economic development at the Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition forum.
Mayoral candidate George Cretekos and councilmembers-elect Doreen DiPolito and Jay Polglaze shared their thoughts on attracting businesses to the city, their relationship with the Church of Scientology and how to spur stalled developments at the Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition candidate forum Monday night. While the chair behind mayoral candidate Christine Marketos-Cuomo’s name placard sat vacant, about 100 residents including community leaders and current and former elected officials were in attendance at the forum, held at the Salvation Army on Druid Road. Many have questioned the seeming secrecy of the enigmatic political newcomer and had hoped to see the mayoral candidate. However, Marketos said in an email that she already had an …
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-82.774248
Salvation Army Mallory-Powell Social Services Campus
1521 Druid Rd E, Clearwater, FL
/articles/clearwater-s-future-up-for-debate-at-candidate-forum
930860
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Clearwater Neighborhoods Coalition
9:24 pm on Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Thank you everyone that attended this event and THANK YOU ClearwaterPatch for sponsoring and publicizing this forum. The Patch team did a fantastic job of covering this event and expressing the concerns of voters at the forum. If you were unable to attend this forum please make an effort to go to the one on Jan 19th at 6:30 PM at the Clearwater City Hall Council Chambers. Thanks again … more ›