Tampa Bay Times from St. Petersburg, Florida • 153

NT TIMES SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1998 3 Voters Rigsby from Page 1 from Page 1 By the numbers 202: Precincts Harris won. 135: Precincts McKeon won. 8: Precincts with no voters. 51 Percent of voters who picked Harris. 56: Percent of absentee voters who picked McKeon.

31 Percent of voters age 65 and older. 45: Percent of voters between the ages of 30 and 55. 6: Percent of voters registered African-American. 1 Percent of voters registered Hispanic. 212,732: Registered Democrats.

242,400: Registered Republicans. 106,221: Registered independents and third party. 249,897: Voters registered male. 310,829: Voters registered female. 627: Voters registered other.

On Top of the World, like the rest of Pinellas County, supported Lawton Chiles in both his gubernatorial campaigns. And they even voted for Clinton in '92, despite the elder Bush's visit. Property Appraiser Jim Smith, a former state legislator and a Republican state committee member, says he thinks countywide registration figures that show a Republican majority may be misleading. "I think there are more Democrats here than there is given credit for," Smith said. Many people who are philosophically Democrats register as Republicans so they can vote in the primaries, Smith said.

There also are 106,000 voters who are registered as independent or with a third party. In the County Commission election, Harris had the advantage of being an incumbent, Smith said. One area where that may have worked to his disadvantage was near Walsingham Park where the County Commission had proposed building a desalination facility. Residents near the park protested, and the commission put the project on hold before eventually killing it. In those neighborhoods near Walsingham Park, between Largo and Seminole, McKeon took 53 percent of the vote.

McKeon also did very well in East Lake, where Republicans outnumber Democrats almost 2 to 1, and where 51 percent of the voters are between the ages of 30 and 55. McKeon took 58 percent of the vote in East Lake. County Commissioner Sallie Parks, a Republican who endorsed Harris, said she thinks Harris' victory shows that the county is squarely in the middle of the political spectrum. "I've seen time and time again that this county is not to the far right nor is it by any call of the pundit, liberal," Parks said. "I think it is very moderate, and I don't think (the voters) necessarily go by the party line.

"We too often underestimate the voter." to 667. Yet, even though a win for Harris was historic, his candidacy did not inspire St. Petersburg's African-American neighborhoods to turn out in great numbers. Only about 42 percent of the registered voters in those precincts showed up Tuesday, compared with about 50 percent countywide. While Harris would not have won without the African-American vote, it is a segment of the county that traditionally votes for Democrats.

The African-American precincts voted for School Board candidate Linda Lerner, a white Democrat, at about the same rate as they did for Harris. What was more important for Harris in this election was the crossover votes he got from Republicans, particularly among retirees. An indication of his support among people 65 or older about a third of the county's registered voters was how well he did in the politically active On Top of the World condominium community near Clearwater. The more than 5,000 On Top of the World voters are often courted by north county politicos and were important enough to earn a visit from Jeb Bush, who stopped by just as his father, President Bush, did in 1992. The enclave is almost exclusively white, mostly Republican and known for showing up at the polls.

Almost 90 percent of the registered voters there are 65 and older. Harris won 54 percent of the On Top of the World vote. He did better than Bush, who could only muster 52 percent of the vote there in the governor's race last week. The election results point to an emerging trend in Pinellas County, MacManus said. The county is not the bedrock of conservatism it once was, she said.

"Pinellas has really undergone a political transition," MacManus said. "It has been changing incrementally without a lot of people noticing." MacManus cited a combination fvmli Ft I St -r- lEm tAlr of factors behind the willingness of the older Republicans to cross party lines. They are typically well-read and more knowledgeable about the issues than younger voters, they are concerned about easing racial turmoil, and are likely to vote for someone who seems like a reasonable candidate, regardless of their party affiliation, MacManus said. A lot of the hard-core conservatives who were part of the county's major voting bloc in the 1970s and '80s have been replaced with a new generation of more moderate retirees, MacManus said. Helen Johnson, 79, hasn't done any political science studies or conducted any polls but she can sense a political shift at On Top of the World.

She said she thinks more people are retiring to the county from traditionally liberal states such as New York and Massachusetts. At least that's her observation from talking to newcomers at On Top of the World. "I really think we're beginning to get more Democrats," said Johnson, a Democratic Party activist. A lot of her Republican and independent neighbors are also known to cross over during elec MA d4VT 5 MOW Precincts carried by Calvin Harris I 1 Precincts carried A Clearwater businesswoman believes in recycling in a big way. Bennetta Slaughter, chief executive officer of AMC Publishing, recently bought two cooling towers from Sunshine Mall to use in the former Pioneer Banlf building on Cleveland Street, which she is renovating.

Slaughter says her project manager saw a hand-painted sign advertising air-conditioning units for sale at the mall, which is being demolished to make way for 600 apartments. When the project manager investigated, he was surprised to find that the units were only 5 years old. Slaughter says she saved a bundle by buying the used units for the five-story former bank building. Her business will take part of the building and she will rent the rest. She had a crane and flatbed trailer take the units from the mall to her building, where they are sitting under tarps, waiting to be installed.

"They're as big as a house," Slaughter says. Some businesses in downtown Clearwater will get some tax breaks because of a newly created enterprise zone. The tax breaks will be available to businesses in a 2.6-square-mile area downtown. To be eligible, the businesses must provide jobs for area residents, buy business equipment and building materials or make capital investments. The incentives will be in the form of tax credits, sales tax refunds and sales tax exemptions.

Some of the money will come from the state and some from the city. Enterprise zones are aimed at helping areas that need redevelopment. A dessert, coffee and tea shop called Sweet Necessities is planned in Belleair Bluffs. Cinnamon pumpkin coffee will one of the gourmet coffee flavors offered this fall at the shop, which is in the same center on Indian Rocks Road as Grill. i Jack Kirschmann the developer of the concept, says a fitness center was the most recent tenant the space.

It was renovated to make the 48-seat The shop serves diners at the shop and sells items for takeout. It also will sell gift baskets and choc-' olates. Nearly 100 of the 280 condominiums planned at the Shores of Long Bayou in Seminole have been finished. Developers Melinda and Sam Hall are working on the second phase of the community that's behind a gate on 66th Avenue N. The second part of the development will have six buildings with a total of 162 units.

The first building in that phase is finished. It has 18 units, 15 of which have been sold, Melinda Hall said. The units range from two bedrooms with 1,250 square feet to bedrooms with 1,700 square feet. Prices start at $120,000 and go as high as $165,000. I I by Tom McKeon 5 Precincts where no votes cast Times art Landscaping Gravel Lawns Yard Clean-up Trim 842-8055 551 1 S.R.

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