St. Petersburg, FL – The list of people supporting State Rep. Ben Diamond (@BenDiamondFL) of St. Petersburg in his race for Congress in District 13 continues to grow. Today, three more notable Democrats announced their support for Diamond – former U.S. Rep. Jim Davis, former Chief Financial Officer of Florida Alex Sink, and former State Representative Sean Shaw.
“Ben will represent everyone and will be a highly effective member of Congress,” Davis said. “He listens, learns the issues, and does what he thinks is right. He will fight for what he believes in and he will work to bring people together, as he has in the state Legislature. Ben treats everyone with respect and as the parent of young children growing up in Pinellas County he stays in touch with his community.”
“I worked side-by-side with Ben when I was the state’s Chief Financial Officer and he was our general counsel, and I’ve closely followed his rise as an influential, effective advocate for the issues we care about in the Florida Legislature,” added Sink. “He understands Pinellas County and Tampa Bay, and he cares deeply about the challenges facing our community such as protecting the environment, providing access to affordable health care and ensuring equal justice for all. Ben is a thoughtful, dedicated, ethical public servant who will work hard on our behalf in Washington, and he will be an outstanding member of Congress.”
“Ben and I worked together for Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, helping Floridians recover from the Great Recession and the BP Oil Spill,” Shaw said. “I later had the privilege of working by his side again when we served together in the Florida House. I have witnessed Ben’s public service firsthand, and he has always put the people of our state ahead of the powerful special interests. Ben is a tireless advocate for working families, criminal justice reform, and protecting Florida’s natural resources; there is no one I trust more to fight for Tampa Bay in Congress than him.”
The three notable Democrats join Pinellas County Commissioners Janet C. Long and Pat Gerard; St. Petersburg City Council members Amy Foster, Gina Driscoll and Brandi Gabbard; Pinellas County School Board member Nicole Carr, Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Cookie Kennedy, Gulfport Mayor Sam Henderson, St. Pete Beach Mayor Al Johnson, Safety Harbor Mayor Joe Ayoub, Largo City Commissioner Jamie Robinson, Gulfport City Council member Michael Fridovich and Pinellas Park City Council member Patti Reed in lending their support to Diamond.
Diamond, a Democrat, is running to succeed U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist in District 13, which includes St. Petersburg, Clearwater and most of Pinellas County.
A Pinellas County native, Diamond pledges to seek common sense solutions in Congress to the challenges he has focused on in the Florida Legislature. Those include climate change and the environment, criminal justice reforms to ensure everyone is treated equally regardless of race or ethnicity, and health care that is accessible and affordable.
Diamond, 42, is a lawyer who served as general counsel to former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. He was first elected to the Florida House in 2016 and has been re-elected twice. He and his wife, Christina, live in St. Petersburg with their three children.
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