BWRC August Meeting

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                             Senate, House, County Board, School Board candidates to speak at August 7 Luncheon

Belleair Women’s Republican Club will continue its speaker series featuring area candidates at its meeting and luncheon on Friday August 7. Five office seekers will address BWRC members and guests, three of whom will face challengers on the November 3 General Election ballot—Nick DiCeglie, Melissa Rutland and Kathleen Peters—and two of whom are facing opponents for re-election to the Pinellas County School Board during the August 18 Primary—Lisa Cane and Dawn Peters.

Nick DiCeglie is running to retain his District 18 Florida Senate seat. He was elected to the Florida State Senate in 2022. In December of 2022, he successfully sponsored legislation to supply a yearly rebate to Floridians with 35 or more toll transactions on their account, following through on his promise to lower prices for local families. In the Florida Senate, DiCeglie currently serves as Chair of the Appropriation Committee on Transportation, Tourism and Economic Development. Prior to serving in the Florida Senate, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2018 and reelected in 2020. As sponsor of HB 5 in 2019, Nick successfully passed legislation making it harder for local government to raise taxes on citizens. The following year, he sponsored and passed HB 441 to improve transparency and competition in the procurement of public contracts. DiCeglie grew up in North Woodmere, NY, and has resided in Florida since 1996. He is married to Erica DiCeglie, an accomplished musician and composer. They have two children, Livia and Carlo. 

Melissa Rutland hopes to flip the District 60 seat in the Florida House of Representatives that opened up when Democrat  Lindsay Cross announced she would not see re-election. Rutland is a fourth-generation St. Petersburg businesswoman whose family helped build the city of St. Petersburg—from the Rutland Brothers department store on Central Avenue to St. Petersburg Bank & Trust, which became Rutland Bank. She began her career in real estate development and investment nearly 30 years ago at the Raymond James headquarters. Since then, she has worked in commercial real estate brokerage, asset management, development and consulting. In 2015, she founded Rutland Florida Gulf Group, a commercial real estate firm. Rutland served nearly a decade on the St. Petersburg Development Review Commission, including as its first woman chair. Governor Ron DeSantis appointed her to the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board in 2023. She also has served on the board of the YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg for over a decade and on the delegation of Global Tampa Bay on several trade missions to bring businesses and jobs to Pinellas County. She serves on boards across the community, including the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership and the Orlando Health Bayfront Hospital Foundation. 

Kathleen Peters is running to retain her seat on the Pinellas County Board of Commissioners, which she has held since 2018. Prior to serving on the County Commission, Peters took office as a South Pasadena City Commissioner in 2008, then served as Mayor of the city from 2009 to 2012. In 2012, she was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. Throughout her tenure as a State Representative, Peters was known for being at the forefront of behavioral health epidemic, working to reform access to proper treatment for those suffering from mental illness and substance use disorder. As Commissioner, she continues to work towards improving the behavioral health system of care. Serving as an appointee on both the Statewide and Pinellas County Opioid Abatement Task Forces, she is the county’s foremost legislative advocate for mental illness and addiction issues. She also leads the County’s advocacy efforts to ensure Pinellas beaches receive the critical nourishment needed to protect them, and she serves on the Board of Directors of Tampa Bay Water, the regional drinking water supplier. Kathleen lives in Treasure Island with her husband, Jack, and yellow lab, Paisley. She has four sons—all born and raised in Pinellas County—four daughters-in-law and eight grandchildren. 

Lisa Cane is seeking a third term on the Pinellas County School Board, serving in the District 2 At-Large seat. Cane was first elected in 2018 and won re-election in 2022. She is a Pinellas County native and graduated from St. Petersburg College with an Associate in Arts degree and completed her Bachelors degree in creative writing at Eckerd College. She is the founder and Executive Director of Tampa Bay Performing Arts Academy, where she has dedicated nearly two decades to serving the community. She is a leader, educator, small business owner, wife and mother of four who has been married to her husband for 19 years. She is a voting member of The National Association of Recording Arts and Sciences aka the Grammy Awards Association) and is a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. Cane says she is committed to academic excellence, parental involvement, fiscal responsibility, safe schools and teacher support, believing every child deserves a high-quality education that prepares them for success while ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly and transparently. 

Dawn Peters is seeking re-election to the Pinellas County School Board District 3 At-Large seat. She was elected to her first term in 2022, and is currently serving as the Board’s Vice Chairperson. She is a Florida native, a successful businesswoman and a devoted mother of two daughers. Peters answered the call to public service after a successful career in property management and after serving as a certified substitute preschool teacher, an elementary school student mentor and a PTA officer for many years. Through those experiences, she says she acquired a unique perspective and understanding of the Pinellas County school system’s strengths and challenges and is committed to transparency and to achieving real change in area schools. She also worked as a volunteer and mentor coordinator at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School, where she gained insight into the struggles facing many students and families and the crucial role of parental and community involvement. She is a certified personal trainer and nutritionist and currently serves as president of a Pinellas County volunteer group serving veterans.