LARGO — Three Largo city commissioners have won new four-year terms without having to campaign for them. A fourth will be on the ballot Nov. 3.
Commissioners Michael Smith, Chris Johnson and Donna Holck were reelected when no one qualified to run against them, city officials said. Commissioner Curtis Holmes drew a single challenger for Seat 2: Matthew Faustini, chair of the city’s Planning Board.
Officials announced the field Aug. 4, after the close of qualifying. Faustini’s name will be listed first on the ballot following the traditional blind drawing for ballot position.
Smith announced his reelection on social media the day before.
“From the bottom of my heart, thank you to every person who signed a petition, walked neighborhoods, volunteered your time, offered words of encouragement, or simply believed in me,” Smith wrote, thanking “the people of Largo for placing your trust in me once again.”
Smith was first elected in 2011 and reelected in 2014, 2018 and 2022, according to the city’s website. At the Aug. 4 commission meeting, he praised his colleagues during his monthly comments.
“I appreciate this commission,” he said. “We are a mixture of a community, and I love that we can agree to disagree. I’ve watched city (commissions) who bicker and fight until 12 o’clock at night and call each other names. And I think we work really well together. And I appreciate that.”
The Seat 2 race pits a first-time candidate against one of the city’s longest-serving officials. Holmes was first elected in 2009 and again in 2012, 2016 and 2022, according to the city’s website. Faustini has never held elected office.
Faustini said he began building his campaign two years ago.
“That is why we started two years ago, slowly building our campaign and name recognition, and attending the Largo Evening Market every month,” he wrote in an Aug. 9 email. “But what I am most proud of during qualifying is how we are running this race. I am currently running it without a working car.”
Faustini said he is juggling two jobs while helping support his mother, and is relying on her car and public transportation to get to City Hall and back, “simply because I cannot afford to fix my own car and fund the campaign at the same time.”
The Pinellas County native said he is running because he believes “the working-class core of Largo is being destroyed.” His aunt and niece moved back north two years ago, he said, “because it’s cheaper for them to live in New Jersey than it is here in Largo. Meanwhile, my mom cannot fully retire and still works four days a week as a dog groomer just to get by.”
Voters, he said, “demand commissioners who will be dead focused on making life more affordable for them and their families. I am proposing radical change to shake up City Hall and tackle the crises in housing, taxes, and utilities head on.”
For more on the Nov. 3 election, visit the city of Largo or Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections websites.