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CANDACE RONDEAUXAnita Protos will have to rush if she wants to contest Beverley Billiris. Meanwhile, Billiris supporter Cindy Domino-Sanner eyes a City Commission spot.
TARPON SPRINGS - She's done it before, and she might do it again.
Former mayor Anita Protos says she's seriously considering a run for her old job at City Hall.
"I'm getting a lot of pressure," Protos, 61, said late last week. "A lot of people are coming to me, asking me to run. I just tell them I'm thinking about it."
But with only a few days before candidates can begin qualifying for next year's citywide election, she doesn't have much time to make up her mind.
Starting this March, the city will run its election simultaneously with Pinellas County's. Tarpon Springs residents will now vote March 9 along with the rest of the county. The change means candidates will have until 5 p.m. on Nov. 26 to gather enough signatures to qualify to be put on the ballot.
If Protos joins the race, she'll face stiff competition from former city commissioner Beverley Billiris. Billiris got a head start late last year after she announced plans to run for outgoing Mayor Frank DiDonato's seat and resigned her job as city commissioner.
For months, she appeared to be the only candidate in the race. And after City Commissioner Karen Brayboy took her name off the list of potential mayoral candidates about two weeks ago, Billiris seemed to be well on her way to an uncontested run.
But news of Protos' interest has put the proverbial fly in Billiris' ointment. Still, Billiris said, she's not making any changes to her campaign strategy yet.
"The city has changed since she was mayor, and residents have recognized the difference," Billiris said. "Hopefully, they're looking for someone with a different take on the city."
Protos served on the City Commission for 16 years until term limits ended her two-term tenure as mayor in April 1998. Her City Hall years saw plenty of controversy, including several heated debates over the future of the city's lease with Helen Ellis Hospital.
Protos or no Protos, Billiris has former city commissioner Cindy Domino-Sanner's vote for sure.
"I respect Anita, but in this case I have to throw my support to Beverley," Domino-Sanner said. "She's done a lot for this town."
Her support could mean big things for Tarpon Springs' political landscape. A longtime friend and supporter of Billiris, Domino-Sanner said Monday that she's planning a campaign of her own. She said she plans to begin campaigning for Brayboy's soon-to-be-empty and so far uncontested seat after the Christmas holiday.
Domino-Sanner, 52, served as commissioner from April 1992 to 1998 and then dropped out of city politics for a year. She made a third successful run for commissioner in 1999 and served until March 2002. Since then she has left her old job at Crown Castle International, a cell phone tower company, and started her own home inspection business.
Brayboy's commission seat is not the only one that is uncontested. So far no one has stepped up to run against City Commissioner Peter Nehr, who won his seat last year in a special election. Nehr, 51, said he's not surprised by the news of Protos' potential run. But he was caught off guard by Domino-Sanner's announcement and said that could change the balance of votes on the commission.
"If you look at the 500 votes that happened while (Billiris and Domino-Sanner) were on the commission, you'd see that in 95 percent of them, they tend to vote together," Nehr said.
- Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 727 445-4181 or rondeaux@sptimes.com