Tampa attorney Seth Nelson says he will file to run for City Council on July 1. Nelson wants to fill the city-wide District 3 seat now held by Linda Saul-Sena, who is term-limited out of the post. Why go for an at-large seat in his first run for office? "At the end of the day, the decisions the council makes affect our entire community," Nelson said. "We all get stuck in the same traffic. We all are affected by the drought." 

Several years ago, Nelson helped Hyde Park residents who were fighting construction of a condominium tower on the edge of the historic district. He is a former member of the city's Variance Review Board and now serves on the Metropolitan Planning Organization's citizens advisory committee. He's also on the City Council's citizens advisory budget committee.

So far, only two people have filed to fun for the March 2011 City Council races: Lynette Judge in District 5 and Joseph Caetano in District 7.

But more names are emerging, with two people who had been pursuing Ed Homan's District 60 state house seats turning their sights instead to the Council. Joseph Wendt says he wants to run for the citywide District 1 post now held by Gwen Miller. Miller is term-limited out of the position. NAACP head Curtis Stokes says he also want to run for that post.

Janet Zink, Times Staff Writer