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Montanari to have heart surgery, out of St. Petersburg council mix for few months

 
“Get checked out even if you don’t have any symptoms,” said council member Ed Montanari.
“Get checked out even if you don’t have any symptoms,” said council member Ed Montanari.
Published Feb. 12, 2016

ST. PETERSBURG — One of the City Council's newest members will be missing from the dais for the next few months.

Ed Montanari said Thursday he will have heart surgery this month. The Feb. 23 procedure will repair his mitral valve and will be done at the Cleveland Clinic.

"Our city has been blessed with a great staff and I am confident that the issues that need to be addressed in my absence will be covered," Montanari said in a memo to his council colleagues and Mayor Rick Kriseman.

Montanari, who will turn 58 in April, said the problem surfaced during a routine physical and he hadn't felt any symptoms.

A veteran airline pilot, Montanari was elected without opposition to the council in November, replacing term-limited Bill Dudley in District 3, which covers many northeastern neighborhoods, including Montanari's Snell Isle home.

He took office in January along with Lisa Wheeler-Brown.

Montanari promised to keep track of council doings — which are televised and archived on the city's website — and asked his colleagues to keep him in their thoughts and prayers.

At Thursday's meeting, Montanari listened to an American Heart Association presentation on "Heart Month," before mentioning his upcoming operation.

"Get checked out even if you don't have any symptoms," he said.

Kriseman said he would keep Montanari in his thoughts.

"We're looking forward to Ed healing and returning to us soon," Kriseman said in a Facebook post.

Contact Charlie Frago at cfrago@tampabay.com or (727) 893-8459. Follow@CharlieFrago.