Friends in Good Places
In the fight for equality, the LGBTQ community has always appreciated the backing of our straight allies. One of those allies in St. Petersburg has always been Barclay Harless.
A scroll through your newsfeed on Facebook will find pictures of Harless celebrating a birthday with Hot 101.5’s Miguel Fuller or hanging out with St. Pete Pride’s Eric Skains or standing with the community at a Pride event or march or rally. That commitment to the community is now leading Harless to pursue a position that will let him do good for all of St. Pete.
Harless announced Dec. 20 that he will be running for a seat on the St. Petersburg City Council in 2017. The 31-year-old banker is not new to the political scene. Harless is a former aide to state senator Darryl Rouson and worked on the 2014 campaign for Alex Sink.
Harless is the first candidate to announce a run for District 2, and if he were to win he would be a part of an already very open and progressive City Council. Openly gay Dardin Rice (District 4) and Amy Foster (District 8) are a part of the St. Pete City Council. Both are running for re-election in 2017.
Pride is Upon Us
It’s beginning to look a lot like Pride season everywhere you look. As we say goodbye to one of the hardest years in recent memory, we will have the joy and happiness of Tampa Pride 2017 to keep our focus and help gear us up to make this coming year better and brighter.
The team behind Tampa Pride got started a bit early actually when they kicked off with the Tampa Pride Art Festival held at the Ybor campus of Hillsborough Community College Dec. 13.
The event had some of the best art provided by more than 50 local LGBTQ and ally artists. Those attending were also treated to some live art including live painting, performances and dance classes. The evening was also filled with vendors, a photobooth, movie screenings, local food, raffles and more fun than you shake a happy little tree at.
Tampa Pride takes the celebration train next to Honey Pot Jan. 22 when they will crown Miss Tampa Pride 2017, and rumor has it that the competition is fierce this year. It all leads to Tampa Pride March 25 with a party cruise the following week to Mexico. Muy caliente!
