Tidings Media Endorses Sam Wilson for Clearwater City Council

An endorsement written by Dave Happe on behalf of Tidings Media Tampa/St Pete

Tidings Media has a long-standing policy of trying to stay neutral in Florida primary and municipal races. Today we are breaking that policy, because we believe conservative voters in Clearwater are being given a badly distorted picture of the Seat 5 race, and because the candidate at the center of it — Sam Wilson — has chosen to stay positive, stay on message, and let the noise go unanswered. Someone should answer it. That is the purpose of this endorsement.  We report, you decide.  

Acts 20:28-31 Christian Standard Bible

28 Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as overseers, to shepherd the church of God,[a] which he purchased with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 Men will rise up even from your own number and distort the truth to lure the disciples into following them. 31 Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for three years I never stopped warning each one of you with tears.

Who Sam Wilson Is

Sam Wilson is a lifelong Pinellas County resident. He is a member of Calvary Christian Church, serves on the board of the Clearwater Housing Authority, and has spent the past four years as a congressional staffer helping local residents cut through federal red tape. He joined the office of U.S. Representative Anna Paulina Luna in mid-2022 after a congressional staffer background check, first as a scheduler, later as District Field and Legislative Coordinator, and was promoted to District Director in November 2024 — the person Luna trusts to run her district operations in Pinellas County. Before that, he interned for U.S. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Lauren Boebert and for then-Senator Marco Rubio.

Wilson is running for Seat 5 in the August 18 election on a platform of affordability, transparency, and rebuilding. Specifically: rolling back the millage rate to ease the property tax burden on families, seniors on fixed incomes, veterans, and first-time buyers — without cutting police, fire, or infrastructure; ending closed-door deals and last-minute decisions at City Hall; leading hurricane recovery and streamlining permitting so residents can rebuild; and revitalizing downtown by activating vacant properties and attracting small business, with the city — not any outside interest — leading that discussion. His campaign puts it plainly: downtown Clearwater is not for sale.

He has earned the endorsements of Rep. Luna, Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector, former Mayor Frank Hibbard, sitting council members, multiple Pinellas County Commissioners, state legislators, and the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association. That is not a coalition that assembles around a candidate by accident. It assembles around a candidate that serious, accountable local leaders have watched work.  And now, he gets Tidings Media's first endorsement of the 2026 campaign season.  

And no, haters, we're not paid by Scientology, or Wilson, or anyone else.  

The Race, Honestly Described

Wilson's opponent is Mark Bunker, the Democrat former council member who lost his re-election bid in 2024 and is best known for three decades of activism against the Church of Scientology.

Let me say clearly where I agree with Bunker: I share his opposition to the Garden Avenue street vacation, and I share his deep concerns about the insidious nature of Scientology and its footprint in downtown Clearwater. He has been right to sound that alarm, and he deserves credit for his persistence on it.  That's where my similarities with Bunker begin, and end.  

But a city council seat is not a single-issue office, and this is where I part ways with the voices — some of them from within Christian conservative and Republican circles, some organizing under the banner of "Republicans for Mark Bunker" — urging conservative voters to cross over. The Garden Avenue vote, as important as it was, represents a tiny sliver of what this seat will actually govern over a four-year term: property tax rates, the city budget, public safety, hurricane recovery, permitting, housing, and the daily decisions that shape whether families can afford to stay in Clearwater. On that other 99 percent, Bunker's record and priorities sit, in my judgment, well to the left of the conservative voters now being asked to elect him. Voters urging fellow conservatives toward Bunker on the strength of one shared grievance owe those voters an honest accounting of everything else that comes with the seat.  Bunker is on the wrong side of nearly every single one of those issues.

Anger over Garden Avenue is legitimate. But anger is not a governing philosophy, and "not Scientology" is not a budget, a tax policy, or a public safety plan. I would rather have a conservative council member who will fight for affordability and transparency — and who can be pushed hard, by all of us, to hold the line against giveaways downtown — than trade away four years of conservative governance to settle one score.  By the way, Wilson is a Christian, not a Scientologist despite what you may have heard.  

Here's what people aren't telling you about Mark Bunker which can be independently verified :

• People urging conservatives to vote for Bunker never mention his public support for LGBTQ initiatives in Pinellas County. On June 1, 2023, he joined liberal Clearwater City Council members Kathleen Beckman and Lina Teixeira in speaking at a Pride Month event. His social media also features photos from Pride events, including with transgender participants and advocates.Those are his choices and his public record. Voters should consider all of a candidate's positions and public activities before heading to the polls.

• He's recently expressed support for anti-Trump whack job Kathy Griffin
• He said he "loves" Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (March 11, 2019)
• He voted in 2020 for a Clearwater property tax that was 5.12% higher than the roll back rate
• He voted in 2021 for a Clearwater property tax that was 7.5% higher than the roll back rate
• During the pandemic in 2021, he voted to increase the Clearwater Gas System Utility Rates on Residential Single Family Homes
• He was endorsed by the Florida Democratic Party

All of those things he has the right to do, but people suggesting that conservatives and bible believing Christians should be "for Bunker" because of a street vacation to Scientology (which I oppose) are not being told the full truth about who they're being told to vote for.  There are more salacious public financial details that we're choosing not to publish today about Bunker, but this list is validated public information, and a more complete profile for your consideration.  

On the Whisper Campaign

Some of Wilson's critics point to donations his campaign may have received from Scientologists as proof that he is compromised. I don't find that persuasive. Wilson passed a congressional background check and earned the trust of Anna Paulina Luna — in my view the finest member of Congress in America — to run her district operations. His platform explicitly rejects downtown giveaways. Judge him on his record, his platform, and his character, all of which are public. The narrative being pushed against him does not survive contact with the facts.  The fact that some of these lies emanate from within the Church are repulsive and the reason for us breaking our "no endorsement" position.  We tell the truth, regardless of the "cost." 

Sam Wilson is a Christian and a follower of Jesus, and a church member in Clearwater that even some of his critics attend. He is a Republican. He is a man of integrity with wisdom beyond his years, and he wants for Clearwater what I — and, I believe, most Clearwater residents — want for Clearwater: a city that is affordable, transparent, safe, and in charge of its own downtown.

Tidings Media endorses Sam Wilson for Clearwater City Council, Seat 5. Election Day is August 18, 2026.

Full Disclosure

Dave Happe, who penned this endorsement, has spoken with Sam Wilson a few times over the last few years. Wilson neither sought nor asked for this endorsement. Tidings Media received nothing in exchange for it, and was not in contact with the campaign, the candidate, or any PAC or other influencers about it. Wilson has been employed by U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna since mid-2022 and currently serves as her District Director. While Happe remains a supporter of Rep. Luna, they have not spoken directly in any form in roughly 18 months, and Luna played no role in this endorsement.  However, Happe does trust Anna, and her endorsement.  

Sources

• Sam Wilson campaign website: votesamwilson.com
• Florida Politics, "Sam Wilson officially in for Clearwater City Council bid" (Feb. 2026)
• Florida Politics, "Sam Wilson banks nearly $23K in Q1" (April 2026)
• Tampa Bay Times, "Anna Paulina Luna staffer joins race for Clearwater City Council" (Feb. 20, 2026)
• Tampa Bay Times, "Scientology critic Mark Bunker running for Clearwater City Council again" (March 5, 2026)