Alex Sink says she's 'very interested' in Pinellas congressional seat
Weeks after deciding not to mount another campaign for governor, former Democratic Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink is poised to run for the Pinellas County congressional seat now held by U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young.
"I'm very interested,'' said Sink, 65, who said she would move into the district from her current home in Thonotosassa in eastern Hillsborough County.
I have been listening to what's going on in Washington with this whole government shutdown business, thinking this is so bad for our country, why can't these people get it together? They're hurting people," Sink said Saturday. "We need some kind of change up there. We need better people, or different people. Maybe I can be part of the solution."
Sounding more likely to run than not, Sink said she was days away from deciding, but later amended that to say she would decide within 30 days.
"Most people who are talking to me are saying, Alex, just be sure you would enjoy being a congressperson.' ... That's the bottom line, would I enjoy it," said Sink, the former Florida chief for Bank of America, noting she had just spoken to a congressman from Washington state about that question.
"He said, 'I just felt I had to come here and be part of the solution. And you can make a difference, you can get things done,' " recounted Sink, whose husband, 2002 Democratic gubernatorial nominee Bill McBride, died suddenly late last year.
Sink would immediately emerge as the overwhelming Democratic frontrunner for the seat. Democrat Jessica Ehrlich has been running for months and several other prominent Pinellas Democrats have been considering it since Young, R-Indian Shores, announced this week he would not seek another term.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/national/alex-sink-says-shes-very-interested-in-pinellas-congressional-seat/2146914