Sam Wilson banks nearly $23K in Q1, brings fundraising to $38K in Clearwater City Council bid

Sam Wilson, a candidate for Clearwater City Council Seat 5, raised nearly $23,000 in the first quarter of 2026, bringing his total fundraising above $38,000.

Wilson is running to replace outgoing City Council member Lina Teixeira, who announced in January that she would not seek re-election.

The totals are split between Wilson’s campaign account and affiliated political committee, Clearwater Families for Affordability. Of the Q1 fundraising, nearly $16,000 of it went to the campaign, while $7,000 was raised for Wilson’s campaign.

“I’m incredibly grateful for the outpouring of support we’ve seen from across Clearwater,” Wilson said. “This campaign is about bringing common sense back to Clearwater by lowering property taxes, helping our communities recover from recent storms, and making local government more transparent than ever. I’m excited to keep working and meeting with new voters.”

Wilson’s financial activity for his campaign account is self-reported, so details on where funding came from and what has been spent are not yet available. Reports are due Friday.

But the Q1 report for his affiliated political committee is publicly available. The top donation came from Clearwater resident Teresa Lee, a local real estate professional. Brian Aungst Jr., a prominent Clearwater lawyer and son of former Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst Sr., donated $1,000. Another $500 each came from Clearwater resident Joe Burdette and the political committee Florida Values Coalition.

The committee maintains about $19,000, after a little over $2,000 in expenditures in the first quarter and a little more than $1,000 in the fourth quarter of 2025. The latest expenditures include nearly $1,600 to Cal Compliance in St. Petersburg for accounting services.

Wilson was the first to file for the race, but recently drew a challenger: former Clearwater City Council member Mark Bunker, an anti-Scientology activist who was unseated in 2024.

Wilson is a congressional staffer for U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna. He officially launched his campaign on March 26 with an event at Hogg Daddy’s Beach Bar and Grill. The host committee included Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector, former Clearwater Mayors Aungst Sr. and Frank Hibbard, and incumbent Clearwater City Council members David Allbritton, Ryan Cotton and Mike Mannino.

Luna, Rector and Hibbard have already endorsed Wilson, in addition to serving on his kickoff host committee.

Others who served on Wilson’s host committee include, among others, state Sen. Nick DiCeglie; state Reps. Kim Berfield and Berny Jacques; Pinellas County Commissioners Chris Latvala, Vince Nowicki, Chris Scherer and Brian Scott; Pinellas County Clerk of the Court Ken Burke; Pinellas County Tax Collector Adam Ross; former Pinellas County Commissioner Nick Brickfield; former appointed Pinellas County Commissioner Jay Beyrouti; former Clearwater City Council member Doreen Caudell; GOP political consultant Jim Rimes; and lobbyist Alan Suskey.

Wilson has worked with Luna in various roles since mid-2022, first as a scheduler and later as a District Field and Legislative Coordinator. He was promoted to District Director in November 2024. Luna was Wilson’s first endorsement.

Prior to his work with Luna, Wilson served as an intern for several federal officials, including for U.S. Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado and Gus Bilirakis in Florida. Prior to that, he interned with then-U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio. He also previously served as an intern research liaison with the group Citizens Defending Freedom, according to his LinkedIn bio.

Wilson previously told Florida Politics his top priorities include addressing affordability issues in the city and ensuring transparency in city business.

The Clearwater City Council election is Aug. 18.