Scientology critic Mark Bunker qualifies for runoff in Clearwater city council race

In 2020, when longtime Scientology critic Mark Bunker won a seat on Clearwater, Florida’s city council — where Scientology’s “spiritual mecca” the Flag Land Base is located — he did so with a plurality, but not a majority, of votes in his district.

It was an upset win, and it angered Clearwater’s good-old-boy network so much that the city soon passed an ordinance that would, from then on, require an outright majority (50 percent or more) of votes to secure a city council win, with a runoff required if that didn’t happen.

Six years later, it’s Mark Bunker who has benefited from that change in the law.

Yesterday, Bunker was the second-place vote-getter (with 35.3 percent) in Seat 5 behind Sam Wilson, who did not achieve a majority of votes (with 48.6 percent), and so Wilson and Bunker will now face off in a November runoff for the city council seat.

We asked Bunker for his thoughts…

I’m very excited for this runoff campaign. I have a feeling it is going to get quite ugly but I am ready to fight. I’ve now overcome the hurdle put up in 2020 when runoffs were created for Clearwater council races simply because I had won. The good old boys wanted to retain control of elections but the people of Clearwater gave me a chance to once again fight for them and I plan to do just that.

This is going to be a tough race but I have been standing up to Scientology for close to three decades and managed to get elected to the Clearwater City Council and then appointed to the Downtown Development Board which was pretty much all OTs, so I’m not going to let them stop me now.

I won this time with virtually every one of my yard signs disappearing as quickly as I planted them. I won with less money than the other candidates. I won because the people of Clearwater want a fighter and they’ve put their trust in me so I am going to be out there pushing hard to win this election.

I found out I won tonight through a text from Tracey McManus and what could be better than that? Still breaking news stories about Scientology in Clearwater. I love it.

For those who want to contribute to this runoff campaign, the link that is on www.markbunker.com has been paused. Election rules shut down fundraising five days prior to election day. I need to find out from the city what the next step is. I may be able to restart this same account or I may have to create another. Either way, Sam Wilson and the PACs supporting him will have all the money in the world so I’m hoping we can raise the funds needed to successfully fight back.

I’ll be doing far more videos, far more posts and holding events around the city. We have to win this race so it’s all hands on deck, full speed ahead. Let’s make this go right!

Can I have a “Hip, Hip, Hooray?”

— Mark Bunker

Signs of life at Ron’s home in England!

(Illustration by Alex Barnes-Ross, the cheeky monkey.)

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