Wengay M. Newton (born August 27, 1963) is an American politician from

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served two terms in the

Florida House of Representatives The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...

from 2016 to 2020, representing parts of

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living species ...

, and Hillsborough Counties.

Early life and career

Newton was born and raised in the Midtown South neighborhood of St. Petersburg as one of eight children of a divorced mother. Newton graduated from Northeast High School in 1981 and attended ITT Tech where he earned an associate degree in Electronics Engineering. After graduating from ITT Tech, Newton went to work for

Xerox Xerox Holdings Corporation (; also known simply as Xerox) is an American corporation that sells print and electronic document, digital document products and services in more than 160 countries. Xerox is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut (ha ...

, where he worked for eighteen years.

Political career

Newton first ran for the St. Petersburg city council in 2007. His opponent was Gershom Faulkner, outreach director for Congresswoman

Kathy Castor Katherine Anne Castor (born August 20, 1966) is an American politician and lawyer currently representing in the United States House of Representatives, serving since 2007. The district, numbered as the 11th district from 2007 to 2013, is based ...

. Despite Faulkner being considered the establishment candidate, Newton ultimately prevailed and was elected to the city council. In 2011, while running for reelection, Newton faced Faulkner in a rematch. Newton increased his share of the vote from 52 to 66%. Newton ran for the 70th State House District in 2015 as incumbent representative

Darryl Rouson Darryl Ervin Rouson (born July 20, 1955) is a Democratic member of the Florida Senate who has represented the 16th district (The 19th district until 2022), which includes parts of Pinellas and Hillsborough Counties from downtown St. Petersbur ...

was term-limited. Newton ultimately won the Democratic nomination with 60% of the vote over Dan Fiorini and C.J. Czaia. In the general election, Newton faced Republican Cori Fournier, a realtor. Newton beat Fournier with 76% of the vote. In 2020, Newton opted to run for a seat on the Pinellas County Commission, losing to Rene Flowers. On December 19, 2020, Newton filed and declared his candidacy for Mayor of St. Petersburg in the 2021 St. Petersburg mayoral election. Despite being endorsed by former Republican Mayor

Rick Baker Richard A. Baker (born December 8, 1950), known professionally as Rick Baker, is an American retired special make-up effects creator and actor. He is mostly known for his creature designs and effects. Baker won the Academy Award for Best Makeu ...

, Newton received only 7.5% of the vote in the first round and was eliminated. In September 2021, Newton announced a run for his old state house seat as incumbent Michele Rayner-Goolsby is not running for reelection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Wengay 1963 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Politicians from St. Petersburg, Florida Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives African-American state legislators in Florida Candidates in the 2021 United States elections 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people