CLEARWATER, Fla. — On the night that Lina Teixeira fell short in her bid to serve on the Clearwater City Council back in March of 2020, the city and the world were already in the middle of shutting down as the seriousness of the coronavirus was taking hold. She says the pandemic has deeply affected her.

“It made me realize what’s important in life,” she told Spectrum Bay News 9 this week. “And since the last campaign, I haven’t stopped. I’ve been more engaged and it’s like life. If you don’t get something your first time, you just work harder.”

Teixeira is now running for the open District 5 City Council seat in the election that takes place next March. She says if elected, she’ll work to fulfill the idea as espoused by the Clearwater Downtown Partnership that the city is an ideal place to live, work, and play.

“It’s expensive to live here,” she says. “It’s very hard to work here. A lot of our workforce goes on bridges to go to their jobs. And not that many people play here. So I would like to implement any initiative to make sure that this city lives up to its slogan.”

Teixeira is a Montreal native who moved to Florida with her husband in the 1990s. A health care professional, she and her husband founded a medical research company that conducts clinical trials for pharmaceutical companies. She’s also owns an art studio in downtown Clearwater, where she is currently putting the finishing touches on a piece that’s she designed out of old cigarette products and loose papers gathered from an environmental cleanup on Clearwater Beach last month.

The only other announced candidate in the District 5 race is Aaron Smith-Levin. A former Scientologist, Smith-Levin says that if he were to be elected, it would help erode the reputation that Clearwater has that it’s dominated by Scientologists, a perception he says hurts the city when it comes to new development.

Teixeira says Scientology’s control of so many buildings in downtown Clearwater is an issue, but not the only one that city leaders need to confront.

“It’s definitely a challenge and it’s one that I’m prepared to undertake,” she says, adding that, “I will take to task anyone or any entity that does not participate in improving this city.”

Teixeira says that there are other perceptions about Clearwater that also are hurting the city, such as the permitting process, which she says has the reputation of being “difficult and arduous.”

“I’ve gone through the process myself,” she says. “I’ve helped other businesses go through it, and it needs to be revamped and streamlined and more user-friendly. Once we do that, I think that it’s going to send a message that we’re welcoming businesses here.”

Teixeira has raised a little more than $21,020 since entering the race. Smith-Levin has taken in $26,844. Election Day is March 15, 2022.