In Anna Paulina Luna’s reelection race, Helene recovery pauses politics

GULFPORT — At The Tiki Bar and Grill on Gulfport's Shore Boulevard, Debbie Amis surveyed a patio full of questions.

Whose tarp is this, the business owner wondered? Are these chairs still good?

A soggy trivial pursuit card found in the debris asked: What is the least expensive and most popular fruit? (The other side of the card answered: the banana.)

But the most pressing query at noon on Saturday was what to do with a massive chunk of a wooden deck that had washed into the middle of the bar's patio.

More than half a dozen strangers milled around the Tiki's perimeter, sizing up this particular piece of debris. Among them was Whitney Fox, the Democrat running for Congress locally.

At the same time, eight miles north, her opponent, incumbent Republican U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, hosted a supply drive at a Baptist church for community members affected by the storm.

With less than 40 days until Election Day, Luna and Fox are in a tight race for the Pinellas-based Congressional District 13 seat. But the esoteric and petty debates that often dominate campaigns were largely set aside this weekend. There were more important matters to attend to on this Saturday.

Matters such as: Do we have enough people to move this hunk of wood onto the growing pile of trash?

When she arrived at the Tiki, Fox was visibly shaken by the devastation around her. Since the storm hit, campaign volunteers have been asking her how best to help their neighbors. With so much to do, so many lives to get back on track, Fox has been urging supporters to go to flooded neighborhoods. Help people drag soggy possessions to the curb. Deliver a bottle of water.

Luna's team is taking matters into its own hands, too. On Saturday, the first-term U.S. representative urged people to bring water, diapers, trash bags and other helpful supplies to Pinellas Park's Community Bible Baptist Church.

At the Tiki Bar and Grill, Fox took a position under a plank in the middle of the giant chunk of deck. Some of her aides also grabbed onto the musty wood, joining with bar employees and others in the community — most strangers to each other.

It took some doing. A healthy discourse emerged about which side to grip. The crowd decided to slide other debris under the wooden bulk to help it along toward its destination a dozen yards away. (This Tampa Bay Times reporter also gave a push or two.)

With a "wham" and a cheer, the deck joined its garbage brethren. One small question in Gulfport had been answered.