Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryOctober 27, 2017

Julian Castro came to St. Petersburg Friday, where he took a tour of the flagship offices of the Pinellas Ex-offender Re-entry Coalition (PERC). During his visit, the former Housing and Urban Development Secretary praised the work of St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman in helping give ex-felons opportunities for a second chance, as well as (politely) take issue […]

Mitch PerryOctober 27, 2017

Pinellas/Pasco County State Attorney Bernie McCabe will not be filing criminal charges associated with the sewage dumps that occurred in St. Petersburg in 2015 and 2016, The Tampa Bay Times reports. His comments come less than a day after the Tampa Bay Business Journal reported that McCabe was looking into possible charges against individuals based on the […]

Mitch PerryOctober 27, 2017

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With just 11 days left in the St. Petersburg mayoral contest, the Florida Democratic Party is airing a new ad bashing Rick Baker. The 30-second ad begins with footage of an angry Baker speaking after receiving Aug. 29 primary results. His face then morphs into Donald Trump‘s visage, while the narrator criticizes him for failing […]

Phil AmmannOctober 27, 2017

Rick Baker is not quite finished with Kevin King. In a new radio ad released Friday morning, the former two-term mayor is once again blasting incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman for a “lack of judgment” in hiring King as his longtime chief of staff. Throughout the week, Baker’s campaign continually hammered his opponent on […]

Mitch PerryOctober 26, 2017

The news hasn’t been great lately for Rick Kriseman, but at least Joe Biden has his back. The former vice president has recorded a robocall in support of the Democratic incumbent and come out with a formal endorsement in the St. Petersburg mayoral contest, twelve days before voters go to the polls (though plenty already are […]

Mitch PerryOctober 26, 2017

For the third consecutive day, Rick Baker‘s campaign is working to keep Rick Kriseman chief of staff Kevin King in the news cycle. This time, they are seizing on a Tampa Bay Times editorial published Thursday calling on Kriseman to unseal court records regarding King’s arrest sixteen years ago. In 2001, as a 22-year-old Pinellas County substitute schoolteacher, […]

Mitch PerryOctober 26, 2017

St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman is “a little disappointed” by how this year’s mayoral election is becoming the most expensive in the city’s history, with final totals likely to rise above $3 million. “When you really think about it, what that $3 million could have done if we were spending that money on something else,” […]

Mitch PerryOctober 25, 2017

After a nearly two-year search, Hillsborough County officials apparently settled on a location they would like Tampa Bay Rays to entertain a possible relocation. Maybe. As the Tampa Bay Times reports, Hillsborough Commissioner Ken Hagan identified a 14-acre site in the southern part of historic Ybor City, with the northern edge starting three blocks south of 7th […]

Peter SchorschOctober 25, 2017

You knew it would come to this. At some point in the titanic contest between Rick Kriseman and Rick Baker, the race would pivot from a wonky debate about budgets, sewers, and staffing to a bare-knuckled fight for not just who will occupy the mayor’s office, but the future of St. Petersburg. On Wednesday, Baker’s […]

Mitch PerryOctober 25, 2017

A day after Rick Baker‘s political committee aired a new ad criticizing Rick Kriseman‘s character and judgment for hiring Kevin King as his chief of staff, the mayor weighed in, calling it “sad” that his opponent is choosing to focus on his top aide. “It’s always sad when you see ads that are personal,” Kriseman […]

Tag: Rick Baker

Julian Castro visits St. Pete, praises Southside CRA program

Bernie McCabe opts not to pursue criminal charges in sewage case

New FDP ad morphs ‘Changed Man’ Rick Baker into Donald Trump

Rick Baker not yet finished with Kevin King, ad blasts Rick Kriseman ‘tolerance’

‘Bidenator’ on the line: Joe Biden cuts robocall for Rick Kriseman

Rick Baker campaign again calls to release Kevin King court records

Rick Kriseman ‘disappointed’ by $3M price tag for St. Pete mayor’s race

Rick Kriseman still bullish on the Rays staying in St. Pete

How Rick Baker’s Kevin King ad explains everything you need to know about St. Pete mayoral race

Rick Kriseman calls Kevin King ad ‘sad’