Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Drew WilsonNovember 7, 2017

St. Petersburg voters chose Tuesday to give Mayor Rick Kriseman a second term and keep City Councilmember Darden Rice in place for another four years, both of which were cheered by LGBTQ rights group Equality Florida. “Tonight the LGBTQ community in Tampa Bay saw two of its most vocal champions re-elected for a second term. […]

Mitch PerryNovember 7, 2017

Since launching his re-election bid this spring, Rick Kriseman‘s political strategy was a call to keep the city’s forward momentum by keeping him in charge, as opposed to going back to the past with Rick Baker, who served as St. Petersburg mayor during most of the aughts. As for Baker, the former mayor made the race a referendum on Kriseman, […]

Mitch PerryNovember 6, 2017

Though rarely (if ever) in agreement with Donald Trump, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman did echo some of the president’s first comments Monday about America’s latest mass shooting. “It’s not about taking people’s rights under the Second Amendment away but making sure that we keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have […]

Mitch PerryNovember 6, 2017

Facing a diminished marketing budget, officials responsible for getting people signed up for the Affordable Care Act in the Tampa Bay area received another boost from Congressman Charlie Crist. “It’s urgent that we get the word out,” the St. Petersburg Democrat said at a news conference Monday morning in front of the Johnnie Ruth Clarke Community […]

Mitch PerryNovember 6, 2017

If Rick Kriseman ends up surviving Rick Baker‘s formidable challenge to be re-elected Tuesday for another four years as St. Petersburg mayor, it will be despite the intense hammering he received at the hands of the Tampa Bay Times editorial page. The Times recommended Baker in advance of both the Aug. 29 primary and the […]

Mitch PerryNovember 4, 2017

Rick Baker will take endorsements from a squad of ex-mayors over those from out-of-town politicos. The comments from the former two-term mayor came after Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum was the latest prominent Democrat to stump for incumbent Rick Kriseman during the final weekend of the city’s mayoral race. “I honestly don’t think that’s going to help him,” Baker told reporters […]

Mitch PerryNovember 3, 2017

He’s already been endorsed by Barack Obama and Joe Biden; now Cory Booker is putting his stature behind Rick Kriseman‘s re-election bid. Friday afternoon, the New Jersey Democratic senator cut a robocall for the St. Petersburg mayor. “Rick Kriseman is the clear choice for St. Pete mayor,” Booker said in a statement. “He is a progressive and a proven leader, […]

Mitch PerryNovember 2, 2017

It’s no secret that the Florida Legislature has been pushing policies in recent years that would take away local control from municipal governments. While most of the criticism has come from big-city Democratic mayors like Bob Buckhorn and Rick Kriseman, Republicans like Kathleen Peters have also bashed Tallahassee’s so-called “assault” on home rule when announcing […]

Mitch PerryNovember 1, 2017

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A final report by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission made public last week recommended 89 felonies and 103 first degree misdemeanors against the city of St. Petersburg based on a series of environmental violations relating to sewage dumps from 2015-2016. That bit of information leads a new attack ad by Seamless Florida, the […]

Phil AmmannNovember 1, 2017

In early voting for Pinellas County and the St. Petersburg municipal elections, more than 104,000 people have now cast a ballot. As of Wednesday morning, Pinellas Supervisor of Elections Deborah Clark posted new early vote and vote-by-mail numbers; of by-mail voting out of 265,039 mail ballots sent, about 39 percent – 103,936 – returned. Adding […]

Tag: Rick Kriseman

Equality Florida celebrates Rick Kriseman, Darden Rice wins

Rick Baker faults Rick Kriseman for partisan politics in St. Pete elections

Rick Kriseman talks lack of mental health funding after Texas church massacre

Charlie Crist confident Obamacare will remain intact

Rick Baker thinks media coverage of the race was fair. Rick Kriseman? Not so much

Rick Baker says his local endorsements are better than Rick Kriseman’s out-of-towners

Cory Booker records robocall for Rick Kriseman in St. Pete mayoral contest

Rick Baker won’t protect St. Pete from Tallahassee attack on home rule, Florida Democrats say

Latest Rick Baker attack ad pops Rick Kriseman over sewage report

Over 104K votes now cast ahead of Pinellas County, St. Pete elections