Florida Politics - Campaigns & Elections. Lobbying & Government.

Mitch PerryOctober 19, 2017

Orlando, St. Petersburg, Wilton Manors, and West Palm Beach each achieved a perfect 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index, the only nationwide rating system of LGBTQ inclusion in municipal law, policy and services. All told, 68 cities across the country achieved the top score from the organization. “‘This year’s MEI paints a vivid […]

Mitch PerryOctober 19, 2017

Police Chief Tony Holloway has become an issue in the St. Petersburg mayoral campaign, as Rick Kriseman has been on the offensive about public safety, especially with crime down from the era of past mayor and present candidate Rick Baker. The two squared off Wednesday night during an hour-long debate sponsored by the Council on Neighborhood Associations and moderated […]

Mitch PerryOctober 16, 2017

Hours before Hurricane Irma made its trek toward the Tampa Bay area, a territorial dispute erupted between Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn and Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill. The debate was over the mayor’s announcement earlier that day to impose an overnight curfew in Tampa. Merrill argued he was the only person in the county to have such jurisdiction, a claim […]

Mitch PerryOctober 12, 2017

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After running a couple of feel-good ads attempting to rebrand their candidate as hipper than he lets on, the Rick Baker campaign Thursday unleashed a thirty-second ad blasting incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman as incompetent. The television ad criticizes the incumbent for going over budget on the Pier, spending too much on staff salaries, failing to […]

Drew WilsonOctober 12, 2017

The race for St. Pete mayor has already gone down as the costliest election in city history, and new campaign finance reports show no lulls in the arms race between incumbent Rick Kriseman and former two-term Mayor Rick Baker. Kriseman, who won the Aug. 29 primary election by 69 votes, jutted ahead of his competition […]

Mitch PerryOctober 11, 2017

As the St. Petersburg mayoral race enters its final month, the Rick Baker campaign is making a case that Rick Kriseman is bad at managing the city’s budget. In a series of emails and tweets, Baker campaign manager Nick Hansen blasted Kriseman for dipping into reserves while the city takes in record levels of revenue. And […]

Mitch PerryOctober 10, 2017

The poverty rate for blacks has never been lower in St. Petersburg, with the decline four times greater than the black poverty rate across Florida. That’s according to advocates working on that vexing issue, citing the latest U.S. Census data. Officials with the Agenda 2020 plan say that the black poverty rate has dropped 17.3 […]

Peter SchorschOctober 10, 2017

Mail ballots have started to hit the streets in St. Pete cend incumbent Mayor Rick Kriseman has started to pound the pavement again ahead of the second round of his re-election battle against former two-term Mayor Rick Baker. Kriseman and his wife, Kerry, joined their corps of volunteers and staffers kicking off their get-out-the-vote efforts […]

Peter SchorschOctober 2, 2017

How awful are mayoral candidate Rick Baker‘s new television ads? They’re so awful that the Rick Kriseman campaign is paying to sponsor a post on Facebook that essentially promotes them. Think about that for a moment: Baker’s opponent is so confident that ads designed to make a positive impression on voters actually end up doing […]

Peter SchorschAugust 29, 2017

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St. Petersburg’s “battle of the two Ricks” is not over yet. Voters have made their choice in the primary, advancing former two-term Mayor Rick Baker and first-term Mayor Rick Kriseman to the November election. Baker led for most of the evening Tuesday; but in the end, he slipped behind with 48.23 percent of the vote […]

Tag: Rick Kriseman

Four Florida cities receive perfect score from LGBTQ national organization

Rick Baker says he’d retain Tony Holloway as police chief, but …

As for curfews, Bob Gualtieri says he is not a fan

Rick Baker ad assails Rick Kriseman as ‘most incompetent mayor’ in U.S.

September brings Rick Kriseman $215K, Rick Baker $185K

The two Ricks argue about city spending during latest St. Pete mayoral forum

Advocates cite statistics to say poverty is being reduced in South St. Pete

Rick Kriseman pounds the pavement as ballots hit the streets

Here’s why Rick Baker’s latest ads are so awful

St. Pete mayoral race goes into OT: Runoff election needed