Lisa Wheeler-Brown’s City Council victory Tuesday wasn’t just a victory for her – it was a victory for women. For the first time in St. Petersburg’s history three of the city’s eight council members will be women.
And that represents a win for diversity in general. The current council, and the one that will still exist after inaugurations in January, also contains three openly gay councilmembers including the two women currently on council, Darden Rice and Amy Foster, and Steve Kornell.
That’s a pretty huge show of the city’s growing shift toward progressive ideals.
St. Pete is home to the largest Pride Festival in all of Florida.
When Greenlight Pinellas was defeated, the transit initiative that appealed most to progressives, St. Pete voters were the ones that had overwhelmingly supported it. Had that been a citywide initiative, it would have won.
All but one City Council member are Democrats. So too is the Mayor.
The city is taking steps to soon launch a bike share program to eliminate vehicular congestion in downtown.
Residents can drive two blocks in and around downtown seeing public art displayed on any one of dozens of wall murals. The city even celebrates that rich arts culture through an annual mural arts celebration as part of a larger month-long celebration of the arts in general.
Mayor Rick Kriseman wants to put $1 million into an arts endowment. We’re the No. 2 midsize destination for the arts.
During the past two years the city has seen progressive changes at City Hall including a wage theft ordinance, increased parental leave policies including paid paternal leave and “ban the box,” a program geared to giving ex-felons a better shot at getting a job with the city.
Kriseman even performed the first same-sex marriage ceremony when it became legal this year.
So it’s not really all that surprising that Wheeler-Brown’s election is making history.
In fact, the only time the city has really been criticized for not embracing diversity came from an anti-abortion activist who wanted the city to fly a pro-life flag for its 40 Days for Life Celebration. The mayor rejected his request.
