The Tampa Bay Times’ Ernest Hooper offered a tantalizing nugget in today’s newspaper.
“David Jolly and Mayor Rick Kriseman faced off over St. Petersburg’s sewer issues. Will they battle again in a mayoral race?”
Wow! Wouldn’t that race be exciting? Jolly, coming off his narrow loss to Charlie Crist, seeks political redemption by challenging a popular — but not unbeatable — incumbent mayor.
Just think of the clash of ideas between the maverick Republican and the progressive Democrat.
And the staff battles … wouldn’t they be worth the price of admission? Nick Hansen versus Kevin King. Sarah Bascom versus Benjamin Kirby. Let’s just skip “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and get right to the 2017 campaign trail!
Except…
Jolly can’t run for Mayor of St. Petersburg in 2017. Not even if he moved tomorrow into a condo on Beach Drive.
The City Charter is pretty clear on such things.
The qualifications for mayoral candidates are governed by Section 3 of the City Charter, which requires that a candidate be a resident for at least the past 12 months, as of the date of the primary election, which is August 29, 2017.
On that date of earlier this year, Jolly was a resident of Indian Shores.
So, no, there won’t be a Jolly v. Kriseman donnybrook in 2017. But it was fun to daydream for a moment. Thanks, Hoop.
