I don’t blame Jamie Bennett. I really don’t. Like I’ve said before, I bring out the best and the worst of people. From Jamie Bennett, I extracted a sense of energy and purpose he did not have before. He was a second-tier candidate before Barry and I got a hold of him and that’s where he will end up now that he doesn’t have us. You’re not a fool if you contribute to him, nor are you a fool if…
Jamie Bennett still contends that there was no strategy behind the distribution of his allotment of the tickets to the city’s suite at Tropicana Field, however, as reported today: “After Bennett announced his candidacy for mayor, he began giving his tickets to supporters and community leaders across and even outside the city, according to a St. Petersburg Times review. Bennett gave two of his campaign’s earliest supporters, arts leader Bob Devin Jones and St. Pete Beach Mayor Michael Finnerty, several…
The text of the letter includes this paragraph: “I am writing to you today to make you aware of a change in our campaign. After clear evidence of broken trust, I found it necessary to replace our campaign manager. As many of you may be aware, he came to the campaign with a very negative background. I am a firm believer in forgiveness and giving people second chances. However, unfortunately, he made some very poor judgment decisions which reflected negatively…
Neighborhood leader and St. Petersburg Preservation president Will Michaels sounds like he’s getting off the Jamie Bennett for mayor bandwagon. He returned a message from Bay Buzz today to talk about the allegations surrounding the Bennett campaign. He didn’t officially pull his endorsement, but he was hardly a cheerleader of Bennett’s prospects. “I think he’s a good man,” Michaels said of Bennett. “Obviously, he made a serious error in judgment by hiring Peter Schorsch. No doubt about it. It’s hurt…
City Council member Jamie Bennett has never been known as a policy wonk. But as a mayoral candidate, he seemed to have fresh ideas about what to do with the downtown waterfront, Pier and Tropicana Field. Turns out, those weren’t his ideas. Former campaign manager Peter Schorsch said he suggested that Bennett add a splash pad and conference center at the Pier, embrace a referendum to protect the downtown waterfront and keep the Tampa Bay Rays’ stadium in St. Petersburg.…
It’s all a mess now. No second second-chance. I left New York a year to the day after I left St. Petersburg. I felt rejuvenated, restored. In my first weeks back, I lectored at my church, joined the Friends of North Branch Library, saw old acquaintances never forgotten. Life was grand. I wrote an article for Creative Loafing. I won the fang-and-claw at Tiger Bay. I was back. I mean baaaccckkk. Then He came knocking. My old friend Politics. For…
St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Jamie Bennett is pitifully ignorant or disappointingly complicit when it comes to a series of campaign mistakes and second-rate dirty tricks. He has fired the campaign manager he never should have hired, but if he stays in the race that will not end the questions or remove the stains. Sorting out who knew what when between Bennett and his former campaign manager, Peter Schorsch, may be an exercise in futility. But some of their maneuvers cannot…