In St. Petersburg, election season is well underway. Over the next week or so, St. Pete voters will get a chance to hear directly from candidates running for mayor and city council.
Former Mayor Rick Baker and incumbent Rick Kriseman took plenty of verbal shots at each other during the first debate of the 2017 St. Pete mayoral race. Although seven mayoral candidates are on the ballot, only Baker and Kriseman could participate at the forum hosted by Midtown’s Mt. Zion Progressive Missionary Baptist Church. Kriseman began the evening by reciting the main theme of his campaign: A choice between whether St. Petersburg residents want to go forward, or look backward in a bid…
The deadline to qualifying to run in this year’s election for mayor of St. Petersburg ended at 5 p.m. on Friday, and the field of candidates is now set at seven. The primary election is August 29. Leading the field are the two Rick’s – incumbent Rick Kriseman and former mayor Rick Baker. Also making it on the ballot are Ernisa Barnwell, Anthony Cates III, Theresa “Momma Tee” Lassiter, Jesse Nevel, the national chair of the Uhuru Solidarity Movement, and perennial candidate…
Rumors continue to circulate that former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker will soon announce his candidacy to challenge incumbent Rick Kriseman in November. If so, Baker may need to do it as soon as this week, as Kriseman continues to extend his financial advantage. The Kriseman campaign announced Monday that the campaign and an associated committee combined to raise over $100,000 in April for his re-election bid, bringing the total Kriseman for Mayor has raised to nearly $400,000. “Every day, I talk to people…
With the hire of a campaign manager earlier this week, Rick Kriseman‘s re-election campaign is in full swing, more than seven months before Election Day. Four members of the St. Petersburg City Council — Chair Darden Rice along with Lisa Wheeler-Bowman, Amy Foster and Charlie Gerdes — announced Wednesday that they are endorsing the mayor. “Councilmembers Rice, Wheeler-Bowman, Foster, and Gerdes have been great allies for progress on our city council,” Kriseman said in a statement. “I have worked closely with each…
The Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association and their members announced Monday they are endorsing St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman for re-election. “We are proud to support Mayor Kriseman, who has been a champion for the St. Petersburg police department,” said George Lofton, president of the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association. “Mayor Kriseman has shown steady leadership, and he’ll continue to fight for the resources the St. Petersburg Police Department needs to keep our officers and communities safe. Everything from the performance…