Mayor Bill Foster believes St. Petersburg is far above status quo. Challenger Rick Kriseman thinks a “better St. Petersburg” has yet to be achieved. The two mayoral candidates attempted to support their respective claims at the Oct. 14 debate, hosted by USF St. Petersburg.
As his tagline of the evening, Foster adopted the phrase, “We’re not your grandmother’s St. Pete anymore.”
Touting accomplishments such as lowering crime rates, homelessness and unemployment, he opened the debate by asking residents to judge him on his record.
“It’s Mr. Kriseman’s task tonight to prove a point; to demonstrate that were just status quo,” he said.
Challenger Rick Kriseman doesn’t have tagline for the city just yet.
“What concerns me is that if we don’t make a change, that we’ll continue to be dealing, four years from now, with the same problems we’ve been dealing with for the past four years,” he said.
He cited issues such as decreases in small business and the number of employed residents, as well as low scoring public schools.
With the fate of the downtown waterfront currently up for discussion, candidates were asked what role they see the waterfront playing in the city’s future.
“I envision this as being a large, high paying job creator and job corridor for the city of St. Petersburg,” Foster said, explaining how the developed waterfront area needs to extend down Beach Drive South, past the Dali Museum, to make room for something like a new museum or stadium for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Kriseman sees the waterfront as a source of economic development and wants to enlarge the footprint of downtown universities and hospitals. He has plans for the city’s port, which he feels has been “underutilized and neglected.”
“We have a huge opportunity to become the research hub for the entire Gulf of Mexico,” he said.
In Foster’s rebuttal, he said he’d been communicating with port authorities in Tampa and other neighboring cities.
Candidates were next asked about the future of 34th Street South.
“Residents in south St. Petersburg and Midtown are really limited in their choices and opportunities and that’s something that hasn’t changed in the last four years,” Kriseman said.
“We want to see vibrant businesses, public art and people that aren’t having to drive 20 minutes from their homes to get something to eat or go clothes shopping.”
Foster discussed how having a cruise port terminal would increase economic development in the area.
“Imagine the possibility of 10,000 visitors coming to this corridor every day … That’s a game changer,” he said.
The candidates used the next few minutes to argue over the Midtown Sweetbay’s closing. Foster claimed he was unaware of the store’s financial strife. Kriseman remained unconvinced.
Both candidates believe in keeping the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg but differ on tactic.
“This relationship between the ownership and Mr. Foster appears to be broken,” Kriseman said. “There seems to be a lack of trust in them and we’re still in the same place we were four years ago … We need to have honest dialogue.”
“Mr. Kriseman is under the very naïve impression that this is about the Rays desire to stay,” Foster said.
“The reality is, Mr. Sternberg, who believes in this team and and believes in this region, is up against 29 other owners and the commissioner of Major League Baseball, who do not see Tampa Bay as a viable baseball market.”
Foster feels it is necessary to uphold the integrity of the use agreement, which he said is “the only reason [the Rays] came to Tampa Bay in the first place.”
Regarding the city’s homeless problem, Kriseman said shifting people to other areas in the county — one of the city’s previous efforts — is not a long-term solution. He said he would address the issue by increasing jobs, education and funding for rehab and psychological counseling.
Foster mentioned the 500-bed homeless shelter in Clearwater called Pinellas Safe Harbor that started under his leadership. He feels the city has done a good job meeting the needs of the chronic homeless.
“Pinellas Safe Harbor has been a portal into self-sufficiency,” he said. “If we didn’t have this thing here four years ago … you’d have been stepping over hundreds and hundreds of people coming into City Hall. And they’re not there anymore, thank goodness.”
Candidates were asked what the current city budget says about its priorities.
Foster said it shows that he places a high priority on public safety, parks and recreation and essential need services. He also stressed construction projects and economic development.
“Its working,” he said. “There are cranes everywhere”
Kriseman acknowledged the amount of new construction, but took issue with it being only downtown. He said the budget concerns him, especially in areas where funding for things like libraries and public pools was cut.
Kriseman said his budget priorities would be focused on jobs, education, better neighborhoods and better schools.
“This is an exciting time in St. Petersburg, but we’re not going to get there if we maintain the status quo,” Kriseman said in his closing statement.
“If we’re going to become the better St. Petersburg that we can be, we have come together as a community, and that’s what I’m going to do as mayor.”
Foster concluded by saying St. Petersburg is “absolutely not status quo” and listing accolades the city acquired under his leadership, such as best date destination and best city for dog parks.
He told the audience to ask themselves three questions before voting.
“Do you love the city of St. Petersburg?”
“Coming out of the recession, do you believe you’re better off than you were four years ago?”
“Do you believe the city is going in the right direction?”
According to a poll Foster cited, 76 percent of residents do believe the city is headed in the right direction. The bigger question for voters, however, will be whether his leadership is the result of that.
The general election for mayor of St. Petersburg is Nov. 5.
The televised debate can be watched in full at stpete.org/stpetetv.
USFSP will also host a city council candidate debate on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at City Hall.
