St. Petersburg Mayor's Race 2013 - What Kriseman and Congemi were saying on the Issues

Kriseman: I support keeping the approach and pier head open to pedestrian traffic for residents and visitors

St. Petersburg, Fl

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.

Reposted from June 23, 2013

2013 Mayoral Candidates: Anthony Cates, Paul Congemi, Kathleen Ford, Bill Foster, Rick Kriseman. Two, Paul Congemi and Rick Kriseman, are running in the 2017 Mayoral election.

In the 2013 Post It's Time To Go On the Record, I asked each 2013 registered St. Petersburg candidates to answer seven questions:

1.  Should the LENS come to a referendum, will you support voting to stop the project?

2. Do you support closing the Pier?

3. Will you move to end the red-light camera program?

4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?

5. Do you support the neighborhood association concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?

6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?

7. What specifically what will you do to begin to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete?

Below are the responses of the two 2013 candidates in the 2017 Mayoral election.

Paul Congemi:

1.    Should the LENS come to a referendum, will you support voting to stop the project?

Of course. I believe in carrying out the will of the people.

2. Do you support closing the Pier?

 Not now. It should be kept open until we know what comes next. That means after the referendum vote.

3. Will you move to end the red-light camera program?

      See my website.

4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?

No, but I don't think I can stop them from talking.

5. Do you support the neighborhood association concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?

Yes, neighborhood associations are wonderful. The energy to make a good association must come from the residents, though. This isn't something you can bring about from city hall. I support neighborhood policing as one way to bring more cohesiveness to the neighborhood.

6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?

Yes. There were several actions taken by the police that were just really bone-headed, like bulldozing a house to get to a criminal holed up in the attic. We don't need bone-heads in city government.

7. What specifically what will you do to begin to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete? Not nice to insinuate that one part of town has the only crime problem. Steve Galvin had the best answer, so ditto what Steve said.

Rick Kriseman:

1. Should the LENS come to a referendum, will you support voting to stop the project?

Yes.

2. Do you support closing the Pier?

I support keeping the approach and pier head open to pedestrian traffic for residents and visitors to enjoy until we move forward with a new pier (not The Lens).

3. Will you move to end the red-light camera program?

No.  If utilized properly, the use of red light cameras should be for safety purposes only, not for the purposes of making money (the goal is for driver behavior to change, which would ultimately result in revenues dropping and eventually no revenues flowing into the city for the use of the lights).  Red light camera placement priority should be at the intersections with the highest incidents of accidents.  I also don't support right on red tickets being issued via cameras.

4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?

My preference is for the team to remain in St. Pete and to thrive here. If that proves to be unrealistic - if the Rays simply do not want to be here any longer - then they should be given the opportunity to pay an exploratory fee in order to look at other locations, provided those locations are in the Tampa Bay area. Throughout the negotiating process, I will ensure that our taxpayers are protected. While a sense of regionalism is important, especially in tough economic times, my primary duty will be to the residents of St. Petersburg. 

5. Do you support the neighborhood association concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?

St. Petersburg is home to many unique, culturally rich, and historically significant neighborhoods. These neighborhoods deserve the full support of city hall.

As mayor, I will encourage effective and influential neighborhood associations by funding the Neighborhood Partnership Grants program and support staff and treating our Codes Compliance Assistance Department as a budget priority.  As we continue to emerge from the economic downturn and related budget cuts, we must look to restore funding to the areas that were hit the hardest, and that includes Codes.

My goal is for each neighborhood or area to have its own vibe, to be its own destination. Visually appealing signage at neighborhood entrances and wayfaring signage in populated areas is an easy first step and a resource for both residents and visitors.  But to truly strengthen the identity of a neighborhood we must better promote its distinct flavor and help tell its story.

6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?

I’m not going to discuss specific personnel changes while I’m campaigning, but with a much-needed new police station on the horizon, an opportunity exist to rebrand our department in order to boost morale and to rededicate our department to its three major tenets – Respect, Accountability, and Integrity.   I believe that this is an ideal time to begin a new chapter for the St. Petersburg Police.

7. What specifically will you do to begin to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete?

First, I am a supporter of the traditional community policing philosophy which emphasizes the relationship between the police officer and the neighborhood in an effort to promote trust and cooperation.

But one of the most important things we can do is focus on education. A strong public education system fuels our economic engine and has a positive impact on public safety. That’s why the mayor and all municipal leaders must work with our schools to help our young people succeed.

As a state representative, I passed legislation requiring the Department of Education to make service-learning curriculum available to our public schools. Integrating meaningful community service with instruction and reflection, service-learning enriches the learning experience, teaches civic responsibility, and strengthens communities. As mayor, I will work to have service-learning implemented in all of St. Petersburg’s public schools.

I will continue and strengthen the Mayor’s Mentors & More program and seek out additional corporate partners to assist with volunteering, resources, and strategic planning. And because not all students and young adults take the same path, protecting the Job Corps program located in Midtown will be a priority of my administration.

Finally, as I believe crime is the outcome of many unfavorable conditions, including the lack of jobs paying a living wage, we must do what we can to understand and address these root causes in order to create a safer St. Pete for future generations.

How well do you think Rick Kriseman has done?

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Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign 

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