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'Strong' issues stir discourse at forum
By AMY WIMMER, Times Staff Writer ST. PETE BEACH -- On one side, mayoral candidate Steve Gordon and commission candidate Bill Allard make broad accusations of cronyism against the incumbents. On the other, Mayor Ward Friszolowski and District 3 Commissioner Pete Blank defend their records and the city's progress during their tenures. In the middle are the other three candidates in this year's election: Julie Christman and Anastasios "Taso" Papargiriou, who are focusing their campaigns on issues most relevant to the district they are vying to represent, and Ed Ruttencutter, who is pitching himself as an alternative to both of the city's factions. "They're just trying to replace the 'good ol' boy network' with their own new good ol' boy network," Ruttencutter said at a candidates forum Thursday night, drawing chuckles and applause from the audience. The seven candidates faced their opponents Thursday in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters, but the answers coming from the front of the City Commission chambers were disrupted by activity in the back of the room. Gordon and Allard supporters packed the room to cheer their candidates and, yes, boo Friszolowski and Gordon. More than once moderator Gretchen Flaherty asked Gordon's supporters for quiet. A group of people who are not St. Pete Beach residents but refused to identify themselves passed out anti-Gordon fliers and reminded voters about Gordon's past business troubles as a developer, which led to 30 lawsuits filed against him. He still owes more than $100,000 in court judgments. The people exchanged harsh words with Pass-a-Grille resident John DaSilva, who invited them to "step outside." A St. Pete Beach police officer ended the argument. The two officers on duty at the forum also stepped in to break up a handful of other heated discussions Thursday night. "This happens when there are strong issues," Flaherty said after the forum. The mayor's raceOn land development regulations: Gordon accuses city officials of trying to help local developers by creating new land development regulations that allow them to build bigger, denser buildings. The city has agreed to table plans and reconsider them after developing a master plan. "Ward and Pete are trying to fool the public into believing they were always for the master plan," Gordon said. "Those who attended the hearings know otherwise." Yet Gordon sometimes overstates his arguments when explaining links between city officials and their "friends." He accused the city of using the same insurance agent, Millard Gamble, for 20 years without accepting new bids from insurance agents. Gamble has been the city's agent for seven years. Friszolowski said part of the challenge in creating new regulations is ensuring quality development, such as landscape and drainage requirements. He pointed to United Bank in St. Pete Beach, which replaced a gas station and was a welcome improvement to the area. Friszolowski also reminded voters that the City Commission has guaranteed they will not include building height or density increases in the land development regulations they approve. On Gulf Beaches Elementary: Friszolowski said he has met with the school superintendent, Howard Hinesley, and plans to be part of the district's five-year inspection of Gulf Beaches next year. The city wishes it could replace its aging school, but that decision is in the School Board's hands. Friszolowski said, the School Board has to "try and keep politics out of school building," Friszolowski said. He added that he, as an architect, has offered some pro bono services to the school district to help with Gulf Beaches. Gordon said the city hasn't tried hard enough. "The city of St. Pete Beach has always looked in the box. We've never looked at creative solutions for getting a school there," Gordon said. "I'm not saying it would be easy, but I think it could be done." On Upham Beach: Gordon said he is disgusted with how much money the federal government has spent trying to keep sand on Upham Beach. "Anytime you do something seven or eight times and it doesn't work, obviously you need a new plan," Gordon said. He proposes building a 300-foot jetty at Upham to keep sand on the beach. Friszolowski said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has looked at such solutions and determined a jetty at Upham would only cause problems on other beaches, possibly including Pass-a-Grille. District 3On the perception that city officials favor their friends: Throughout his campaign, Allard has pointed to a myriad of problems that he says lead residents to distrust the city. He says that while the city justifies the expense of a new City Hall by pointing to three appraisals of the project, only one appraisal was for the land and building together, and that appraisal states that poor soil quality would negate the appraisal. He points to a report that states the soil beneath City Hall is bad. Allard also criticizes the city for not taking bids on a new audiovisual system for the new City Hall and a new phone system. Blank said the complicated deal allowed the city to build a new City Hall without taking bids. Because the builder was supplying the land, and the city would not officially own the building until it was complete, the city attorney said the city could legally accept the deal. This led Allard to accuse attorney Jim Devito of pandering to the developer -- a charge that infuriated Blank. "The idea that any of our city officials are in a good ol' boy's pocket is libelous in my opinion," Blank said. "I've endured many attacks along with our mayor and our commission. The idea that somehow your commission is deceptive is untrue." Ruttencutter plugged himself as "the only independent network you're hearing from tonight" and pointed out that he is unconnected to developers or builders. Allard is a commercial real estate developer in St. Petersburg; Blank is friends with Paul Skipper, who is building the new City Hall. "Let's get over some of the past things that have been done that we can't do anything about," Ruttencutter said. "I do minimal advertising. I try to do maximum communication." District 1 raceOn the city's new waterfront park: Papargiriou wants to build a concert hall at the site of the existing City Hall, a facility Papargiriou said will offer "something for all ages." He also thinks it is important for St. Pete Beach to have a community swimming pool. Christman called the park "a wonderful way for the city to give back to the people." She said the site will be large enough to accommodate several amenities, and is particularly excited about what the park will add to the city's aesthetics for visitors arriving on the Corey Causeway. On Gulf Beaches Elementary: Papargiriou said the city should urge the School Board to build a new school on the site of the aging Gulf Beaches Elementary and should not accept anything less. "We need to build a brand new school there for our kids," he said. Christman, who is a teacher at Gulf Beaches, said she understands that the county is reluctant to put more money into a barrier island school because construction costs are more expensive in coastal areas. She supports improvements to Gulf Beaches, particularly on the building's rear side, which is not as lushly landscaped as the front of the building. On traffic calming during Blind Pass Road construction: Papargiriou is opposed to speed humps because they can be destructive to cars. He also said he has talked to the police department about stepping up enforcement and having an increased presence on Gulf Boulevard on the city's north end, where some motorists are trying to drive to avoid construction on Blind Pass Road. Christman said she favors more speed limit signs, strictly enforced speeding fines and increased enforcement over speed humps. "If you speed down there, you're going to get caught, and you're going to pay," she said.
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