Platform key is minority contracts

Vincent K. Hopkins says he is running for state House District 55 because he wants to push for more economic programs designed to help minorities.

The St. Petersburg Republican said he is especially interested in affirmative action programs that would require state government and private businesses to award a percentage of their construction contracts to minority firms.

"There should be nothing built in St. Petersburg without minority participation, nothing," Hopkins said.

Hopkins, 40, is running in newly redrawn House District 55, which includes southern St. Petersburg and portions of Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties. He hopes to unseat the Democratic incumbent, Frank Peterman Jr. A Libertarian candidate, Thomas Kilmon, also is running.

Hopkins says his "mentor" is Marion Barry, the former Washington, D.C., mayor and a Democrat. Hopkins said he worked on Barry's campaigns in Washington.

Although Barry is widely known for a cocaine arrest while in office, Hopkins said Barry also began an aggressive minority contract program.

"He empowered black folk. He made black people wealthy," said Hopkins.

Republican Gov. Jeb Bush has eliminated affirmative action in state contracting and university admissions. Hopkins acknowledges he disagrees with Republican leaders on affirmative action.

"The Republican agenda, I'll follow nine times out of 10," he said.

Hopkins said he also strongly supports restoring voting rights for felons after their time is served.

Hopkins has known Peterman since childhood but says he is running because he will be more aggressive in pursuing the needs of the district.

Hopkins said the issues in the race are so important that he is willing to run even if it sheds light on aspects of his life of which he is not proud.

He was arrested in 1988 on misdemeanor charges of battery, trespassing and making harassing phone calls in connection with a girlfriend in Tampa. The charges were dropped after he completed a pretrial intervention program.

He also pleaded guilty in 1987 to refusing to sign a traffic citation after he was stopped for driving with a suspended license.

Records show Hopkins driver's license has been suspended more recently, from April 30 to May 21 of this year. Hopkins said this was because he owed child support, which is now paid up,

In 1999, the mother of one of his children alleged in a request for a temporary restraining order that Hopkins had hit her and acted abusively. Hopkins denied these allegations. The injunction was dismissed after the woman failed to show up for a hearing.

Hopkins said he's proud of helping to found the St. Petersburg Area Black Chamber of Commerce and becoming its first executive director. He quit in a dispute over the handling of money. "I did what they called co-mingling," Hopkins said, but added he also put thousands of his own money into the organization.

Hopkins graduated from Boca Ciega High School and Howard University and founded a temporary employment firm. He is married and has four children.

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