During her campaign, Suzanne Vale offered several ideas that she said could help revitalize Oldsmar's downtown. On Tuesday, voters gave her that chance.
By AARON SHAROCKMAN
Published March 10, 2004
OLDSMAR - Suzanne Vale got her start in city politics as a champion for dogs, but Tuesday, she won over Oldsmar voters with a campaign focused on the future of downtown.
With all votes counted, Vale easily outpaced former City Council member Ed Richards in a race for a council seat being vacated by Marcelo Caruso.
"We're getting ready to break out the champagne," Vale said Tuesday night. "I thought I would win, I felt I could win, but I wasn't 100 percent sure."
Richards said he would remain involved in local politics.
"I thank my people," Richards said. "Life goes on. I got a congressman to work for. I have a senatorial campaign to work on."
Vale focused her campaign on the revitalization of the city's downtown. She proposed turning a stretch of State Street land into a pedestrian square filled with shops, restaurants and upscale apartments. She modeled her idea for the former SouthTrust Bank property, which is now owned by the city, on New Orleans' Jackson Square.
Vale also pushed a plan to build the city's proposed cultural arts center next to the planned library along the north end of St. Petersburg Drive near State Street.
Tuesday night, Vale said her ideas for downtown helped propel her to victory.
"I want to see some kind of a downtown by the time I'm done" on the council, Vale said. "We have everything in place. It's just a matter of finding the players - players with deep pockets."
Born and raised in England, Vale recently led a fight to allow dogs on a portion of city-owned beach. A former nurse who has lived in Oldsmar since 1992, Vale, 46, now co-owns a mortgage company with her husband.
"There's a lot I want to accomplish," Vale said.
Throughout the day, voters trickled in to the city's three polling places. Richards campaigned for last-minute votes outside the Gull Aire Village clubhouse, where residents in two precincts cast ballots. Vale spent much of her morning in front of City Hall with a handful of supporters waving campaign signs to passing drivers and wearing red "Vote Vale" T-shirts.
"It's going well," Vale said about 11 a.m. "But who knows what's going to happen?"
At Gull Aire, Richards sat alone in a lawn chair outside the clubhouse and greeted voters as they approached. He said success in two predominantly retirement communities, Gull Aire and neighboring Harbor Palms, would be pivotal to his election. Those two communities voted at Gull Aire.
"It's going pretty good," Richards said at about 10:30 a.m. "I know I can win here."
Jim Hemmes, a Gull Aire resident since 1982, cast his vote for Richards. He said Richards, who served two terms on the City Council from 1997 to 2001, was a sure bet.
"He's reliable," said Hemmes, 75. "I know what I'm getting with Ed. With the other one, I'm not knocking her, but there is a little fear of the unknown.
"I know Ed. I trust Ed. And he's been there for us before."
Roberta Peterson, a 65-year-old Gull Aire resident, wants a new face on the City Council. She voted for Vale.
"I want more women in politics," Peterson said. "The men, they don't seem to know what they're doing. We could use a change."
While Vale focused on the fate of downtown, Richards touted his political savvy and connections to state and federal legislators. A former postal employee, Richards volunteered with campaigns for Gov. Jeb Bush;, U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs; and state Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor.
Richards, who said he helped the city win a $150,000 state grant for field construction at Canal Park during his first stint on the council, said he would position the city for more state money in the future.
Richards, 63, is a former letter carrier and U.S. Army sergeant who is now retired. A high school graduate, Richards was elected to the City Council in 1997 and re-elected in 1999 after running unsuccessfully in 1995.
He isn't sure what went wrong this time.
"I have no idea," Richards said Tuesday night. "I'm proud of what I accomplished. There was low turnout. A lot of people didn't come out."
In two referendum questions, city voters split on a pair of proposed charter amendments Tuesday. Voters overwhelmingly agreed to change the time the council meets to certify city election results from the day following the election to a week after votes are cast.
But another measure that would have had the council appoint a charter review committee every five years was defeated. Most voters chose to have the committee continue to meet every three years.
