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By CARRIE JOHNSON, Times Staff WriterEven in his home precinct, challenger Ed Helm could muster only 37 percent of the vote.
ST. PETERSBURG - From Tyrone to Old Northeast and from Pinellas Point to Gateway, the results were indisputable.
Mayor Rick Baker trumped challenger Ed Helm in every one of the city's 115 precincts in Tuesday's election. Unlike past years, there was no true divide between east and west, blacks and whites or Republicans and Democrats.
"All you can say is people looked at the city's direction and said, "Good, good, good. Keep up the good work,"' said Darryl Paulson, who teaches a class on St. Petersburg politics at the University of South Florida.
As in 2001, voters turned out most strongly for Baker south of Central Avenue, including Midtown, and in northeast St. Petersburg, according to precinct-by-precinct results from the Pinellas Supervisor of Elections office.
Even in his home precinct in Pinellas Point, Helm mustered only 37 percent of the vote.
Baker did especially well among black voters. At New Hope Baptist Church, 2120 19th Street S, where 89 percent of voters are black, Baker captured 90 percent of the vote. He received 92 percent of the vote at Lakeview Presbyterian Church, 1310 22nd Ave. S, where 88 percent of voters are black.
At some Midtown area precincts, Baker even outpolled City Council member Earnest Williams, who is black and was running against a white person. Williams received 76 percent of the vote in his home precinct, surrounding the St. Petersburg Little Theater, 4025 31st St. S, while Baker got 81 percent.
Many black voters interviewed on election day said they approved of the recent progress in Midtown. Several large-scale projects in the area were launched by Baker, including a new post office and grocery store.
"I'm comfortable with the mayor," said Queen Davis, 50, who voted at Word of Life Fellowship Church Tuesday. "He's been for development in the black community and I like that."
For decades, the west side of the city was reliably anti-City Hall. Establishment candidates, like Baker, had to court the black vote and hope the south side of the city would boost them to victory.
While Baker did not fare as well in the west as he did in the south, he still won handily in precincts that went to his opponent in 2001.
Four years ago, the voters at Walter P. Fuller Recreation Center, 7891 26th Ave. N, turned out strongly for Kathleen Ford. On Tuesday, 65 percent voted for Baker.
The closest precinct was St. Petersburg Community Church, 4501 30th Ave. N, which gave Baker 54.7 percent of the vote.
City Council chairman Richard Kriseman, who represents the area, said he would have been surprised if Baker hadn't carried the west side.
"In the last four years there has been a significant investment of resources out here," he said. "The mayor talks about a seamless city, and I think he's really focused on creating that."
Helm, a former U.S. Department of Labor lawyer and chairman of the First Progressive Club of St. Petersburg, decided to use a partisan strategy to win votes. He made no secret of his political affiliation, telling voters he was a progressive Democrat. Even the national party got involved, with Tom McMahon, executive director of the Democratic National Committee, sending an e-mail to Pinellas Democrats on election day, urging them to vote for Helm.
The strategy didn't work. Several of the precincts where voters turned out for Darden Rice, who received help from the local Democratic Party and had a strong left-wing following, also voted heavily for Baker.
For example, Rice won 60 percent of the vote at the Salvation Army, 1400 4th St. S, while Baker won 90 percent. At Willis S. Johns Recreation Center, 6635 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. N, Rice won 60 percent of the vote and Baker won 77 percent.
Only 20 percent of registered voters participated in the election, even fewer than the 2003 election, when just two contested City Council seats and a referendum on Albert Whitted Airport were on the ballot.
Baker said he campaigned throughout the city and didn't target any particular groups of voters. He held a series of more than 30 coffee talks in homes citywide. His direct mail pieces were sent to all "supervoters," those who participate in every election, regardless of their race or geographic location.
Baker said he was confident he had a broad base going into the election.
"I almost didn't need the count because I was out there on the street corners, talking to people," Baker said. "I felt we had support from every part of the community. We really are a united city."
Carrie Johnson can be reached at 727 892-2273 or cjohnson@sptimes.com