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Fallout lands on Baker

Criticism mounts against the mayor in the tent city aftermath.

By AARON SHAROCKMAN and CURTIS KRUEGER
Published January 26, 2007

ST. PETERSBURG - This week was supposed to be a victory lap for Rick Baker, who just helped engineer a successful city arts partnership.

But the popular second-term mayor has instead been the target of raging attacks over his response to the city's local homeless population.

It may be the sharpest and most far-reaching criticism of Baker since he took office nearly six years ago.

Some business owners say Baker is not doing enough to find shelter space. Advocates for the homeless argue that at best, Baker is absent from the issue. At worst, they say, he is working to drive the homeless into a wasteland somewhere outside the city limits.

Some residents say the city just looks mean.

Much of the criticism was sparked last Friday when the city slashed more than 20 tents of homeless people living on the public right of way outside downtown.

At the moment the police were cutting the tents, Baker was extolling a downtown arts plan to the editorial board of the St. Petersburg Times.

Though Baker says he did not approve the police action, opponents have fingered him nevertheless.

"I've never seen an issue where 99 percent of the return on it is just anti-Baker," said City Council member Jamie Bennett.

Baker on Thursday sought to soften the growing opposition, saying the decision to slash tents was a mistake and that he is committed to finding a long-term solution for those living on city streets.

The issue, ignited by the creation of a 150-person tent city earlier this month, put city officials in a delicate position, Baker said. If they left the encampment alone, in violation of city codes, it could have grown as large as 400 people, Baker said.

"Do you know how upset the businesses and people living in that neighborhood would be?" Baker asked. "Wouldn't they be saying, 'Why didn't the mayor do anything?' "

"I'm not saying I'm perfect. I'm not saying I do everything right," Baker said. "But if that happened, would we be any better off today?"

Incident puts city in 'a very bad light'

Advocates for the homeless have attacked Baker for weeks, picketing his church and criticizing his stances. But Friday's tent slashing propelled the fury into much broader circles.

The video of the incident was posted on a popular Web site, which has been viewed nearly 10,000 times, and has since become part of a larger national debate.

Baker said Thursday the decision, which was suggested by a police department major, was wrong.

"That decision put the city in very bad light," said Baker, who was in Washington, D.C. at a conference of mayors on Thursday. "I don't think it was done with bad intentions. But sometimes you can be trying to do the right things and wind up wishing you had done it a different way."

Many people are simply looking for a solution.

Zachary Gross, a co-owner of Z-Grille on Central Avenue, said problems with homeless people are only getting worse.

The city should "help the people who want help and the people who don't want help, get 'em out of here," said Gross, 32. "We're all about helping people, but there's a limit."

Alicia Greer, a teacher's aide at a day care center at Christ United Methodist Church, said preschoolers are forced to walk to the local library past an alcove where homeless people urinate.

The odor is so strong, she said, that the children pinch their noses and make faces and ask why it smells so bad.

The situation has frustrated Lynn Hawkins so much that she says she's organizing a protest. Hawkins, along with a loose-knit group of 10 to 15 other residents, say they want to send a message: "Letting the city know that it's not acceptable and we've been quiet long enough," she said.

Friends: Baker busy behind the scenes

Baker quietly has been working behind the scenes to help find a solution for the homeless that goes beyond a tent city, his friends and allies say.

His best attribute is building broad coalitions, and that work is very much under way, they say. Baker said he toured a potential site for new homeless shelter last week.

"He has been trying his hardest how to resolve the issue so both sides win," said Deveron Gibbons, a close friend who worked on Baker's two campaigns. "Some people want to see him get into a fight, but he not going to do that."

Jeff Lyash, the president and chief executive of Progress Energy Florida, said Baker is part of discussions to help clean up Williams Park. And Don Shea, the chief executive of the St. Petersburg Downtown Partnership said Baker is corralling potential allies in both business and government.

"At every level, he is engaged in this issue," Shea said. "If there is a solution to be found, the mayor is going to be critical to finding it."

Baker said it's unclear when that solution will present itself. Besides finding shelter space, city and county officials must figure out who will run the shelter, who will pay for the improvements and who will track the progress.

Critics, like Bennett, want to see a plan.

"I've heard some criticism," Baker said Thursday. "I've heard support, too. I think there's a lot of mixed feelings on this. People say we should do more. People say we do too much.

"The question is, what is best for the city as a whole on a long- term basis? I think, we do have a moral obligation as people try to help folks become independent."

Aaron Sharockman can be reached at asharockman@sptimes.com or 727 892-2273.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 11:23:23]