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Mayor hopefuls speed through issues in forum
By LEONORA LaPETER and BRYAN GILMER © St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- The mayoral candidate forum took place in the movie theater at BayWalk, the crown jewel of downtown development and the product of much of the government's money and emotional energy the past 20 years. The Chamber of Commerce played host. But what candidates talked most about was how critically the poor, predominantly black neighborhoods south of downtown -- where civil disturbances erupted in 1996 -- need that kind of money and energy. "What matters to me is turning around neighborhoods and moving economic development beyond the heart of downtown," said candidate Karl Nurse, 46, who lives in the Old Southeast, a racially integrated neighborhood where he has renovated several houses and led the neighborhood association. "I've learned how to turn neighborhoods around." Candidate Omali Yeshitela, who proposed an African market and Caribbean-themed village to attract tourists, poked fun at his eight opponents for latching onto the cause. He said he has crusaded for years to improve those neighborhoods. "I am glad to see that I am now joined by eight candidates interested in social justice," he said. "I've provided leadership in that, and I want to continue that as mayor. What is outstanding is that we are hearing candidates for mayor talk about what's good for this entire city." The nine candidates, lined up beneath a giant movie screen in the plush 416-seat theatre, moved at breakneck pace to answer questions posed by Chamber officials. Many struggled to answer questions within the allowed 60 seconds, sometimes failing to make their points and demonstrating the difficulty of accommodating nine mayoral candidates at a political forum. Several times, moderator Vern Farsworth had to cut off candidates in mid-sentence. City Council Chairman Larry Williams, attempting to get back on the campaign trail after the sudden death of his father last week, found himself often getting cut off in mid-sentence, just as he seemed to be getting to the meat of his answer. On a question about what can be done to help get people to and from work, Williams, 56, started out by saying the city has given its transportation authority to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority and that many bus routes have been cut. He then launched into a description of the numbers on the back of each buses and how they reveal the age of buses, but that was all he was able to say before the timer expired. While most candidates talked about the bus system in answering the same question, City Council member Kathleen Ford, 43, did not. She said the city should bring the jobs to the people and pointed out that the city's efforts to buy land for the Dome Industrial District off 22nd Street S are a step in that direction. But when asked about her priorities for economic development, Ford said, "I think we need to focus on Central Avenue and take a critical look at making folks feel comfortable about coming from the beaches to downtown." Nurse seemed to capitalize on the quick-answer format, easily getting across his message of neighborhood redevelopment and job creation. Taking a page out of U.S. Sen. Bob Graham's playbook, Nurse also pledged to spend a day each month doing front-line city jobs so he understands the problems citizens have when they interact with the city. Rick Baker, former Chamber of Commerce chairman, continued to push his four-point plan of improving poor neighborhoods, making the city safer, supporting neighborhood associations and demanding better schools. Factory worker Louis Miceli, with his brief, pithy answers, provided the comic relief for the audience of about 75. When asked what the primary components are for economic development, he replied: "It's time to get rid of all the old buildings, tear 'em all down and rebuild." The nine-candidate field also includes Maria Scruggs-Weston, 43, a St. Anthony's Hospital employee; Patrick Bailey, 41, a collection agency owner; and Ronnie Beck, 46, a drafting company owner. The candidates are working toward the Feb. 27 primary.
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