The Times offers candidates not recommended by its editorial board an opportunity to reply. Here are the replies from the candidates for mayor of St. Petersburg.
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Ronnie Beck
The good ol' boys have circled their last wagon; the Times is in place. Now, the rest of us can get on with business!
St. Petersburg is a great city with a poorly managed government. The candidates all agree on the issues but unless we fix our internal problems, no one will accomplish much. It's past time to work on the nuts and bolts of government, not some hollow four-point plan.
I have advocated a plan of better management that will reduce costs and improve services. The major complaint during the Fischer years was his hands-off style, which shows now in departments that are full of personnel lawsuits and inefficiencies that frustrate construction services. We need to correct the disorganized plan review and inspection process. We need to correct our poor human resource management. It's time we got our money's worth!
I have not pandered for endorsements. There will be no special interests in my administration. My decisions will not be tied to someone else's checkbook. The office of mayor is not a social promotion. The mayor is not just our leader but our chief administrator with the responsibility of running the city smoothly and cost-effectively. Every day the mayor should seek to cut waste, to do better!
I'm well known to the Pinellas delegation. I've given 20 years of community service. I've operated a national drafting business 21 years through partnerships and teamwork, producing results. That is the type of mayor I will be: results-oriented. Vote for Ronnie Beck!

Kathleen S. Ford

Decisions we make today about public safety, infrastructure (including water, transportation and telecommunications), education and neighborhood and business district redevelopment will have a profound impact on St. Petersburg's ability to maintain its livable quality of life, retain businesses and grow.

You told me your concerns and I brought them up for public discussion. No other candidate for mayor has been more in front on the issues or more in front of the people. St. Petersburg needs a strong mayor who will unify and energize this city to really prepare for the next millennium.

As mayor I will increase law enforcement, especially against drug dealers; develop a comprehensive program to replace aging infrastructure and add new infrastructure citywide, including old roadways, pipes and lights and new wireless and fiber-optic cable technology; assure safe, sustainable drinking water while expanding reclaimed water to conserve; strengthen neighborhood and business district redevelopment by implementing a new restoration code and streamlining development regulations; collocate a business incubator with the business development center in a commercial district; monitor school choice; manage city contracts for full performance; seek funds from federal, state and county agencies; improve accountability and streamline management.

My background in nursing and law has served me well, working with a large, diverse organization reviewing complex matters relating to the health, safety and welfare of the people of St. Petersburg. St. Petersburg deserves competent, proven professionals to serve all people of St. Petersburg, not just special interests.

Vote Kathleen Ford for mayor Feb. 27.
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Karl Nurse
I'd like to thank the editorial board of the St. Petersburg Times for its kind words in assessing my candidacy and the qualities that I would bring to the mayor's office.
I decided to run for mayor because I saw a city and its needs firsthand and up close. As a neighborhood association president, I've seen how tough it is to fight to keep neighborhoods vital and vibrant and how much tougher it is to turn around the troubled ones. As a renovator of historic homes, I saw firsthand the red tape that City Hall can create that is stifling our ability to renovate and upgrade our housing stock. As a small business owner who has grown his company from three employees to 32, I know how important our economy is to the vast majority of similar small business owners struggling to grow outside of the prospering downtown.
I am the only candidate who has seen these problems firsthand throughout our city and who rolled up his sleeves to do something about them. I didn't form committees or task forces, or make outrageous statements in the media just to garner headlines. I jumped in. I hammered nails. I got involved. I worked with neighbors and neighborhoods to strengthen our most important institution.
Unfortunately, despite a decade of national economic prosperity, our city remains badly divided between those who have the opportunity and those who continue to struggle. We've improved our downtown, but it is time, past time, to shift the focus to the neighborhoods and other business districts. We planted lots of trees, but we didn't plant lots of hope for our neighborhoods struggling against drugs, dilapidated housing stock and failing infrastructure.
This election marks a turning point for all of us. It will be the first time in more than a decade that the city has elected a mayor without a clear split down the middle of our community. We should use this election to grow and to heal, and I bring those qualities to the mayor's office. I ask for all concerned residents to vote for Karl Nurse on Tuesday, Feb. 27 to make government work for the rest of us.

Larry J. Williams

The election on Tuesday, Feb. 27 is about experienced, independent leadership that brings people together. My 37 years of community involvement in St. Petersburg has provided me with the following opportunities to serve:

Finalist, Chamber of Commerce Small Business Person of the Year, 1990.

Two-time civic association president.

Only elected official serving on sports task force for expanding youth sports . . . coaching and mentoring.

Led the development of soccer, football and baseball complexes.

37 years in the health care profession.

Eight years on the Bi-racial Advisory Committee for Pinellas County Schools.

Led establishment of the first public charter school in St. Petersburg.

Two-time chair of School Advisory Council, Lakewood High School.

Six years elected to St. Petersburg City Council.

Present chair, St. Petersburg City Council.

Campaigns are full of slogans and promises. Candidates want you to focus on what they dream of doing. Special interests are pushing their agenda. But you should review each candidate's background, independence and ability to work with the entire community. Bringing citizens together to achieve a common goal that will benefit the community as a whole is what being a public servant is all about. Recently, we had a tough fight to get a public charter school and a public library in our community. There were times when everyone felt like giving up, but we fought on and prevailed. That is the kind of leadership that you would want in the mayor's office. Someone who will build a St. Petersburg as an independent, strong and stable community on its own merits.

On Tuesday, Feb. 27, I ask for the most important endorsement a public servant can receive, the endorsement of the people. Remember, it is not about me but about us.
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Omali Yeshitela
The people of St. Petersburg want change, not more of the same old business as usual, whether from politicians or the deep pockets that control them at our expense.
The people want to live in a safe and secure environment free from the false divisions that separate us and which are manipulated by career-building politicians.
Since it was my campaign for a St. Petersburg united in shared prosperity that forced the old-time politicians and their well-heeled and connected wanna-bes to take up the critical issues of inclusive economic development, the crisis in education, police reform, environment, infrastructure, etc., how can these Johnny-come-latelys be trusted to carry out my program?
We need an inclusive master plan for development that serves the interests of all our citizens, not one group at the expense of another. This will also protect our poorer neighborhoods from speculators posing as neighborhood activists who buy houses cheap and sell high, driving out lower-income residents.
I have dedicated my life to economic and social justice. I disagree with my opponent who suggests white voters are unwilling to elect a black mayor. I believe humanity thrives best in truly democratic communities. My campaign reflects this commitment to democracy. It is a grass-roots movement, involving participation from people throughout the city.
I ask all St. Petersburg residents to come together across racial and neighborhood lines. Vote for Omali Yeshitela and let's create an enlightened St. Petersburg united in shared prosperity.

Recent opinion

Baker for mayor (February 18, 2001)
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