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Rivals seek development south of Central
By LEONORA LaPETER © St. Petersburg Times, published March 21, 2001 ST. PETERSBURG -- The two candidates for District 6 have pledged to bring economic development to neighborhoods south of Central Avenue and the city as a whole. But voters must decide who is most likely to accomplish those goals on the City Council -- Dwight "Chimurenga" Waller or Earnest Williams. Williams, who soundly beat Waller with 64 percent of the vote in the five-way primary Feb. 27, has a more traditional style. The insurance company owner was appointed to the City Council in December after Frank Peterman departed for the state House. Williams, 53, has demonstrated a calm, reasoned approach to city business during his three months on the council. Waller, 49, a lab technician who is active with the African People's Socialist Party and national president of the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, is louder and more exuberant than Williams. Just 18 percent of voters in his district voted for him in the primary. Voters citywide will decide March 27 who represents District 6 on the City Council for the next four years. Williams has said he would listen to what people want and carry those wishes back to the council. "What people want more than anything else is for someone to represent their interests, someone to call and talk with about the problems they have specifically," Williams said. Williams, who ran for the state House last fall and lost, is short on details of how he would promote economic development throughout the city. He thinks area businesses need to be more involved in improving economic conditions throughout the city. He said the city needs to come up with a blueprint for change. Waller, on the other hand, wants to see a development similar to BayWalk, the new $40-million entertainment complex the city helped build downtown, rise in District 6. Waller said the development could have a Caribbean theme to encourage tourism, an idea also promoted by his brother Omali Yeshitela in his failed mayoral campaign. Waller wants the city to pay toward the entertainment development, arguing that millions of dollars have gone to Sunken Gardens and BayWalk. BayWalk was built and leased by private developers on land the city assembled downtown. Sunken Gardens was purchased by the city after a majority of the city's voters agreed to tax themselves for the effort. Waller has not said where the city would get the money or a developer for a BayWalk-style development in District 6. As a council member, Waller, who ran for the Pinellas County School Board and lost last fall, said he would also have Pinellas County schools renegotiate the agreement that ends court-ordered busing to achieve desegregation. Waller also pledges to work to give the city's civilian review board subpoena power and to create outreach centers in each of the City Council districts. "I plan to make government more accessible to citizens," Waller said. The jobMembers of St. Petersburg's eight-member City Council set city ordinances and control the appropriation of the city's approximately $450-million annual budget. They also set city tax and utility rates. The part-time job pays $23,337 per year. The elections for districts 2, 4 and 6 are for full, four-year terms. The elections in districts 1 and 5 are for the two years left on the current terms. All of the races will be on every ballot in the city. DWIGHT "CHIMURENGA" WALLER, 49, is a lab technician for R.P. Scherer North America, which sells soft gel capsules. He has also worked as a lab technician for Tampa Bay Snack Foods and Pet Dairy. He graduated from Gibbs High School in 1969 and has an associate's degree from St. Petersburg Junior College. Waller is active with the African People's Socialist Party and is now national president of the National People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, a black socialist group. He is also a member of St. Petersburg's Citizen Review Committee. He is twice divorced and now married with four children ranging in age from 20 to 29. ASSETS: two houses, car. LIABILITIES: mortgage. SOURCE OF INCOME: lab technician salary. EARNEST WILLIAMS, 53, owns Earnest Williams State Farm Insurance Agency. He was born and raised in Marianna, moving to St. Petersburg 29 years ago. He worked for the city of St. Petersburg for 11 years as an assistant parks director and criminal justice planner. The Lakewood Estates resident is chairman of the Regional Workforce Development Board and a member of the Pinellas School Readiness Coalition and the School Biracial Committee. He has served on the city's Nuisance Abatement Board, the School Controlled Choice Task Force, the Community Alliance and the Neighborhood Housing Services board. He is married and has two grown children. ASSETS: office building, home, stocks. LIABILITIES: three loans. SOURCE OF INCOME: insurance agency salary.
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