Gift gives official a lift

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times, published December 25, 2000

It's tradition at Clearwater City Hall. The commission's administrative assistants try to pick out appropriate going-away presents for retiring officials.

But when assistant Denise Wilson asked Commissioner Ed Hooper what he wanted, Hooper set his standards fairly high.

"A red Corvette convertible," said Hooper, who had to resign from the commission last month after making what turned out to be an unsuccessful bid for the Florida Legislature.

Well, there wasn't enough money in the city budget for a real convertible, but Wilson got creative.

The commission presented Hooper with a miniature model convertible this month, along with his office fax machine, an appreciation plaque and a framed, signed letter from fellow commissioners and city staff, thanking him for four years of service on the commission.

"I went back and told Denise and the girls that they didn't understand," Hooper joked afterwards. "Size does matter. And I laughed. She got me."

Hooper says his dream car is now displayed on his entertainment center.

A-B-C, AS EASY AS ... : That top slot on an election ballot sure is coveted.

In St. Petersburg, the ballot for the mayoral primary Feb. 27 normally would start with Patrick Bailey, followed by Rick Baker, Ronnie Beck, Kathleen Ford, Harry Kitchen, Louis Miceli, Karl Nurse, Larry Williams, Robert G. Wolf and Omali Yeshitela.

Alphabetical order, right down the line.

But Ford, who would have ended up fourth (a fairly decent spot when you realize there are now 10 candidates for mayor), decided Thursday to toss it all into the air. Ford asked city attorneys to draft an ordinance that would leave the order of candidates on the ballot up to a lottery. She said she thought it was a fairer way to do it.

"You folks who are "W' ought to be happy," Ford said, turning to Larry Williams and Earnest Williams, who is serving the remainder of Frank Peterman's term.

Williams and Williams were quick to vote for Ford's suggestion, but City Council member Bea Griswold opposed it. She then suggested holding a lottery for each of the different ballot styles so that different candidates ended up in the top slots in different areas of the city. That suggestion fell flat, because it would have been too complicated and confusing.

Griswold was quite vocal about her opposition to Ford's proposal.

"I think you have a can of worms there," she said. "It needs to be dealt with as to why we're doing it and not just moving the chairs on the Titanic another certain way."

HE'S A POET AND WANTS YOU TO KNOW IT: Among the crowded mayoral field in St. Petersburg's municipal election are a number of first-time candidates, including collection agency owner Patrick Bailey.

Bailey wrote a free-verse poem he hopes will inspire voters to support him. So grab your beret, fold up this newspaper, take them to your local coffee house and order a double espresso. Here is Bailey's poem, exactly as he submitted it to the St. Petersburg Times:

"St. Petersburg, the times have past and you have changed not on your own but by human hands. Have they been the wrong hands I ask you city? Why have you not fight back yet or your grounds are strong still that you do not worry about what we do to you. You see what we do to ourselves and to each other that the shame is so strong that we will bring down the city in time before you die your self. That is why I see you sitting there in the corner quiet not saying a word to anyone and not even giving us a warning. Why should you when you know at the end you will be free."

KITTY RESCUE: Safety Harbor City Hall receptionist Rose Gennaro rescued a cat that had fallen from the roof and into a small space behind the Main Street building last Monday.

The distressed cat was discovered shortly after the office opened at 8 a.m. and was reportedly scared by other city hall employees as they tried to save the cat. Frightened, the cat backed into a corner and hissed but was calmed after Gennaro rushed to a nearby store and brought back a can of cat food.

"She's like the resident saint of Safety Harbor," said Juanita Elmore, accounting clerk for the city. "If a cat comes meowing at her house, she'll be there to the rescue." An animal shelter worker later came and picked up the animal.

- Staff writers Bryan Gilmer, Christina Headrick, Leonora LePeter and Leon M. Tucker contributed to this report.

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