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St. Pete's mayor race has been whittled to 2

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By YOLANDA FERNANDEZ | News Channel 8

Published: September 2, 2009

KATHLEEN FORD

BILL FOSTER

ST. PETERSBURG - Voters whittled down the field from 10 to 2, in Tuesday's mayoral primary election.

Bill Foster received 27 percent of the vote and Kathleen Ford got 26 percent. Both are attorneys and are familiar faces in local politics, having served on St. Petersburg City Council.

Foster's top priority as mayor would be public safety.

"We deal with a lot of challenges in the city, economic development, education, homelessness, panhandling ... but it all begins and ends with public safety," Foster said.

The fourth generation St. Petersburg native said he would like to focus resources on the police and fire departments. Specifically, he wants to ramp up crime prevention and re-implement community policing.

To cover the added costs, he said it's time the city emphasizes essential need services.

"I think as we re-focus on need vs. want, we'll have the dollars freed up for public safety," Foster said.
Ford wants to first tackle the city budget. Her campaign office is covered with graphs and charts showing where city money is going.

She said the city's property tax revenue doubled from 2001 to 2007 and the city has a surplus of funds in several accounts above and beyond what policy dictates. She wants to lower property taxes a half mill.

Also, Ford identified 64 city employees who earn more than $100,000 and would eliminate 16 positions.

"I think we can look at decreasing and streamlining management so we can get rid of those recurring costs and then really look at what we're spending our money on," she said. "I think it's important we target our resources toward public safety."

One topic both candidates disagree on is whether the city should re-negotiate with the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team and build a new stadium.

"They're a major economic driver, an employment center and do a lot for the morale of the city," he said. "They're a major partner and it's incumbent upon me to sit down with this group, with a major partner, and negotiate."

He said, however, he would want taxpayers to approve funding a new stadium through a referendum.

Ford 's position is clear, "Quite honestly, we can't afford a new half-billion dollar stadium at this time ... paid for by the public."

The run-off election is Nov 3.

Reporter Yolanda Fernandez can be reached at (813) 221-5708.

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