St. Petersburg, FL Mayor: Florida Democrats finally won control of St. Petersburg city hall for the first time in decades in 2013, when Rick Kriseman unseated GOP Mayor Bill Foster in an officially non-partisan race. Kriseman has been preparing for a tough race this year, and it looks like he’s in for one. Ex-Mayor Rick Baker, a Republican who was elected in 2001 and took 70 percent of the vote in his 2005 re-election campaign, announced on Tuesday that he would run for his old job. The primary will be Aug. 29, and if no one takes a majority, the general election will take place in November.
While Pinellas County backed Trump last year, the Tampa Bay Times’ Adam Smith says that Clinton won nearly 60 percent of the vote in St. Petersburg. However, Baker had demonstrated plenty of crossover appeal in past races, and he’s a rare Republican who has a strong base of support among African Americans. Baker is also well connected, and he won’t have much trouble raising money: Baker’s boss is wealthy developer Bill Edwards, the owner of the Tampa Bay Rowdies soccer team, and a man whom Smith says “could single-handedly bankroll Baker's campaign.”
Kriseman’s tenure also hasn’t gone completely smoothly. One of the biggest issues in the campaign will likely be the city’s sewage system. During two recent rainy seasons, the overwhelmed system dumped over 200 million gallons of waste into neighborhoods, waterways, and the roads. Baker used his announcement to argue Kriseman badly handled the problem, while the incumbent will likely argue that as mayor, Baker didn’t do enough to fix the sewers when he had the chance.
A few days before Baker announced that he would run, Kriseman launched his first campaign ad. The spot argues that under Kriseman, the city has made huge strides, including the ongoing construction of a “new, world-class pier.” Kriseman mentions the sewer problem as an issue that needs to be fixed, as a Times headline proclaiming “St. Petersburg Progressing Well On Fixing Sewers” flashes by.
Partisan politics are likely to come into play here. In late 2015, Kriseman made national headlines when he tweeted that Trump was “barred from entering St. Petersburg until we fully understand the dangerous threat posed by all Trumps.” Kriseman is likely to tie Baker to Trump and other unpopular Republicans to try and peel away Democratic-leaning voters. In 2013, both state parties worked hard to win this contest, and with a Senate and governor’s race looming in 2018, it’s likely to get even more attention.
Baker also angered the city’s large gay community when he was mayor by refusing to so much as sign proclamations for St. Pete Pride, Florida’s largest gay-pride festival. In his Tuesday announcement, Baker tried to put the issue past him by declaring he “believe[s] the LGBT community is a vital, important part of our community,” but Kriseman is unlikely to let it go. However, Smith notes that Kriseman has had a poor relationship with the city’s first openly-gay city councilor over the Tampa Bay Rays stadium.