Kriseman: I support keeping the approach and pier head open to pedestrian traffic for residents and visitors
St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.
Reposted from June
23, 2013
2013 Mayoral Candidates: Anthony Cates,
Paul Congemi, Kathleen Ford, Bill Foster, Rick Kriseman. Two, Paul Congemi
and Rick Kriseman, are running in the 2017 Mayoral election.
In the 2013 Post It's Time To Go On the Record, I asked each 2013 registered
St. Petersburg candidates to answer seven questions:
1. Should the LENS come to a referendum, will
you support voting to stop the project?
2. Do you support closing the Pier?
3. Will you move to end the red-light camera program?
4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in
Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?
5. Do you support the neighborhood association
concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?
6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?
7. What specifically what will you do to begin to
reduce crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete?
Below are the responses of the two 2013 candidates in the 2017
Mayoral election.
Paul Congemi:
1.
Should the LENS
come to a referendum, will you support voting to stop the project?
Of course. I believe in carrying out
the will of the people.
2. Do you support closing the Pier?
Not now. It should be kept open until we know what comes
next. That means after the referendum vote.
3. Will you move to end the red-light camera program?
See my website.
4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in
Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?
No, but I don't think I can stop them from talking.
5. Do you support the neighborhood association
concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?
Yes, neighborhood associations are wonderful. The energy to make
a good association must come from the residents, though. This isn't something
you can bring about from city hall. I support neighborhood policing as one way
to bring more cohesiveness to the neighborhood.
6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?
Yes. There were several actions taken by the police that were
just really bone-headed, like bulldozing a house to get to a criminal holed up
in the attic. We don't need bone-heads in city government.
7. What specifically what will you do to begin to
reduce crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete? Not nice to
insinuate that one part of town has the only crime problem. Steve Galvin had
the best answer, so ditto what Steve said.
Rick Kriseman:
1. Should the LENS come to a referendum, will you
support voting to stop the project?
Yes.
2. Do you support closing the Pier?
I support keeping the approach and pier head open to pedestrian
traffic for residents and visitors to enjoy until we move forward with a new
pier (not The Lens).
3. Will you move to end the red-light camera program?
No. If utilized properly, the use of red light
cameras should be for safety purposes only, not for the purposes of making
money (the goal is for driver behavior to change, which would ultimately result
in revenues dropping and eventually no revenues flowing into the city for the
use of the lights). Red light camera placement priority should be at
the intersections with the highest incidents of accidents. I also
don't support right on red tickets being issued via
cameras.
4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in
Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?
My preference is for the team to remain in St. Pete and to
thrive here. If that proves to be unrealistic - if the Rays simply do not want
to be here any longer - then they should be given the opportunity to pay an
exploratory fee in order to look at other locations, provided those locations
are in the Tampa Bay area. Throughout the negotiating process, I will ensure
that our taxpayers are protected. While a sense of regionalism is important,
especially in tough economic times, my primary duty will be to the residents of
St. Petersburg.
5. Do you support the neighborhood association
concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?
St. Petersburg is home to many unique, culturally rich, and
historically significant neighborhoods. These neighborhoods deserve the full
support of city hall.
As mayor, I will encourage effective and influential
neighborhood associations by funding the Neighborhood Partnership Grants
program and support staff and treating our Codes Compliance Assistance
Department as a budget priority. As we continue to emerge from the
economic downturn and related budget cuts, we must look to restore funding to
the areas that were hit the hardest, and that includes Codes.
My goal is for each neighborhood or area to have its own vibe,
to be its own destination. Visually appealing signage at neighborhood entrances
and wayfaring signage in populated areas is an easy first step and a resource
for both residents and visitors. But to truly strengthen the
identity of a neighborhood we must better promote its distinct flavor and help
tell its story.
6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?
I’m not going to discuss specific personnel changes while I’m
campaigning, but with a much-needed new police station on the horizon, an
opportunity exist to rebrand our department in order to boost morale and to
rededicate our department to its three major tenets – Respect, Accountability, and
Integrity. I believe that this is an ideal time to begin a new
chapter for the St. Petersburg Police.
7. What specifically will you do to begin to reduce
crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete?
First, I am a supporter of the traditional community policing
philosophy which emphasizes the relationship between the police officer and the
neighborhood in an effort to promote trust and cooperation.
But one of the most important things we can do is focus on
education. A strong public education system fuels our economic engine and has a
positive impact on public safety. That’s why the mayor and all municipal
leaders must work with our schools to help our young people succeed.
As a state representative, I passed legislation requiring the
Department of Education to make service-learning curriculum available to our
public schools. Integrating meaningful community service with instruction and
reflection, service-learning enriches the learning experience, teaches civic
responsibility, and strengthens communities. As mayor, I will work to have
service-learning implemented in all of St. Petersburg’s public schools.
I will continue and strengthen the Mayor’s Mentors & More
program and seek out additional corporate partners to assist with volunteering,
resources, and strategic planning. And because not all students and young
adults take the same path, protecting the Job Corps program located in Midtown
will be a priority of my administration.
Finally, as I believe crime is the outcome of many unfavorable
conditions, including the lack of jobs paying a living wage, we must do what we
can to understand and address these root causes in order to create a safer St.
Pete for future generations.
How well do you think Rick Kriseman has done?
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Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign
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