Thursday, August 31, 2017

Hillsborough MPO Needs New Leadership

Tampa, Fl From: 
Eye On Tampa Bay
Posted by: Sharon Calvert


When the Chair of a powerful governing board uses their position to further their own agenda, it is time for a leadership change.

Under Commissioner Les Miller Chairmanship of the Hillsborough County MPO, the MPO continues to offer one monolithic group of people opportunities no one else is offered. That is wrong.

Commissioner Les Miller is Chair of Hillsborough MPO
Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO's) are federally mandated transportation policy making organizations made up of representatives from local government and governmental transportation authorities. They are a critical and powerful organization because all Federal funding for transportation projects and programs are channeled through the MPO planning process. MPO's are tasked with establishing and managing a fair and impartial setting for effective decision making. 

According to our Hillsborough MPO's own website (emphasis mine):
The Hillsborough County Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is a transportation policy-making board comprised of representatives from local governments and transportation agencies. According to federal and state laws, the Hillsborough County MPO is responsible for establishing a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive transportation planning process for Hillsborough County.
Our local MPO does planning for Hillsborough County, not just the city of Tampa or the urban core. The MPO Board must consider the entire county in its planning and decision making process.

It has become obvious that Miller is playing his politics with Hillsborough's MPO.

He was MPO Chair last June 2016 during the MPO public hearing at that time. The Eye reported then that Miller voted against TBX (no tax hike required) while he supported the Go Hillsborough sales tax hike to fund costly rail/transit boondoggles. Miller got a Democrat challenger last year, StopTBXer Kimberly Overman, until she conveniently withdrew on June 23rd, the day after Miller voted no on TBX at the public hearing.

As we posted in May, it was Commissioner Miller who used his position as Chair of the MPO to offer only transit advocates an opportunity to attend FDOT's peer exchange in St. Louis. All but one of his six Hillsborough County invitees were from Miller's district and the city of Tampa, including four StopTBXers. 

The city of Tampa's population is only 27% of the county and Miller's district is much smaller than that. We are left assuming Miller does not think any others from a county of 1.3 million and 1100 square miles is worthy of such opportunity. We found no public vote or agreement by the members of the MPO Board for who Miller himself selected to participate in this unique opportunity.

We recently posted here that Joshua Frank, a USF masters student in architecture (not an engineer or a transportation expert) was offered an opportunity to present to the MPO. He, like Kimberly Overman, are part of the "tear down the interstates" extremists crowd. Frank was offered an opportunity to present his vision of tearing down I-275 from downtown to Bearss (almost 10 miles of a heavily used major interstate) at the August 1 MPO Board meeting. 

It was ironic that MPO Chair Les Miller was absent at the meeting. But MPO Executive Director Beth Alden told the Eye it was Miller who invited Frank and offered him 10 minutes. Frank took much longer than 10 minutes but no one moderated his time. 

Again we could find no public vote or agreement by the members of the full MPO Board to invite Frank - just Miller again making his own unilateral decisions. 

We could find no record of the MPO Board itself voting to solicit anyone from the public to present a lengthy presentation of "their" vision opinion. Is this a new precedent the MPO has set? Then those with differing visions than Frank and/or believe Frank's presentation left out critical information should be able present their vision too.

The federally funded MPO cannot be used to advance the agenda of a single board member, especially the Chair. As stated above, the federally funded MPO must govern in a fair and impartial way. It cannot be used as a platform to advance the Chair's political agenda, one person's vision or one group's opinion.

In addition, in January of this year, Miller was selected Chair of HART, our local transit agency. The same person should not be Chair of multiple transportation governing boards in Hillsborough County. That has potential for conflicts of interest, especially since HART is dealing with declining transit ridership and budgetary issues and the MPO is dealing with the overall contentious transportation issue in Hillsborough County.

According to the latest Bylaws of Hillsborough MPOtenure of the Chair and Vice-Chair is for 1 year or until a successor is elected but any officer may be removed by a majority of the total members. 


Miller has been MPO Chair for almost three years since January 2015. That is long enough, not withstanding that Miller is now also Chair of HART.


Hillsborough County has endured enough shenanigans regarding its transportation issue. Transportation remains contentious in Hillsborough County. Miller's recent actions add to that contentiousness. Therefore, it is time for someone else to take over as MPO Chair.

The Hillsborough MPO will soon begin updating their federally mandated Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP). The MPO cannot be used to offer opportunities to one group of people not offered to others in a large and very diverse county or the MPO will lose their credibility of fairness.


Hillsborough MPO needs new leadership.


Time for the MPO Board to select a new Chair NOW.  

This post is contributed by EYE ON TAMPA BAY. The views expressed in this post are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher of Bay Post Internet. 

Cross Posted with permission from: Eye On Tampa Bay

Monday, August 28, 2017

Did you forget to vote your mail in Ballot????

Help set the direction of your City for the next 4 years by casting votes for the candidates of your choice


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.
 

Tomorrow is election day in what is probably St. Petersburg’s most important Primary election ever.

Are You Election Ready? To find out click the link and get the answer at the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Web site.

Need to Find Your Precinct? To find where you should go to vote click the link and the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Web site will get you to the right spot.

Forgot to mail in your mail in ballot? To late…..They were due back six days before the election.

Solution? Find your Precinct as indicated above, Take the Ballot and your voter's ID card and head to your precinct. They should be able to help you there.

Mail in ballot damaged or destroyed? Take the remains if any and head to your precinct. Don’t forget your Voters ID Card.

This is a very important election for everyone who lives in St. Petersburg. Citywide  everyone votes in the Mayoral Primary and in District 6, you will vote for a Council Candidate to move to the General election and for the Mayoral candidate of your choice.

Help set the direction of your City for the next four years by casting votes for the candidates of your choice.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign

Please comment below.

Sunday, August 27, 2017

The rationale for electing Rick Baker Mayor of St. Petersburg

Baker never picked “his” solution over the solution the citizens wanted.


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.


To get a feel for how Rick Kriseman sustains his positions read these two Posts from a 2013 interview I did with the then potential candidate Rick Kriseman.



Looking at what has transpired in the last three-plus years of the Kriseman administration it can truly be called unprecedented. Beginning within hours of his swearing, Rick Kriseman began a deliberate process of politicizing the office of Mayor of St. Petersburg.

Hiring his two longtime political cronies, Kevin King and Ben Kirby, who remain on the city payroll through this election cycle, to populate his office of the mayor was just the beginning.

Kriseman’s attempts at making the political stage by tweeting a ban against now President Trump while possibly cute was really stupid. It had no place in City Governance and only made St. Pete look small not the City it is.

Kriseman’s careful manipulation of the Pier Selection process to get “his Pier” approved not the voter’s choice clearly indicates his complete disregard with how the citizens of St. Pete feel.

This should be a warning that all those south side leaning platitudes are just another Kriseman scam. All he wants is your vote, if you don’t believe that ask yourself this question: what has he done for you in the last three-plus years?

Finally, there were the lies. The sewer system the sewage leaks, the nature of the problem and never taking responsibility. And a hastily constructed plan with no currently long range dedicated funding.

And now an endorsement from Barack Obama that is very hard to believe because there is no doubt the former president has little or no knowledge of what Kriseman has done or the lies he has told or the promises he has failed to keep.

More misdirected partisan politics from  Rick Kriseman.

Rick Baker has done what he said he would do. He put practical solutions in place for south St. Petersburg. He had a significant impact on quality of public education in all of St. Petersburg. He worked to fix the infrastructure problems existing during his two terms.

Baker never picked “his” solution over the solution the citizens wanted.

Baker choices for his staff were never made on cronyism but on competency.

Rick Baker built the strongest neighborhood association structure the City of St. Petersburg has ever had.

Most of all when Rick Baker gave his word, you could believe it.

Four more years of Rick Kriseman and his politically inspired approach to local government will leave the City of St. Petersburg in the biggest mess we have seen since the beginning of the strong mayor form of governance.

Your vote for Rick Baker can put St. Petersburg back on the path to a higher quality of life, better schools, sustainable infrastructure, respect to all citizens and recognition of the world-class city St. Petersburg is.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign

Please comment below. 

Friday, August 25, 2017

A challenge from across the Bay requires a real leader to move St. Petersburg forward

Who will you want to put together a plan to develop St. Petersburg’s last remaining primer piece of real state?


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.


Strategic Waterfront Properties the real estate developer backed by Jeff Vinik and Bill Gates has created a 50 a master design for Tampa called the Water Street Tampa. You can get the details from Justine Griffin Tampa Bay Times staff writer; Water Street Tampa unveils video showing downtown's transformation


You might think that this has very little to do with the upcoming St. Pete Mayoral election, but you would be dead wrong.

Tampa is putting together plan to be the premier living location on the West Coast of Florida. This announcement sets in motion a designed and developed master plan and a developer with sufficient backing to make the plan actually happen.

Compare that to the way downtown St. Petersburg has developed with a hodgepodge of varying height buildings with no central theme or direction.

The Pier and Pier Park are a classic example of a lack of integrated planning.

The questions to be answered are, with the departure of the Tampa Bay Rays and the reality of 80 plus acres to develop in downtown St. Pete:

Who will you want to put together a plan to develop St. Petersburg’s last remaining premier piece of real state?

Who do you want to review those plans?

Who do you want to select the developer or developers to rebuild the Trop site?

Who do you want to make sure all, of those who gave so much for the Tropicana site are protected?

Who can you really trust to have all of St. Pete’s citizen’s interests considered?

Rick Kriseman and his band of political cronies that pander to the political party, deny the will of the people on the Pier, ignore the necessary infrastructure to support growth and lie about their problems. A mayor who takes care of his friends and political allies first and puts the public’s interests second.

Or Rick Baker a former Mayor who has the leadership experience, the business acumen to manage the planning of the scope of the Trop site redevelopment and the skill to put together a team that can honestly and fairly manage a project of that scale.

There is every reason to believe that the future of the Tropicana site will be determined in the next four years. The planning will begin, and direction of the Tropicana site will be determined.

We have already seen what happens when that type of planning goes bad with the Bay Walk project. It took years to recover and no meaningful overall plan ever emerged.

Tampa will not be waiting. They have the plan and resources to move forward. St. Pete cannot afford to have the Tropicana site redevelopment become a political plumb.

The next mayor needs the proven ability to attract high profile designers, developers and investors and convince them St. Pete is the place invest their time and resources.

The only person on the Ballot that can do those things is the one who has already done them – Rick Baker.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign 

Please comment below.

Wednesday, August 23, 2017

Janet Long's Scandalous SANDAG

Tampa, Fl
From: Eye On Tampa Bay
Posted by: Sharon Calvert



Commissioner Janet Long


Pinellas County Commissioner Janet Long proposed the Regional Council of Governments Cronies last year and is one of the biggest advocates for regionalism and taking away local control in Tampa Bay. Long used a late midnight rule by the Obama Admin mandating regionalizing MPO's as her excuse for such proposal. However, we posted here her excuse went away with the November election. The mandate rule was eliminated overwhelmingly on a bipartisan basis by Congress in early May.

Long's proposed Regional Council of Governments
Regionalism is all about money and higher taxes. Regional entities are the structural mechanism used to ram all the tax hikes thru for costly rail boondoggles. Voila! Long's regional vision for transportation includes regional taxing for transportation in addition to local jurisdiction funding. 
Long's regional vision includes regional taxing
Long's proposed Regional Council of Cronies was modeled after SANDAG (San Diego Association of Governments). SANDAG put a 40 year half-cent sales tax hike on the ballot last year that failed.

However, Long thought so highly of SANDAG that she used her position as Vice-Chair of another bureaucracy, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council (TBRPC), to stage an event in February erroneously titled Innovations In Regional Transportation.

The Eye was at the event and there was very little presented about real transportation innovation. Transportation innovation is occurring in the private sector but almost all the speakers at this event were the same recycled taxpayer funded bureaucrats we've all heard before who have nothing new to say. Long needed to stage an event so she could invite SANDAG's Executive Director Gary Gallegos to be the events featured speaker at lunch.

But SANDAG's tax hike referendum not only failed last year, they were caught in a scandal. SANDAG tried to deceive voters by using flawed economic forecasts. They misled voters by overstating the projected revenues and understating the costs of the projects promised. SANDAG then tried to cover up what they had done by skirting California's public records law. (Hmmm sound familiar?)

Last September it was reported that SANDAG was using taxpayer money advocating for the tax hike:

“The San Diego Association of Governments’ repeated use of public funds to promote Measure A is a blatant violation of the law, which clearly prohibits the use of public funds to promote the passage of ballot measures…..Because its communications violate civil and criminal laws prohibiting the use of public funds to support a ballot measure, we demand SANDAG immediately remove all materials from its website and social media, and cease and desist using any public resources that promote passage of Measure A – including the use of publicly paid staff and consultants to do so on the agency’s behalf.
An investigation was launched after the scandal was revealed and KPBS News recently reported:
An investigation has found the San Diego Association of Governments has "forfeited the public's trust" in its response to a scandal surrounding last year's Measure A tax proposal. Executives pressured staff to delete documents and shield them from public records requests.
Voice of San Diego investigative reporting led the way reporting on the scandal and the ensuing investigation. Apparently SANDAG has a history of deceiving voters as Voice of San Diego reported last month SANDAG Misled Voters on 2004 Tax Measure, Showing Pattern of Deception Goes Back at Least 13 Years
SANDAG knew a year before the 2004 election that TransNet wouldn’t collect $14 billion, but it didn’t tell voters. This is now the third instance in which SANDAG either knowingly overstated how much money it could collect to pay for transportation projects, or understated how much projects would cost to complete.
It was reported last week that Long's role model, SANDAG's Gary Gallegos, decided to resign amidst all the mess created on his watch. Of course Gallegos resignation occurs after SANDAG's Board gave him a 4% bonus last December boosting his salary to $310K - even though the sales tax hike failed, lawsuits were filed against the tax hike ballot initiative, SANDAG illegally and unethically used public money on advocacy and the scandal was brewing. 

Long is misguided, misinformed, has bad judgment or cannot Google because scandalous SANDAG is no model to follow.

And as WFLA reported last month, Long is a globe-trotting county commissioner who likes to spend other people's money traveling the world. 


So what does PSTA, already known for its own scandals, bad judgment and mismanagement, do?

Reward Long by appointing her to the new highly politicized TBARTA regional transit agency already stacked and packed with too many politicos.

But Long is just a piece of the puzzle being put together and orchestrated for what's ahead.

Another tax hike referendum(s) in 2020….Stay tuned. 


   
This post is contributed by EYE ON TAMPA BAY. The views expressed in this post are the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher of Bay Post Internet.

Cross Posted with permission from: Eye On Tampa Bay

Sunday, August 20, 2017

Partisan Politics not working in St. Pete Election

The Democratic Party is lobbing in money and a few mid power band names to try to prop up the slowly sinking Kriseman bid for reelection.


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.

When Rick Baker announced his decision to run for St. Pete Mayor, he pointed out that partisan politics were all Rick Kriseman had to run on.

It turns out Baker was spot on

Kriseman, a Democrat, has been ringing the big Democratic Blue Bell for the entire primary campaign season. You can get the details from Adam C. Smith, Tampa Bay Times Political Editor, Legally, St. Pete mayoral race is nonpartisan. Truthfully, party matters.

Kriseman has continued to try to tie Baker to Climate Change, everything Trump says and all thing's Republican.

It’s just not working.

It’s sort of difficult for St. Pete's citizens to grasp the mayor’s impact on climate change, and the tweets of the president when they are wading around in ankle deep sewage.

Add to that Kriseman’s penchant for St. Petersburg being a sanctuary City, a pier that most people didn’t want at a price they cannot afford, a mayor’s office with enough spokespeople to hold a board meeting, real fear of telling the truth, and the Democratic party may want to think twice about wrapping themselves up in the Kriseman blanket.

The Democratic Party is lobbing in money and a few mid power band names to try to prop up the slowly sinking Kriseman bid for reelection. So far, the effort is falling short.

Unlike Kriseman, who is bitterly partisan, Baker works easily with members of both parties and looks for quality and performance in people rather than Party affiliation.

Kriseman has done more to politicize the Mayor’s office and the St. Pete government in general than all the strong mayors who proceeded him.

St. Petersburg needs a Mayor, who is willing to let the Governor run the State; the President run the Country and focuses on public safety, quality of education, job opportunities, poverty and the quality of live for those who live in St. Petersburg.

Looking at his growing list of supporters and endorsements that person would be Rick Baker.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign

Please comment below.

Friday, August 18, 2017

St. Petersburg Mayor's Race 2013 - What Kriseman and Congemi were saying on the Issues

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.

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?
E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign 

Please comment below.


Thursday, August 17, 2017

Have you voted your mail in ballot for the St. Petersburg Primary?

I’ll leave the politics to another Post; you want your voice to be heard in this election.


St. Petersburg, Fl
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Author: In Search of Robin, So You Want to Blog.


58,649 ballots were mailed to registered votes for the August 29 St. Petersburg Mayor’s Primary election. 20,367 were returned.

8,768 Ballots were mailed in the District 6 Primary election. 2,533 were returned. You can get a current update at St. Petersburg Primary Election Mail in Ballot Status.

All  voted by mail, Voter Information in Pinellas County you can check the status of your mail in Ballot.

If you requested a mail in Ballot and have not yet returned it, it is time to look around the house or apartment find the ballot, vote and mail it back.

This is an important election and will determine the direction of St. Petersburg for years to come.


In these off-cycle elections turn out is usually low, so every vote is important to the candidates.

Right now, the important point is not WHO you support for these offices it is all about you participating.

Need information of mail in Ballots, Precincts or other election questions check out the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections web site. Safe and secure everything you need to know is all there in one spot.

Be sure to vote.

E-mail Doc at mail to: dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (E. Eugene Webb) Friend request. Be sure to follow me on Pintrest (Doc Webb),  Like or share on Facebook and follow me on TWITTER  @DOC ON THE BAY.

See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos.

Disclosures: Contributor to Rick Baker for Mayor Campaign 

Please comment below.