Monday, June 24, 2013

District 6 City St. Pete Council RACE

Candidates: Karl Nurse, Sharon Russ
In the Post It's Time To Go On the Record, I asked each registered St. Petersburg candidate  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?
As candidates responded to Comments section of the Post has become long and a bit difficult to follow; so I have set up a Post for each race and copied, with no editing, the candidate's responses to date.
Candidates who have not responded,  may add them in the Comments section or e-mail them to me and I will add those comments with no editing  to the Body of the Post.
Karl Nurse
1. Should the LENS come to a referendum, will you support voting to stop the project.
Lens - I support allowing the voters to decide this and have voted a dozen times to put a referendum on the ballot.
2. Do you support closing the Pier?
Closing the Pier - As you know, the Mayor, not the City Council, has the power to close the Pier. If it were up to me, I would have voted to keep the Pier open until the voters decided on the Lens
3. Will you move to end the red light camera program?
 Red light Cameras - I will support fixing the program rather than ending it. If we focus on the red light runners exceeding 1/2 second, then that is where the safety gains are made. The yellow light timing needs to be checked a each of the locations, and right on red should not be part of the ticketing.
4. Do you support the Rays talking to anyone in Pinellas County or Hillsborough County about a stadium site?
Rays - I have played a role to help facilitate discussions with the Rays. I believe we will work out an agreement that allows the Rays to take a serious look at the Gateway location and then look in Tampa.
5. Do you support the neighborhood association concept and what will you do to specifically help rebuild this City asset?
Neighborhood Associations - As a former CONA President, I have a very clear understanding of how neighborhood associations can play a significant and positive role in improving neighborhoods and how they help connect the neighborhood and the city. We frankly need an organizer to help re-launch many neighborhood associations. I have helped get two associations restarted in my district.
6. Do you support hiring a new Police Chief?
Police Chief - I believe the upcoming retirement of the police chief is an opportunity to inject new energy and tactics into the police department. Many police departments have embraced pro-active, hot spots driven police with very powerful impacts. St. Pete has been slowly moving in this direction but can pickup the pace.
7. What specifically what will you do to begin to reduce crime and improve the quality of life in South St. Pete?
Crime & quality of life in South St. Pete - This is the area where I put much of my energy. I believe in pro-active and assertively addressing the hot spots and have worked on a number of those such as Citrus Grove with some success. We need to embrace both new tactics and technology. The mobile police unit and cameras are both good examples of pushing crime out.
The quality of life issues require us to simultaneously address: jobs, education and housing. These are significant and long term challenges. I have recently passed three housing related programs: a foreclosure registry, a lien release process and a "Rebates for Rehabs" program. I am working to bring additional jobs to St. Pete and particularly to South St. Pete. My involvement with Melrose Elementary has led me to push for more pre-K education rather than day care programs. Collectively, this work can make a significant, long term difference.
Sharon Ross: No response
e-mail Doc at: dr.webb@verizon.net, or send me a Facebook Friend request.
Campaign Disclosures: Contributor to Darden Rice Campaign

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