Progress Florida took this picture of Darden Rice giving her victory speech at the Red Mesa Cantina Mexican Restaurant. Darden Rice was officially been elected to the St. Petersburg City Council. Congratulations to Rice.
People of St. Petersburg can watch the election results when Darden Rice officially becomes a member of the St. Petersburg City Council.
Where: Red Mesa Cantina Mexican Restaurant, Arts & Entertainment
When: Today, 6:45 PM
Join Darden Rice and her campaign Tuesday, November 5th at 645pm sharp to watch the Election Day results come in for the St. Pete City elections. The campaign will provide food. Cash bar. Join us to be a part of a historic evening!
Artists for Darden Rice City Council 4 Fundraiser Friends of Guests
Fundraiser for progressive candidate Darden Rice for District 4 of the St. Petersburg City Council.
When: Oct. 3
6:00pm until 8:00pm
Where: 550 24th Street South, St. Petersburg, FL 33712
Rice is pushing for the city of St. Petersburg to give more grants to the arts.
The city should increase its grants to local arts non-profits from $175,000 a year to at least $300,000, said Rice, adding that she hopes to eventually bring it up to $400,000 or higher as the economy improves. By comparison, Sarasota distributes $1 million in grants to its arts organizations, she said.
St. Petersburg City Council candidate Darden Rice is hosting a primary watch for her supporters. Have fun with other Democrats and find out if Rice can beat tea party candidate David McKalip and his meat cards.
Come join Darden and the campaign team as we watch the results of the primary elections for St. Pete and District 4. Food will be provided by the campaign. Cash bar.
When: Today at 6:30 PM
Where: Harvey's 4th Street Grill
3121 4th St N Saint Petersburg, Florida 33704-2124
St. Petersburg City Council candidate Darden Rice is coming to the Hillsborough side of the bay for the meet and greet.
Come meet and hear Darden Rice speak about the importance of working together as a region and her plan, St. Pete Strong for St. Petersburg. Food and refreshments will be provided. The event is going to be a great networking opportunity and a chance for anyone to support Darden!
Please RSVP to Mark: mark@puskarich.us
4201 Bayshore BLVD. Fri 7/26 630pm-830pm
Quote form Mark & jt
"Our Bay Area has further opportunity to advance the cause and reputation of our region as we are presented with another progressive candidate, Darden Rice.We hope you will join us on July 26th at our place to support her candidacy for St. Pete City Council."
Peter Schorsch made his own comments about St. Petersburg City Council candidate Darden Rice's campaign mailer. I will keep my comments more pro-feminist and PC. I think that is the best set of photos of a candidate in ages. Here is the rest of the flyer.
Rice's tea party opponent David McKalip had to respond to Schorsch posting the flyer on his blog.
My cards have MEAT. I will cut taxes, she will raise them. I signed the petition to stop the lens, she played politics and hid.
REAL Solutions from a candidate you can TRUST – -that is what my cards say.
"My cards have meat"? That is McKalip's attack line to use against Rice? That is hysterical. McKalip appears in a hospital coat at tea party rallies. McKalip should look at that flyer and realize voters are more likely to vote for the candidate that looks like a movie star. Although, I'm sure the Rice campaign trembles at McKalip handing out his meat cards to voters.
Update: Schorsch has his polling numbers. Short answer: Rice is handing McKalip his ass.
The truth is Rice is running away with the race, at least in the primary. According to a survey conducted by St. Pete Polls and commissioned by this blog, Rice has a wide lead over her next closest rival, Dr. McKalip. Among likely voters, Rice receives 32% support, McKalip is at 17%, Carolyn Fries is at 11% and Richard Eldridge is at 4%. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they were undecided.
More evidence that Democrat Darden Rice is going to beat tea partier David McKalip in the St. Petersburg City Council District 4 race. Rice is nearly doubling McKalip in fundraising.
Darden Rice, 43, a community organizer, has raised just over $31,000 between April and the end of June, putting her total at $56,225. She's spent a lot of it – about $20,000 since March.
David McKalip, 47, a neurosurgeon, posted a fundraising haul today of $21,750, bringing his total to $30,543. Most of that is already gone. Since March, McKalip has spent $26,297.
Rice is one of the few Democratic candidates loved by the progressive base and the establishment. McKalip is best known for sending out a racist email portraying President Obama as a witch doctor. McKalip is also known for reciting bizarre conspiracy theories at tea party meetings. Occasional PR contributor Alex Pickett said this about McKalip.
Good post. For those of us who attend St. Pete City Council meetings, this wingnut McKalip is the bane of our existence. Almost as annoying as that environmental wacko guy. His name escapes me (thank god).
The District 4 race is a rising Democratic star vs a doctor that repulses people. Darden Rice couldn't have picked a better Republican opponent.
Side note: I'm disappointed that McKalip isn't campaigning in his doctor's coat. McKalip was using that shtick when Congress was writing the Affordable Care Act.
Peter Schorsch Nominated to City Beautiful Commission
Congratulations to Peter Schorsch for being nominated to the St. Petersburg City Beautiful Commission. St. Petersburg City Council chair Karl Nurse recommended Schorsch's appointment. Mayor Bill Foster will ask the City Council to make the appointment official. Since Schorsch has Nurse's backing this should be a formality.
The City Beautiful Commission oversees parks. Schorsch has written about his concerns about Williams Park. Wikipedia has this description of Williams Park.
Williams Park is also known as the city's homeless park. Local residents, college students and shoppers no longer stroll the sidewalks or lounge on the landscaped lawn. Ongoing drug sweeps and police activity are now the features that mar this once prominent gathering place.
As a member of the City Beautiful Commission, Schorsch and other members can recommend ordinances to the City Council. It is already against city law to sleep in the park overnight. There are people that sleep in Williams Park during the day. What is really attracting certain homeless people is the drug traffic in Williams Park. I expect we will see Schorsch get quite vocal about cleaning up the park.
St. Petersburg City Council candidate Darden Rice announced the Rep. Kathy Castor has endorsed her candidacy.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor: "I strongly endorse Darden Rice for the St. Petersburg City Council. Darden Rice is an outspoken advocate for jobs, small businesses and a healthy and clean environment. We have worked together to protect and restore the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay and ensure that our local businesses succeed and grow. Darden and I have also collaborated on equal rights as she values the right for each citizen to vote and will work to ensure our elections are fair and successful."
Darden Rice Receives Police Benevolent Association Endorsement
Via Saint Petersblog: the Police Benevolent Association has endorsed Darden Rice for St. Petersburg City Council district 4 seat.
“This is an important endorsement,” acknowledged Rice. “Ensuring the public’s safety and working collaboratively with our city’s police force is one of the council’s top responsibilities and we have to get it right.”
Rice's Republican opponent Dr. David McKalip is politically radioactive. McKalip's infamous Obama witch doctor email made national news. Sometime Pushing Rope contributor Alex Pickett wrote this about McKalip.
Good post. For those of us who attend St. Pete City Council meetings, this wingnut McKalip is the bane of our existence. Almost as annoying as that environmental wacko guy. His name escapes me (thank god).
McKalip isn't a people person. Rice has been networking in the community for years. That is why she has the Police Benevolent Association endorsement.
Longtime progressive activist Darden Rice is running for St. Petersburg City Council. Rice is holding a petition drive on April 13. She needs 500 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Walk to get petitions for Darden Rice!
When: Saturday, April 13, 2013
Time: 9:00 AM
Where: Pinera Bread
1908 4th Street North, Saint Petersburg
The campaign will provide a small breakfast and bottled water for walkers.
Fark.com made the joke "St Petersburg mayor rolls out the Wookie defense." This was in reference to an absolutely bizarre meeting Mayor Bill Foster had with the City Council. The latter asked for a briefing on what Foster's plans were to keep the Tama Bay Rays in St. Petersburg. Foster told the City Council that they already been briefed. Hilarity ensues.
A day after a disjointed meeting on the future of the Tampa Bay Rays, City Council members were still wondering Friday what Mayor Bill Foster is up to and whether he is being candid with them.
At Thursday's council meeting, Foster said he has a detailed plan to break a stalemate with the team over a new stadium, and that he has shared those details with council members.
A majority of council members were so taken aback they scheduled a workshop to learn more.
On Friday, most reiterated that they have no idea what Foster meant when he insisted that he had informed them of his plans. Some wondered whether he even has a plan. Some criticized him for lack of communication.
Peter Schorsch submitted a public information request for any documents in the St. Petersburg Mayor's office pertaining to plans to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg. City Clerk Eva Andujar told Schorsch no such documents exist.
I said before that Foster was doing nothing more than chest thumping about keeping the Rays from moving. It turns out Foster isn't even doing that. I always wondered how the voters of St. Pete could elect Foster over the much more qualified Kathleen Ford. I hope the voters of St Petersburg are happy with this extremely incompetent man.
Update:Mayor Foster refused to talk about his imaginary plan to keep the Ray in town while St. Petersburg Times reporter Danny Valentine was present. Foster talked with constituents at his monthly breakfast meeting.
"Is he your guest?" Foster, referring to a St. Petersburg Times reporter, asked a group of people munching on breakfast. "Because I wouldn't have a candid conversation. So it's up to you. It's not up to me, it's up to these folks. I don't invite — I'm not doing a press conference so I don't invite the newspaper in to speak candidly with people unless the people" want a reporter there.
St. Petersburg resident Cathy Wilson responded: "We would prefer to solve our problems. And if that means, if your presence here means the mayor will not talk candidly, we would ask you to leave."
Judy Ellis, also at the table, chimed in: "We don't want to cramp his style."
Foster did tell Valentine his plan to keep the Rays was not a secret.
"What's funny is that a couple of people have asked me about the secret plan today and I said, 'Sure, here it is. It's not a secret. I told half the people that were in the room today. It's not a secret. It's just not for public consumption,' " he said.
The plan to keep the Tampa Bay Rays in St. Petersburg is not a secret. Mayor Foster is not ready to allow the plan to be heard "for public consumption." The Wookie Defense continues.
St. Petersburg Times Drops Lawsuit Against St. Pete
Alex Pickett wrote about how the city of St. Petersburg was banning street solicitation. The law was made by the St. Petersburg City Council to crack down on homeless people panhandling on the medium of roads. The St. Petersburg Times's street solicitors was going to be effected by the passage of the law. The St. Peterburg Times decided to sue to city.
Here's the proposed deal: Times Publishing Co., the parent company of the St. Petersburg Times, will drop its suit if the city agrees not to pursue legal fees.
And it is over. Many poor people that sell the Sunday Times for extra cash will be financially worse off. Apparently, campaign contributions can be free speech (which I agree with), but selling newspapers or panhandling is a public nuisance.
Congratulations to Steve Kornell. He become the first openly gay man to be elected to the St. Petersburg City Council. Kornell beat Angela Rouson to win the District 5 seat.
"The thing about making history is fine," he said. "But this campaign was really about the future of St. Petersburg and that's what I plan to focus on for the next four years."
Kevin Beckner's election to the Hillsborough County Commission and Kornell's victory is a refreshing change from the days of Ronda Storms.
The Police Benevolent Association has officially endorsed St. Petersburg City Council candidate Karl Nurse.
St. Petersburg, FL- The Karl Nurse Campaign announced today a highly sought after endorsement from the Police Benevolent Association (PBA) in the race for St. Pete City Council District 6.
St. Petersburg City Council Member Karl Nurse stated, “I am proud to be endorsed by our police officers through the PBA. I am also proud to announce my success in getting stimulus money for additional police officers that we have worked hard to obtain. It is a good day for crime fighters in St. Pete.”
Karl Nurse lists fighting crime and working for job creation in District 6 as one of his most important priorities. In the year and a half since his appointment to Council, Nurse has:
* Led the effort to successfully bring stimulus money to hire more police for the streets of St. Petersburg * Worked everyday to fight festering gang activity in our neighborhoods * Passed the ordinance to clear signs in convenience store windows, to add locks, and reduce shootings in convenience stores * Fought for stimulus money to be used specifically to add one more additional CAPE team, which is a team of police that go door to door in District 6 to shut down drug houses * Working to pass nuisance abatement laws to go after nuisance rental properties that house drug activity * Working with NAACP and neighborhood groups to pass the ordinance to rename Preston Ave. to Paris Ave. in honor of the young girl slain by gang gunfire
Karl Nurse is known as a problem solver who can work effectively with a vast array of people. In addition to securing the endorsement of the PBA, Nurse is also supported by Mayor Rick Baker and Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis. In this climate of increased crime and budget reductions, Karl Nurse provides steady leadership on council to find the resources and proper management to make our city safer.
For more info, please go to www.electkarlnurse.com
St. Petersburg city council candidate Steve Kornell will hold a fundraiser at the Kizmet Old School Cafe. $25.00 contributions are requested. However, people can attend the fundraiser for free. The event is for Kornell to meet voters face to face.
Host: Steve Kornell for St. Pete City Council Type: Causes - Fundraiser
Date: Monday, March 23, 2009 Time: 6:30pm - 8:00pm Location: Kizmet Old School Cafe Street: 1101 1st Avenue North City/Town: Saint Petersburg, FL
