Vel Thompson picks up endorsement in District 6 race

ST. PETERSBURG-- Former City Council member David Welch has endorsed District 6 candidate Vel Thompson.

"I have known you and your parents since you were a little girl. I have watched you grow into a woman who has the integrity and character that will represent us well not only in District 6 but across all of St. Petersburg," Welch wrote in a letter to Thompson.

Welch was up against incumbent Karl Nurse when the City Council voted to appoint Nurse to the District 6 post in 2008. He and many leaders in the district were upset by Nurse's appointment because he is the first white person to represent the majority minority district in nearly three decades.

Thompson, Nurse and student Derrick Frohne will face off in the District 6 primary in September.

Cristina Silva, Times staff writer

Comments

[*hic*]

What is her stance on the issues? What is her platform?

[Ann McDowell]

It is interesting that the article title states that Vel Thompson picked up “endorsements” but singles out only one. Here is the entire press release issued by Thompson:

Community Leaders Endorse Vel Thompson in District 6 City Council Race

St. Petersburg, Florida—Community leaders are stepping forward to endorse Vel Thompson, candidate for City Council in District 6. Dorothy Gilliam, William J. Hornbeck, II, Esq., Rosalie Peck, and Dr. David T. Welch have endorsed Thompson for City Council.

Dorothy Gilliam, a resident of St. Petersburg for the past 90 years, was President of the 13th Street Heights Association for twenty-two years and was a former member of the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA). She has known and worked with Vel Thompson through their work with CONA. Gilliam wrote: “Over the past decade I have watched your tireless efforts and hard work for the citizens of this community grow. Please know your efforts have not gone unnoticed. I am confident you will be a strong voice for all of us.”

Attorney William J. Hornbeck, II, cited Thompson’s determination, compassion, and high IQ as some of the reasons he endorsed her. Hornbeck met Thompson five years ago when she came to ask him to do some pro bono work for a needy resident. “Vel impressed me then and still does today with her compassion for the residents of St. Petersburg and her determined passion to do whatever it takes to help them…”, Hornbeck wrote.

Rosalie Peck, who is now under Hospice care at her home, told Vel that she wants her friends to vote for Vel. “By casting their vote for you, they will be honoring me,” said Peck in her endorsement letter.

Dr. David Welch, owner of Welch Accounting, is another life long resident of St. Petersburg. “I have known you and your parents since you were a little girl. I have watched you grow into a woman who has the integrity and character that will represent us well not only in District 6 but across all of St. Petersburg,” said Welch in his letter.

“People are quoting some misinformation about my employment with the City of St. Petersburg,” said Thompson. “These endorsements should put to rest any question of my ethics. It is unfortunate that the St. Pete Times did not have access to my entire personnel file before printing their article about what voters should know about me. I am proud of the work I did for the residents of St. Petersburg while I was employed by the City and I look forward to serving them again as their representative on City Council.”

#####

P.S. All four letters were forwarded to Ms. Silva along with the press release.

[:)]

Well, let's correct the record. The original article's title used the word "endorsements"...

[Steve S.]

Many neighborhood leaders are also supporting Ms. Thompson. They are not hoodwinked by Nurse.

[Kevin K..]

Nurse is a tool and a phony. The black community won't be fooled.

[get-smart]

'Attorney William J. Hornbeck, II, cited Thompson’s ... high IQ as...the reasons he endorsed her.'

'High IQ' is code for white blood.

Cheers -

[:(]

Get-smart, that was not smart! 'High IQ' is not code for anything. Shame on you.

[Zen Master]

The fake names at 12:17 and 12:21 need work. If you want to pretend to be different people use a different format.. Fake 1st name, 1st initial of last name same as first. Get creative if you want to spout nonsense.

And nonsense it is as I think Karl is one of the best council members we have had in ages!

No I am not Karl, or Bill or anyone you think I am.

[awhitewolf]

...zen, get real...karl has become intoxicated with the same government that has served the residents of st. petersburg so poorly for years. he used to be somewhat effective, til he got a taste of the good old boy system... this has happened to far better men. the infection is difficult to resist

[:(]

Yes, this is the same Zen Master who wrote: “Vel is the only one who may be a fly in the ointment but only because she is a black woman in a largely black district…”
Posted by: Zen Master | June 25, 2009 at 11:29 AM

There is a distinct racist tone here which helps no one.

[Zen Master]

I fail to see how acknowledging the truth is racist. It certainly gives her an advantage. She doesn't seem to have the skills for the job so that is about the only factor in her favor. That was my point.

[get-smart]

:( - Y u b perpetrating Zen Master's racism? Mae b he tell truth.

How hi is vel's iq? Go ax a lawyer.
How hi is dev's iq? Go ax a prison god.
or check the dna, it b in da blood.

Cheers -

[Chris Brudy]

Karl's worth to the community is proven. He is striving to bring St. Petersburg Government into the sunshine, by revealing the secrecy our council used in covering up the millions being voted into the hands of a private corporation, and also by proposing that committee workshops be opened to the public. Those actions, alone, set him apart from the rest of the council, to our benefit.
Don't forget he also managed to get the first St. Pete neighborhood, Bartlett Park, into an energy audit program which provides up to $3000 to any household upgrading to a higher level of energy efficiency.
In the short time he has been on the city council, Karl has proven his leadership abilities. Any denigration of his efforts is a dinner of sour grapes, for motives unknown.

[.True Blue.]

Zen Master aka JB you're a fool tool.

[Fishsticks]

ooooo, now that's a new twist! ZM = JB! Interesting...

[.]

Zen Jerkster’s comments are not insulting to Vel… they’re insulting to the AA voters whom he thinks are too stupid to vote based on qualifications and integrity… but rather based on a box of crayons.

Does Nurse think black people are stupid too? Is that why he hopes to gerrymander the district… to get more whitie in the mix? Don’t know how it would help; they all look alike to me!... aya Zen?

[Ann McDowell]

I expect balanced, accurate reporting from our fourth estate; in fact, I demand it! After posting Ms. Thompson’s press release, I learned that Ms. Silva had sent the following e-mail to Ms. Thompson.

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: CSilva@sptimes.com
Date: Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: Fwd: FW: News Advisory
To: Vel Thompson

Thank you so much for sending this information to me. I have posted it on our Bay Buzz blog.

Note: We don't usually write about endorsements from neighborhood people because they aren't known citywide.

All the best, Cristina Silva
Staff Writer
St. Petersburg Times

The “neighborhood people” excluded from the St. Pete Times article include a community leader, Dorothy Gilliam, who was recently acknowledged by the Times for her community work and is well known by residents throughout the City. Another is Attorney William J. Hornbeck II, an attorney who has practiced law (general practice, probate, wills, trusts, estates, real estate, civil practice, collections, and business-corporate law) in the City of St. Petersburg for twenty-seven years. He is well known by both business owners and residents. His letter is reprinted below. Rosalie Peck is an author known not just county-wide and city-wide but country-wide.

By limiting her remarks to Dr. Welch's endorsement and comments about him, Ms. Silva’s article struck a negative tone. I will leave judgment to readers as to whether the negative tone shows a bias toward Ms. Thompson’s competition in this race.
- - - - - - -

LAW OFFICES OF WILLIAM J. HORNBECK, II, P.A.
6464 FIRST AVENUE NORTH ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA 33710

June 16, 2009

Velma Thompson for City Council District 6
2551 DeSoto Way South
St. Petersburg, FL 33712

To Whom It May Concern:
This is a letter of endorsement for Vel Thompson, Candidate for City Council District #6. I have personally known Vel for approximately five years and can recommend her for election to the City Council District #6.

When she worked for the City of St. Petersburg in her work on the Neighborhoods Team, Vel approached me about five years ago to ask me to take on a pro bono case for one of the residents of the neighborhood that she was helping. Vel impressed me then and still does today with her compassion for the residents of St. Petersburg and her determined passion to do whatever it takes to help them. Needless to say, she convinced me to take on the case.

But, she did not consider her job finished just to refer her resident to another for help. She stayed involved and did whatever she could to help me help her resident.

Since that first case, I have also worked with her on other matters. I found her to be consistently compassionate and passionate about helping her residents.

Vel is smart. Vel is determined and passionate about helping citizens in St. Petersburg. Vel is pleasant and cheerful and able to work well with others.

In conclusion, I am confident that Vel will be a great representative to District 6. Thank you.
Very truly yours,
William J. Hornbeck, II

[Angry People for Vel]

I am an angry person and therefore I support Velma Thompson.

If you are angry, it doesn't really matter at what, you should support Vel.

It won't matter but when we lose, we will have another thing to complain about.

[Ann McDowell?]

Is she that lady with the sourpuss face on all the time? Looks like someone stole her buttered Ho-Hos?

[Zen Master]

No I am not JB. keep guessing though folks as I highly, highly, doubt you will ever guess.

To 3:25 You are right. People are not influenced at all by the skin color of the candidate. This must be why Obama got such a small portion of the AA vote?

Again.. it is offensive to note facts? What are you a commie revisionist? I suppose you support the schools in Japan that say America started WW2?

[Smart person for good government]

4:36,

I don't get the "angry" thing. I've met Vel Thompson, and have found her to be quite intelligent, qualified, kind, and far from angry. What’s more; her ideas are smart, her passion for good government is sincere, and her desire to serve is real. I can’t say as I dislike Mr. Nurse but can’t say as I’m terribly impressed either. Whoever your candidate of choice may be at this point, look closely at both before you vote, and Vel Thompson is indeed worth a closer look as far as I’m concerned.

[get-smart]

Dear Ms. McDowell,

-Statement: The Fourth Estate* does not have to be fair and balance to you or anyone else regardless of how may hissy fits you have demanding it.

-Question: Does the 'IQ* Attorney*,' William J. Hornbeck, II, live in District 6?

-Hypothetical: If Vel wins and sits on the Council, will the grabass episodes of Vel and Newt be televised?

* = code
Fourth Estate = news media
IQ = in this context; having white blood
Attorney = ambulance chaser, dirtbag, bloodsuckers

Cheers -

[This got nasty overnight]

The offensive on behalf of Velma is on. God knows who could be behind the choice of tactics, but it seems like our local version of the Karl Rove story.
Nasty, nasty, nasty.
The sad thing is that it is difficult to generate hatred against Nurse, given the fact he is as progressive as anyone on the council.
He has proven his worth during his short tenure by shaking up the status quo at city hall.
We are lucky to have him. The District 6 people should not be fooled by all the low blows we can expect from his opponent's campaign. Most of us know who's behind it, and it will only be a matter of time before the wheels come off.

[Red Shoes!]

Your BS counter offensive, under the pretext of a defense, is very transparent. And btw, there’s a huge difference between being “progressive” and being effective. Nurse is an ineffective tool and everyone knows it. He’s an appointed lackey of the good ‘ol boys and gals, and everyone knows that too.

Since the likes of Dr. Welch are “behind” Vel Thompson, Karl’s peeps and perps shouldn’t make veiled threats like: “Most of us know who's behind it, and it will only be a matter of time before the wheels come off. “ Nurse has been KT’s main bitz for some time now… he may not take too kindly of Karl diss’n pops.

[The PC"KKK"EC]

There's the "Big Tent" Pinellas Democrats we all know and love at 11:00.

Hey, let's go after the Jews, fags, and darkies next!