Jeb Bush hearts Rick Baker; says Baker is a future GOP leader in Esquire interview

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush lists Mayor Rick Baker as a future leader of the Republican Party in a new Esquire interview.  From the interview:

Who are the leaders of the Republican party?
I think you need to put it in the proper context. Barack Obama was a state senator five years ago. So the next generation of leaders are going to be people we probably don't even know. I don't think we need to worry about that quite yet. If there's going to be a resurgence of the Republican party or the conservative movement, I think it's going to require some patience and some humility — less personal ambition and more advocacy of ideas and how they relate to people.

[That said, Bush reels off a list anyway.] Newt is fantastic. He's an idea generator. [Jeb says he e-mails him.] The guy has a twenty-first-century mind. [He mentions "the conservative mayor of St. Petersburg, Rick Baker." Also, Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana.] I love Bobby Jindal. He's the real deal. [Not on list: Sarah Palin, Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee.]

Read the entire interview here.

Aaron Sharockman, Times staff writer

St. Petersburg police chief fires back at mayoral candidates

ST. PETERSBURG — The city’s top cop is done taking shots from mayoral candidates. This week, Police Chief Chuck Harmon decided to fire back.

Well, sort of. Compared to Harmon’s usually blasé public statements, his comments to the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday were positively racy.

Public can chime in on St. Petersburg city budget

ST. PETERSBURG -- The public will have several chances to comment on St. Petersburg's proposed 2010 city budget and suggested cuts.

The first public forum is at 6 p.m. July 9 in the council chamber at City Hall, 175 5th St. N. Council members will take public input on the proposed spending plan for next year, which includes an anticipated $15 million to $20 million general fund shortfall and additional budget reductions.

Two other public hearings are scheduled for Sept. 3 and 17, same time and place. The council is expected to adopt the proposed 2010 spending plan and tax rate at the Sept. 3 meeting. The final budget, tax rate and Capital Spending Plan should be approved at the Sept. 17 meeting. All forums will be broadcast live on St. Pete TV channel 35, Knology cable channel 15, Brighthouse cable channel 615 or Verizon FiOs channel 20.

Questions? Visit www.stpete.org/budget or call the City Clerk at (727) 893-7448. View the budget online starting July 1.

Stephanie Hayes, Times staff writer

Dems: Gibbons a 'Republican puppet mayor'

Riffing off Gov. Charlie Crist's endorsement of Deveron Gibbons for St. Petersburg mayor, the Pinellas County Democratic Party has this message on its Web site:

Help Stop the Republican Puppet Mayor

"In order to control the City of St. Petersburg, the GOP establishment is getting behind Republican lobbyist Deveron Gibbons.  

"Gibbons, who is best known for his work promoting Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, hopes to deliver St. Petersburg for Bill McCollum and other Republicans next Fall.  Over the last several years, as a lobbyist, Gibbons has fought against the type of change that our state and country required.

Angry residents persuade St. Petersburg to back off parking meter changes downtown

ST. PETERSBURG — City officials withdrew a proposal to increase parking enforcement hours downtown late Thursday, after angry residents and business owners inundated City Hall with e-mails and phone calls.

Mayor Rick Baker's staff interrupted a City Council meeting Thursday to announce that it would not move forward with the plan, which would have required visitors who currently don't have to pay after 6 p.m. or on weekends to keep plugging in quarters until 10 p.m.

"There wasn't any support for it," said Joe Kubicki, the city's transportation director.

The abrupt surrender surprised business leaders and residents; some had received e-mails from city officials defending the change up until about noon Thursday.

Read story here.

Is Karl Nurse taking a dig at Deveron Gibbons' company?

Here's a clip from St. Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse on Bay News 9's  Political Connections on Sunday. You can see the whole interview on Ch. 342, Bay News 9 on Demand.

St. Petersburg to governor: Veto Senate Bill 216

ST. PETERSBURG -- Remember the uproar a few years ago when City Hall used your tax dollars to tell you how to vote on some amendments to the Pinellas County Charter?

Yeah, well, they want to keep doing that sort of thing.

City Hall plans to send a letter to Gov. Charlie Crist asking him to veto Senate Bill 216, which bars local governments in Florida from using public funds for political advertisements.

City officials argue that the bill would infringe on their constitutional right to express themselves. Never mind that they could still take sides on political issues, they just couldn't use public money to do so.

"Elected officials are elected to do what's in the best interests of the citizens and city, to stifle that duty takes away one of their responsibilities and may actually have an unconstitutional chilling effect on their First Amendment rights," the letter states.

To read the rest of the letter, click here.

The City Council will discuss the letter Thursday.

Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer

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Newsletter chides Pinellas Dems chairman

Cliques and clashes in the Pinellas County Democratic Party haven't gone away with leadership changes.

Pinellas Democratic Party chairman Ramsay McLauchlan jumped on Republican Marco Rubio's U.S. Senate bid to urge people to buy tickets to a party fundraiser this month. Now McLauchlan is getting hit in the St. Petersburg Democratic Club's newsletter sent today.

Questioning whether priorities are "misplaced," the newsletter says: "Why is the Chair of the Pinellas Democratic Party interjecting himself into REPUBLICAN Primary politics, when we could use this opportunity to apply lessons learned from the Obama campaign, UNITING DEMOCRATS AND INDEPENDENTS under the banner of more open, more accountable and more responsive government?  Let’s offer a positive vision instead!"

Former police officer files to run for St. Petersburg's District 5

ST. PETERSBURG- A former police officer announced his candidacy for District 5 in what is quickly shaping up to be the most anticipated competition in an otherwise quiet City Council election.

Joe Smith, now a public safety instructor at St. Petersburg College, said he filed his campaign forms to run today.

Smith discussed his candidacy at a St. Petersburg Democratic Club meeting.

"I owe a lot to the city," said Smith, who retired from the police department in May 2008. "I want to give back. I want to serve."

Smith faces Angela Rouson, the wife of State Rep. Darryl Rouson, D-St. Petersburg, and Steve Kornell, a social worker for Pinellas County Schools.

All three candidates are Democrats. The race is nonpartisan.

District 5 is the only council race without an incumbent running.

Derrick Frohne, a candidate for District 6 challenging council member Karl Nurse, also spoke at the meeting. He quickly introduced himself and then asked for checks in support of his campaign.

After the meeting, Frohne, a University of South Florida student, declined an interview and said he would run most media inquires by his campaign manager and longtime friend, Jamie Kidder.

Former mayoral contender Ed Helm urged more Democrats to enter the race during the meeting. He pointed out that council members Leslie Curran and Jeff Danner are running unopposed.

Cristina Silva, Times staff writer

Mayors Rick Baker, Pam Iorio to debate history at A Tale of Two Cities

Sounds like a great evening: Two high-powered mayors will meet at 7 p.m. May 6 to debate whose city boasts the most colorful past. Sponsored by the Florida Humanities Council, A Tale of Two Cities features St. Petersburg’s Rick Baker and Tampa’s Pam Iorio at a free public program at the Centro Asturiano Theatre, 1913 N Nebraska Ave.in Tampa. A cash bar and free on-site parking are available.

The Tampa Bay version of A Tale of Two Cities has a long history as a provocative topic. Tampa Tribune columnist Leland Hawes Jr. used the Dickensian phrase when he penned a series of columns about the rival cities during the 1950s. During the 1990s, acclaimed University of South Florida St. Petersburg historians Gary Mormino and Ray Arsenault explored the civic duality during a weeklong FHC seminar.