St. Petersburg council hopefuls talked about race, stadium

ST. PETERSBURG — No topic was off limits, not even skin color.

The five City Council applicants vying for Earnest Williams' vacant District 6 seat fielded questions from the public Monday night.

More than 50 people showed up at City Hall to pose questions about budget cuts, the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed stadium and whether race matters when representing a predominately black district.

Karl Nurse, the only white applicant, said the district's increasingly diverse population deserves a color-blind leader. More than 55 percent of residents in District 6 are black. The district includes parts of Midtown, uptown, downtown and Coquina Key, are black.

"You need to address issues in a fashion that does not pertain to race," said Nurse.

But others said a shared cultural background make its easier to tackle problems in the black community.

"I don't like to look at things as black and white because I believe we are all people," said youth minister Deborah Green, adding: "I believe I can resolve some issues in the community because I look like those persons."

The applicants are:

• Green, 45, case manager for Hospice of the Florida Suncoast and president of Earth Mission Ministries.

• Nurse, 53, owner of Bay Tech Label, founder of the Pinellas Living Green Expo and a former mayoral candidate.

• David Welch, 80, former council member, owner of Welch Accounting Services and a St. Petersburg Housing Authority board member.

• Gwendolyn Reese, 59, chief executive of InFinite Solutions; chairwoman of Close the Gap, an education nonprofit; and former co-chairwoman of the city's Community Alliance committee, which advocates for diversity issues.

• Cassandra Jackson, 48, former District 6 candidate, president of the Pinellas Black Republican Club and former Pinellas County Housing Authority board member.

The council hopefuls also addressed mounting concerns involving the Tampa Bay Rays' proposed stadium. The $450-million ballpark would be at the site of Al Lang Field and rely heavily on county and city funding, according to the Rays. The Rays, who also suggest redeveloping Tropicana Field, have offered $150-million to cover construction.

"The Rays are asking us to give much more than they are giving," said Reese. "We need to be concerned about that. On the current Trop site, black people were displaced from their homes, so I think it is very important that the community is very involved in what happens at the Trop site."

"It's going to cost taxpayers quite a bit to build a new stadium," said Green. "There are other ways to address the problem... The Rays need to put up more money than $150-million. It's for them."

Welch, however, said the city is facing more pressing concerns.

"The most important thing we need to dwell on is the unemployment of our youth. It is time we get these young individuals off of the streets," he said. "The stadium will take care of itself."

The council will interview the applicants Thursday before selecting Williams' successor. Williams, who represented District 6 since 2000, resigned last week after an unsuccessful campaign for a state Legislature seat.

-- Cristina Silva, Times staff writer, can be reached at (727) 893-8846 or csilva@sptimes.com.