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St. Petersburg Votes for Change
With USFSP located in downtown St. Petersburg and right on the water, students are effected by local law makers decisions more than they think. How should the St. Petersburg Pier be used? Should the Tampa Bay Rays be held to their lease and stay in St. Petersburg to 2027 or should they be allowed to explore other venues?
The answers to those questions are still up in the air but it is clear that St. Petersburg is ready for change. On election day, Tuesday, November 5th, the election ended with Rick Kriseman (on left) as the new Mayor of St. Petersburg with the polls closing showing Kriseman with 56 percent of the vote and former Mayor Bill Foster (on right) with 44 percent shutting down Foster’s hope of becoming a 2 term Mayor like his predecessors.
The Tampa Bay Times reported that Kriseman had a leg up on Foster due to higher campaign funds, support from the state Democratic Party, and a professional campaign staff. After a Mayoral debate, hosted by USFSP last month, Kriseman pointed out that his campaign manager Cesar Fernandez and most of his campaign staff were under the age of 25. He then urged volunteer students to get involved. Most internships offer college credit as well as valuable real life experience.
While the Mayoral election will not come around for another 4 years, there may still be an opportunity to get involved in politics and voice your opinions on issues that matter to you. Whether you voted for Rick Kriseman or Bill Foster one thing is for certain: the choices that Kriseman makes during the next 4 years will be sure to affect us all so get active, and stay involved!
Sources:
http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/local/kriseman-leading-foster-in-st-pete-mayors-race/2150994
http://www.thenewstpetepier.com/
http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/8/15/4624970/mlb-rays-tropicana-field-stadium-dispute-selig
http://www.wtsp.com/rss/article/332377/378/St-Petersburg-primary-election-results