On WMNF’s MidPoint Monday we hear from seven of the eight candidates running for St. Petersburg City Council. The audio from a League of Women Voters forum at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg on September 25, 2019.
St. Petersburg’s Municipal General Elections are November 5. The deadline to register to vote is Monday, October 7.
There are four City Council seats on the ballot and all St. Pete residents can vote for all four seats. Here are the candidates running in the general election:
District 1: Robert Blackmon; John Hornbeck
District 3: Orlando Acosta; Ed Montanari (incumbent; not present at this forum)
District 5: Trenia Cox; Deborah Figgs-Sanders
District 7: Eritha “Akile” Cainion; Lisa Wheeler-Bowman (incumbent)
The forum was moderated by USF St. Pete professor Judithanne Scourfield McLauchlan, who asked questions and introduced the candidates throughout the forum. Some questions were put to candidates in just two races, some to all the candidates. About 75 people attended the forum, many of them were students.
There were questions about sewage spills, wooing the Tampa Bay Rays, redevelopment of the Tropicana Field site, health care, youth voters and sustainability.
On Monday evening September 30, there’s another City Council Primary Election Candidate Forum. It’s only for Districts 3, 5 and 7 and it’s moderated by the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area. It’s at the Sunshine Center Auditorium, 330 5th Street North from 6:30-8:00 p.m.; doors open at 6:00 p.m.
Watch the forum here – part 1:
Part 2:
On last week’s show, we spoke with an environmentalist about Monday’s Florida Department of Environmental Protection open house public meeting about Mosaic’s proposed discharge of wastewater into the Peace River. Mosaic is asking for a renewal permit for its Bartow Chemical Plant through the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection open house public meeting is Monday, September 30, from 4:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. at Mulberry Civic Center, 901 Northeast 5th Street in Polk County’s Mulberry.
