Sunday, August 16, 2015

Kriseman Administration out of touch

Things don't seem to be going well in St. Petersburg and the Kriseman administration is taking a less than serious view of the situation.


St. Petersburg, Fl.
Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb, PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want to Blog

Five of the worst performing schools are in St. Petersburg, Why Pinellas County is the worst place in Florida to be black and go to public school, Tampa Bay Times. Before the Kriseman spin machine goes into the "we don't run the school system, the School Board does" routine, let me ask you to think back to the Rick Baker administration when the City had a major impact on schools. The Mayor set the goals and worked hard to get them implemented.

All of the five underperforming schools are in South St. Pete. Who will advocate with the School Board for these schools and these kids if the City doesn't?

Recently the City made the number 10 spot on the Florida most dangerous towns list. Here Are The 10 Most Dangerous Towns In Florida To Live In. Not much response from the administration.

Glen Beck, ok not the most stalwart of sources but with a large conservative following posted: Glenn Beck Warns Religious Listeners to Avoid Tampa-St. Pete, PATCH.

 The Administration's response: a flippant Twitter comment "Kriseman: Thanks, Glenn Beck, for labeling St. Pete among 'least religious' cities in U.S.", showing a complete lack of regard for those who follow Glen Beck and for those of faith in general.

I am not sure whose comments make St. Pete look worse Beck's or Kriseman's.

Recent rains expose a St. Pete wastewater system in disarray, Tampa Bay Times. This article revealed not only the St. Pete waste water system in disarray but also that the Kriseman administration was unaware of the situation and could not get their story straight.

The decision to shut down the Albert Whitted wastewater treatment plant is now coming home to haunt the City. We can mostly thank the Chamber for this mess since they lead the charge to get the plant closed so the six acre site could be developed.

Rick Kriseman came into office following a lack luster Mayor who never really got on track. Kriseman had a great opportunity to really shine.

He started the down hill trek within days of his term by turning the Mayor's office in to a political crony parking lot and followed that with a total lack of regard for the public's opinion in the Pier process. His approach to South St. Pete seems tepid at best. Now comes the waster water dumping debacle and the Mayor and his communications director can't seem to get it right.

It is fortunate for Gulfport that Ben Kirby lives there otherwise St. Pete might just bury it in a flood of sewage.

You can pass all of these off with one excuse or another but they are all out there for the public, including future visitors and potential retirees, to see.

The Kriseman administration seems to have forgotten one of the prime tenants of politics: perception is reality.

Kriseman is more than disappointing he is bad for St. Petersburg.

It is time for some of the serious leaders in St. Petersburg to consider a run for Mayor. It is not too early to start putting your house in order to serve your community.

By the time Kriseman's 4 years are up, sewage in the Bay will be one of the small problems that will need cleaning up.

E-mail Doc at: mailto:dr.gwebb@yahoo.com or send me a Facebook (Gene Webb) Friend request. Please comment below, and be sure to share on Facebook and Twitter. See Doc's Photo Gallery at Bay Post Photos

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