A close race for mayor of St. Pete

ST. PETERSBURG - The two candidates for St. Petersburg mayor agree on several issues, disagree on others and vary sharply in style.

When asked once what she thought of all the former mayors and business leaders who supported Bill Foster, Kathleen Ford had a familiar and well known gender quip:

"It's good old boys," she said.

Ford endeared herself to supporters by taking populist positions on issues that nag city hall, like taxes: she's for lowering them.

A new stadium? She's against it. And she has been a strong critic of the police department and chief Chuck Harmon, who she says should use more current crime stats to target hot zones in St. Petersburg.

Like her opponent, Ford believes in more community policing, giving officers a chance to get to know neighborhoods and vice versa.

As for opposing a new stadium, for the Rays, which is not on the table now but could be, she said taxpayers can't afford it.

Ford says she will support gay pride celebrations in St. Petersburg that take place in June, with a parade that has become the largest gay pride event in Florida.

Bill Foster said he would not participate in the parade, which organizers said is meant to remember riots incited by a police raid in New York City of a gay establishment.

>> Bill Foster interview: transcript and video
>> Kathleen Ford interview: transcript and video

Both Foster and Ford agree on restricting the downtown area to panhandlers. Ford says the panhandling zone should be expanded; Foster says he would consider making it citywide, particularly for repeat offenders.

Interestingly enough, two weeks ago, before her now infamous radio interview with bubba, which was an hour with both candidates, Kathleen Ford appeared to be running even with Bill Foster.

In a poll taken by the St. Petersburg times and Bay News 9, Kathleen Ford appeared to have strong support among women voters: almost 40 percent of potential women voters said they would vote for her. 31 percent would vote for foster, and 26 percent were undecided.

But, that was two weeks ago.

Crime, economic development and taxes were cited as the most important issues. As for her management style, Ford says her gender has made her an easy target for complaints about her temperament, which some have described as harsh. She says that's because she is a woman, works hard and is assertive.

Kathleen Ford is taking on the city hall establishment with her campaign that has a certain popular appeal, and Bill Foster, promoting new ideas, says some things should be changed and others not.

The run-off election for mayor of St. Petersburg is next Tuesday.