Local Politics is All Where All Politics is Local

Tip O'neil's famous line, "All Politics is Local", has never been more appropriate. Here in Pinellas County, Florida, we have just gone through an election of historic significance. Local Democrats picked up two open seats in the Florida House of Representatives, and one open seat in the Florida Senate.

Pinellas used to be the most Republican county in an overwhelmingly Democratic state. The irony is that now that the State of Florida leans Republican, Pinellas County is now leaning Democratic. That doesn't mean that the local Republicans have rolled over and played dead. Governor-Elect Charlie Crist hails from St. Petersburg, and he carried Pinellas County handily. All but two of the County Commissioners are Republicans, as are all of the county's Constitutional Officers. Of the three Congressional Districts representing all or parts of Pinellas, only the portion of FL-11 in south St. Petersburg is represented by a Democrat.

Pinellas is beginning to become a tale of two counties. Southern Pinellas is starting to look pretty blue, while Northern Pinellas is still bright red. However, one of the biggest surprises this cycle is how close Carl Zimmerman came to victory in House District 48 in Northern Pinellas. The two State House seats picked up by Democrats this cycle are both in South Pinellas. When added to the Dist. 55 seat held by Frank Peterman, and Dist. 53 held by Rick Kriseman that was formerly the seat of newly elected Democratic State Senator Charlie Justice, the South Pinellas County House district map is almost entirely blue. The only red parts of this map below Ulmerton Road are the parts of House District 54 now held by newly elected Republican Jim Frishe.

St. Petersburg's Mayor, Rick Baker, is a Republican. However, 5 of the 8 city council seats were held by Democrats. The City Council will select a new Council Member to replace Rick Kriseman who resigned to take up his new seat in the state House. The best bet is Kriseman's replacement will also be a Democrat, Herb Polson. Two St. Petersburg Council seats will be open for the city election in November 2007. Bill Foster and Renee Flowers will be leaving due to term limits. Flowers seat is likely to remain in Democratic hands, with Gershom Faulkner the likely winner. The interesting race will be for Bill Fosters' seat. Foster is a Republican, but his Council District resides within State House District 52 which was just picked up for the Democrats by Bill Heller. Stay tuned. We'll be talking a lot more about both of these seats in later issues.

While St. Petersburg is the most Democratic of the cities in Pinellas, the other larger cities are not bereft of Democratic office holders. Three of the seven Commissioners in Largo are Dems, including Mayor Pat Gerard. Pinellas Park Democrats hold 2 of the 5 Council seats. Even Clearwater has Democratic Council Member Carlen Petersen.

One could not set the stage for local politics in Pinellas without a discussion of the local Republican and Democratic Parties. Each of these parties will soon be getting their own story told in more detail. However, we must talk a little about both here.

The Pinellas Democratic Party, well, what can you really say about them? The local Dems have been a complete horror show since July when Chair Carrie Wadlinger resigned. She was succeeded by Ed Helm. That's when the fun really began. To say that Helm has been divisive is a massive understatement. In a year that Democrats seemed to have everything going for them, Helm has made the local Democratic Party more fun than a three ring circus. For everybody but members of the Pinellas Democratic Party, that is. Helm decided to violate Florida Democratic Party rules by endorsing his own slate of candidates in the September 5th Primary. Showing what an adept politician Helm really is, every one of his candidates lost in the primary. Helm stirred things up during the primary by suggesting that the winning candidates were not "real" Democrats, whatever those are.

There will be an election of officers for the Pinellas Democratic Party on December 13th. Former Party Webmaster Tony Molinaro, who Helm unceremoniously fired in the middle of the general election campaign, will be running for Chair against Ed Helm. The Pinellas Party meetings since Helm took over as Chair have been real donnybrooks. The election meeting on December 13th should be no different. Look for a Credentials fight before the voting begins. I say it is even money whether or not a vote will even be held on the 13th. Stay tuned. We'll be sure to have more on that later.

Meanwhile, Pinellas Republicans have had no bed of roses to lie in either. While devoid of the histrionics that have characterized the Dems under Helm, The GOP has had its own trials and tribulations. Chair Tony DiMateo has drawn more than his share of criticism lately. Losing the two State House seats and the State Senate seat formerly held by Republicans hasn't helped him any. He has not appeared to have drawn any opposition for re-election so far, however. Neil Brickfield, a former local elected official and County Commission candidate is slated to become Vice Chair this cycle. Rumor is Brickfield will replace DiMateo after the 2008 presidential election.

Well, Pinellas is not Peyton Place, but sometimes it comes close. There will be the Party elections in December. There are municipal elections in March, and St. Petersburg will hold Council elections in November. Plenty of politics and local governance issues to talk about in between elections. Come back and see what's been happening lately.