St Pete activists ready to rain on Rick Baker’s parade
November 6, 2009 at 9:22 am by Mitch Perry
In two months, the Rick Baker era ends. St. Petersburg’s mayor moves on, possibly toward the only job he’s said he really wants: replacing Carl Kuttler as the head of St. Petersburg College.
But before he goes, his critics want to let him know how they really feel about him.
Yesterday a coalition of activist groups, including St. Pete For Peace, announced that they would protest Saturday night’s St. Pete Chamber of Commerce “Bon Voyage Shindig,” now scheduled to take place at Demens Landing.
In the words of the Reverend Bruce Wright, “If you’re going to honor him for his accomplishments, let’s tell the truth about his failures.”
When asked today by CL what he considers to be Baker’s shortcomings, the homeless activist rattles off a litany of issues. “The elimination of public housing. Tent slashing by his police department. Black youth being shot by his police department. The harassment of youth in general. Destroying civil liberties by vacating the sidewalk at BayWalk. His lack of movement on the environment, which is why we still don’t have curbside recycling.”
But Wright says for all of Baker’s failures, he’s concerned about what might come next in a Bill Foster administration. “It’s frightening,” he says. “I think our city is going to go in an even worse position.”
Demens Landing is located at Bayshore Drive and 1st Avenue SE in St. Petersburg. Activists want people to show up there at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
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