Issues
Reduce Foreclosures
The American dream of home ownership provides the greatest stability for a family, as well as for a neighborhood. But the country is in a foreclosure crisis, and St. Petersburg is not immune. Everyday we see our neighborhoods covered with For Sale signs and empty houses as families have to relocate. In fact, the Tampa Bay area's foreclosure rate is more than double the national average. This is bad for our city's families, bad for our city's economy, and it must end.
The solution will not be easy. But it is clear that, to reduce the number of foreclosures, we must begin at the source of the problem. One of my first steps as the City Council Member of District 6 was to call for increased funding for foreclosure prevention counseling. Educated homeowners make better homeowners and to solve this crisis we must stop foreclosures before they start.
Through a public-private partnership between the city,, and non-profit housing counseling agencies, we can keep more St. Pete families in their homes.
Safer Neighborhoods
We all want to feel safe within the walls of our home and on our streets. As I knock on doors and talk to our residents everyday. I hear loud and clear that public safety is the paramount concern of any resident in St. Petersburg. I vow a commitment to making our city safer; it's the most important thing I can do as your city council member.
That's why I'm calling for more police on our streets. St. Petersburg is slated to receive more than $2 million in Federal stimulus money. I proposed using some of that money to hire ten more police officers to protect our neighborhoods. The process is already underway to get these resources to the City.
My special experience and understanding of the needs of District 6 and public safety is one reason why I am endorsed by St. Petersburg Deputy Mayor and former police chief Goliath Davis.
Bank on St. Pete
If you can control your money better, you can control your life. The ability of people to participate in reputable banking services is integral to their ability to improve their financial lives and participate meaningfully in our economy. Right now, in our city, there is a dearth of banking services in our urban centers and loan sharks and cask-checking businesses are left free to demand outrageous surcharges and continue to take advantage of our citizens.
Fifteen percent of our community uses these predatory services, wasting up to 5% of their income. We have to provide our citizens a better way.
As your city council member, I have made efforts to build a coalition of banks, the City of St. Petersburg, and the Wealth-building Coalition to bring reputable banks to 18,300 households currently without them. This is the adoption of a similar program that has been successful in cities all around the country. This will bring more people into the financial mainstream, benefiting not only those households, but also the economic health of our entire city.
Job Creation
If there is one thing that helps to build a thriving community in District 6, it is job creation to provide hope and stability. Unemployment is a nationwide crisis and is being felt here in St. Petersburg. Jobless rates have eclipsed 10 percent in the Tampa Bay area, higher than the national average. District 6 feels this pain even more disproportionately, and that's why I have made economic issues the main focus of my council term accomplishments.
As your city council member, I will work to appropriate a portion of the Florida Stimulus money to fund job-training services in our city and work on ways to create new jobs, including green jobs. Economic recovery is impossible unless we solve this employment crisis.
Go Green
We must take care of our environment. We have tremendous opportunities to make our city greener and save money in the process.
I am fighting to make our city's buildings more energy efficient. A $2 million investment could save more than $500,000 annually in taxpayer money. I also advocate for the purchase of more fuel-efficient police vehicles, as we currently spend $2 million a year in diesel gasoline. I am also pioneering a program to make older St. Petersburg homes more water and energy efficient. This will control energy costs as well as make our city greener.
Even before I took office, I took leadership on the environment when I founded the Pinellas Living Green Expo and started the Green Cities initiative with the City as CONA President.
