Former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker spent Saturday afternoon shaking hands with dozens of supporters at Lake Maggiore Park.
- Rick Baker held first campaign event Saturday
- Baker, former St. Pete mayor, wants his old job back
- The mayoral race is expected to be a tight one
The humble barbecue was also full of energy as some resident enjoyed taking a minute to chat with the former mayor, who wants his old job back.
"I think the most important thing I can do, just like I did the entire time I was mayor, is be out talking to folks," Baker said.
While may were expecting a form speech for sorts, Baker chose to spend his time with the microphone saying a prayer and thanking the chefs.
It's expected to be a tight race, and one that could lie in the hands of the city's black community.
Al White, a retired St. Pete Police Sergeant, says Baker's work with race relations in the city was crucial while he was in office from 2001-2010.
"He diversified the police department, we had the greatest relationship between police and the community that I can recall since being on the police department," White explained.
But, much of St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman's efforts have also gone towards the residents of Midtown and South St. Pete.
"You also have to lift the people up, because if they don't have the spending power to spend in grocery stores or deposit in banks, it doesn't do you any good," he said.
He says he's been working to go beyond small changes like streetscaping and adding amenities, and is focused on brining more resources to the area that will help in the long term.
"What we're starting to see is poverty levels are starting to decrease, were seeing a decrease in poverty in a rate faster than the national average or the state average. But we're not anywhere where we need to be, let me be clear about that, we have a lot of work ahead of us," Kriseman said.