Art in da Burg Andrew Orr

Jarib Figueredo is the real deal to anyone who loves their freedoms in this country. He is especially qualified to opine on the subject of freedom because he lived without it for 19 years and he sees some of the same things happening here that he saw in his homeland or communist Cuba. But he is running for City Council because he is a product of the American Dream. He wants to do right by the people of district 4 and stop some of the silliness he sees on city council. The man is a worker too, garnering a reputation for campaign effort that would impress those that have successfully gone before him. He has many opponents, some very wealthy, but he is undaunted or “not intimidated” as he says. His confidence is infectious yet his delivery is subtle, smooth, and somewhat gentle with that unmistakable Cuban accent. Jarib will be a new father soon and his young family looks forward to him being called councilman very soon. He certainly can do it if anyone can.

This is all analysis and a special mobile edition of Burg bulletin. Episode eight.

In this episode I discuss, what else, the Saint Petersburg municipal elections. I was in a mood and this episode goes about an hour and a half so there’s plenty for everyone. Enjoy!

Dr Ed…what can I say? He is the energizer bunny and he is 80. He puts me to shame and I am 53. If anyone deserves public office it is Dr. Ed. He has 3 competitors. They are all inexperienced. Great people but green. Dr Ed, however, has been a civic leader for 30 years. Too many items of accomplishment to mention. I sat down with him for an hour and we had a great discussion about his qualifications and goals.

(Video found at Facebook.com/burgbulletin). This was a very pleasant interview. We talked a little bit about his family, his playing the guitar, his books that he is so proud of, and the effectiveness which he gave the job of mayor of St. Petersburg Florida for two consecutive terms. He delves into what the factors were that allowed him to be so effective and successful. I really enjoyed getting to know him a little bit more. One of the things I learned most from this interview pertains to how we should think about these mayoral candidates. The trap that we find ourselves in a lot is when we pigeonhole candidates as liberal or conservative or Democrat or Republican. Rick says this is a mistake. At the mayoral level, political ideology takes a backseat to one’s love of city. So I’m going to take this under advisement as I think I make this mistake a lot myself. I think I’m gonna re-dedicate myself towards finding that person who loves St Petersburg as much as Rick Baker does. If we can find that person, it doesn’t matter what their political party is.

I think things are happening daily now so I should start keeping a log. Just today, for example, Wengay Newton called Ken Welch a racist. And an article in FloridaPolitics.com has tarnished and branded Robert Blackmon a slumlord basically. They published a clearly democrat-hit piece on his claiming he never fixes his apartments and the folks who refuse to pay get evicted unfairly, etc. cry me a river. Except that someone found an old Twitter post of his where Blackmon talks about ‘throwing tenants out’ after buying a complex and needing to renovate it. So that slumlord brand could stick. Will it? Who knows….

It’s a pleasure for me to share this interview with listeners of this podcast. Robert Blackmon is high energy at 5pm in the day when I’m thinking about taking a nap. He can cite the details of any legislation he has touched as a member of city council and he has an impressive career history with being a successful real estate investor. Born and raised in St. Pete, he was the youngest City Councilman ever elected in the city. Blackmon now wants to be Mayor and stands a real good chance if we are rating by personal performance alone. I also asked him about personal qualities that his detractors suggest of him (Bull in a China shop, hard-charging, etc,) and he candidly admits to some of that but only as a means of channeling his passion about a certain issue. He regularly butts head with the present Mayor, Mayor Kriseman, for example. Perhaps this is what gives him the maverick status that he has. One thing is certain though, he is in it to win it and he has garnered the support of the Republican establishment which means he should have plenty of money to advertise with as we get much closer to Election Day on August 24. Enjoy!