Our community needs your vote.
We are St. Petersburg residents who created the website No Home Run to provide taxpayers the financial facts about the proposed new baseball stadium for the Gas Plant District. Over 70% of you who responded to the Mason Dixon survey said that you did not want $700 million of your taxes – and $1.6 billion of total resources – diverted from important public projects (flood, stormwater, sewer controls etc.) to pay for a private use baseball stadium
Sadly, in our opinion, the majority of our City Council and County Commissioners did not act responsibly. They not only committed future property taxes to a bad stadium deal; but also committed county tourism bed taxes which are needed for beach replenishment – now more than ever.
According to an op-ed by Thomas Hallock, October 14, 2024,“Anyone with a lick of sense (check out No Home Run) recognizes the boondoggle”. See Hallock’s full article: The shredded Trop and a fallen crane illustrate the foolishness in St. Pete’s priorities.
We’ve changed our name, but not our mission. You can now find our thoughts and analysis at Home Runs Matter and we invite reader submissions.
Here’s the voting part: If we are going to have responsible public policy we need responsible elected officials. And we need to send a message to irresponsible public officials that they won’t be elected to higher office if they ignore the taxpayers.
We’re asking you to vote for better elected officials, and here are our recommendations:
City Council District 3: Mike Harting: Harting is pledging to work toward improving St. Petersburg’s aging infrastructure. During Covid-19 he used his beer brewing resources to bottle hand sanitizer as residents everywhere could not find any – all for no charge.
Harting’s opponent Peter Boland is an ardent supporter of the Rays deal. Now more than ever – with the devastating impact of two hurricanes – we can see why putting our infrastructure first is so important. Boland did not see the importance of what matters in advocating public funds for a new stadium.
City Council District 5: Torrie Jasuwan: Jasuwan has been rolling up her sleaves and working on the ground with hurricane survivors. From providing diapers to those in need, to collecting items needed for cleanup, and taking debris to curbs, Jasuwan has been out there showing her servant’s heart.
Current City Council Member Deborah Figgs-Sanders is running against Jasuwan. Figgs-Sanders supported the huge giveaway to the Rays, when there are so many more important needs in St. Petersburg – fix the sewer problems (that have caused so many problems during the hurricanes), helping to improve reading for kids, and affordable housing among others.
Florida State House District 60: Lindsay Cross; Lindsay is an environmental professional with deep concerns about flooding and the impacts of the changes in the climate. She is uniquely qualified to champion water quality.
City Council member Ed Montanari is running against Cross. He supported public expenditure to benefit the Rays while his district is repeatedly flooded and now, with St. Petersburg spending $1.6 billion of the community’s resources on a baseball project, there is not enough money to repair the broken water and wastewater system in St. Petersburg.
Please join our fight for better governance. We can stand up for taxpayer’s priorities and tell billionaires that St. Petersburg is Not for Sale.
