And thus, the grueling battle between the Ricks was over.
Earlier in the night at Baker’s election watch party, held inside 400 Beach Seafood and Taphouse banquet room (a relatively small Election Night watch party venue), the mood was like most election parties: jovial, with drinks flowing and supporters praising their candidate in between bites of finger foods.
At a table outside, Maura Meitz chatted with a group of older supporters. The Old Northeast resident said Baker’s campaign was about “trying to bring everyone together.”
“I think his commercials have been trying to attract younger voters,” Meitz added. (Though she made no mention of Baker’s conceptual hip-hop cover album.)
Nearby, Don Calysta lamented what he saw as negative advertising from the Kriseman campaign.
“Look at Kriseman’s message,” he said, “It was all divisive.”
Inside, 20-year-old Connor Alfonso Hodge was in the middle of a spirited conversation with a recent transplant from Alabama, who only gave his name as Frederick.
Hodge, who interned for the Baker campaign over the summer, said Baker seemed more focused on the future of the city and praised the former mayor’s spotlight on education and developing USF-St. Pete.
“He’s done a lot for education,” he said. “Baker wants to make sure we can go to college and without $30,000 of debt.”
Frederick, a nurse, said Kriseman always rubbed him the wrong way.
“My first impression of Kriseman was looking at his Twitter feed,” he said. “He was arguing with this guy named Glenn Beck.”
Then, the din began to dull as the last precincts’ results came in and the crowd realized Kriseman had the clear lead. Once former Congressman David Jolly took the stage, the results were clear.
“Mayor Baker was always a counsel for me in all the highs and the lows,” Jolly told the crowd. “St. Pete would not be the shining city it is if not for Rick Baker.”
Minutes after an introduction by Baker’s son, Jacob, the former mayor moved through the crowd to the podium.
Baker’s concession speech was a little more gracious than the angry tirade following the primary. He thanked his family and supporters, but still fit in a couple jabs.
“Unfortunately, we fell short tonight,” Baker told the crowd. “While I’m saddened for the city that we love, St. Pete is still an incredible place.”
“I encourage all of you to continue the work we started 16 years ago to build a seamless city,” he continued. “It was a difficult effort and we had much mounted against us along the way … I remain committed to the principles of the campaign we ran.”
“I may not be your mayor going forward, but I will always be the biggest booster and supporter of St. Pete,” he said.
As Baker left the podium to make his way around the room thanking supporters, many of whom had already filed out, Frederick, the recent transplant, seemed to sum up the general feeling: “Losing sucks.”
Baker’s political future remains uncertain, but with his strong showing in affluent parts of the city as well as struggling Midtown, he may still have a role to play in city affairs. But for now, the former mayor is mum. When asked what he plans to do next, he replied simply, “I’ll worry about that tomorrow morning.”
This article appears in Nov 2-9, 2017.