From her wage theft ordinance to her outspokenness on environmental issues, Rice is someone who’s not only perpetually on the right side of history, but is often leading the way on issues that will define St. Pete for generations. She’s thorough and thoughtful on issues like the Rays’ stadium debate and always well-spoken. We do sometimes worry she’ll leave her seat before she terms out to run for higher office, though, which she certainly has the ambition and talent to do, as we would miss her. (We must note there were quite a few runners-up for this award among her colleagues, including Councilmembers Karl Nurse, Amy Foster and Steve Kornell.)
This article appears in Sep 24-30, 2015.