Score another one for name recognition. Maybe ol´ Rick Baker locked this one up with that snazzy performance in those Bay-area-supports-the-arts public service announcements. Then again, it could simply be that sweet mustache — old school or no school, brother. Or maybe it´s his job performance: In his four years as mayor, Baker helped land St. Petersburg on the Partners for Livable Communities´ list of the best 26 places to live in the country. All he had to do was donate $10,000 for the honor. And in 2002, Baker, a devout Baptist, almost became the first St. Pete mayor to use his newly instituted veto power to nix a law passed by the city council granting civil rights to homosexuals. His veto was later overridden by the city council. He did indeed become the first mayor to successfully use his veto power, however, when he stopped a bird-feeding ordinance. On the flip side, Baker recently established St. Pete as a friend to offshore powerboat racing saying: ¨… fast boats in the water is a good thing.¨ Look out, George W., you´ve got some competition in the oratory department.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.