I ran into Mayor Rick Baker at the Reality Check Tampa Bay planning session this morning and asked him about the CONA vote on police services. CONA voted 13-3 on Wednesday night to ask City Council to request a bid from Sheriff Jim Coats to take over police services in St. Petersburg; some neighborhood activists believe it could save tens of millions of dollars.
Baker's response to the vote and the idea of folding the SPPD was succinct: "It's a non-starter."
This article appears in May 16-22, 2007.