Rick Baker is the mayor of St. Petersburg, the fourth-largest city in Florida. Elected in 2001, he was reelected in November 2005 with more than 70% of the votes cast. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... Nickname: Motto: Urbs In Horto (Latin: City in a Garden), I Will Location in the Chicago metro area and Illinois Coordinates: , Country United States State Illinois County Cook & DuPage Settled 1770s Incorporated March 4, 1837 Government  - Mayor Richard M. Daley (D) Area  - City  234. ... Official language(s) English[1] Capital Springfield Largest city Chicago Largest metro area Chicago Area  Ranked 25th  - Total 57,918 sq mi (149,998 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 390 miles (629 km)  - % water 4. ... A lawyer, according to Blacks Law Dictionary, is a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law. ... A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning larger, greater) is the modern title of the highest ranking municipal officer. ... Nickname: Location of the city proper in Pinellas County the state of Florida Coordinates: Country United States State Florida County Pinellas County Founded 1876 Incorporated February 29, 1892 Government  - Mayor Rick Baker Area  - City  133. ... Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ...

Background

Born in Chicago, Baker is married to wife, Joyce, with two children.

Baker has a long background in management and law. Baker received a B.S. in management, M.B.A. and Juris Doctor with honors from Florida State University. He later studied comparative law at Oxford University. Baker has practiced corporate and business law for 20 years, serving as president of Fisher and Sauls, P.A., a St. Petersburg law firm. Florida State University (commonly referred to as Florida State or FSU)[6] is a public research university located in Tallahassee. ... The University of Oxford, located in the city of Oxford in England, is the oldest university in the English-speaking world. ...

Prior to his election as mayor, Baker served as the chairman of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. He is also the author of Mangroves to Major League, a historical account of the development of the city of St. Petersburg. Chambers of commerce are business advocacy groups which are usually not associated with government. ...

Mayor of St. Petersburg

Youth programs and education

Baker has been called the "education mayor" by the St. Petersburg Times. Baker was asked to chair Florida Governor Jeb Bush's "Municipal Mentoring Initiative" as well as a National League of Cities municipal mentoring task force. Logo of the St. ... John Ellis Jeb Bush (born February 11, 1953), a Republican, is the forty-third and current Governor of Florida. ... The National League of Cities is a group of American mayors and councilmen. ...

Baker has been personally involved in motivating corporate leaders and city staff alike to partner and participate in St. Petersburg education. He has helped to raise private donations for hundreds of college and vocational scholarships, encouraged mentoring, recruited corporate partners for every school in the city, created a home-buying assistance program for St. Petersburg school teachers, and pioneered a program to use school property for new public-use playgrounds, setting a goal of having a playground within a half mile of every child in the city.

In 2005, 38 percent of the city's schools improved their Florida state ratings based on FCAT test results, compared to 10 percent of Florida public schools and 12 percent within the Pinellas County school system. The Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or the FCAT, is the means of standardized testing in the primary and secondary public schools of Florida. ... Pinellas County is a county located in the state of Florida. ...

Economic development and city services

In addition to focusing on youth and education, Baker has also focused on revitalizing the city's urban core, Midtown, and improving city services.

As Baker continues his second term, St. Petersburg continues a period of economic growth. There is currently more than $1 billion in downtown developments underway downtown, including construction of more than 1,000 new residential units, a new corporate headquarters for Progress Energy, two downtown hotels, renovation of the city's Mahaffey Theater, development of a new waterfront park and a new building for the Salvador Dalí Museum, which will be located in the Progress Energy Center for the Arts. Progress Energy Inc. ... Mahaffey Theater, a concert hall, is located St. ... The Salvador Dalí Museum in St. ...

Reelection and second term

Baker's re-election platform, called the "Baker Plan," focused on five areas: education; economic development, particularly in Midtown St. Petersburg; public safety; neighborhood associations; and improving the efficiency of city services.

Bakers' achievements as mayor have been noted nationally, with some describing St. Petersburg as a model city in programs such as education and inner city revitalization. The Partners for Livable Communities, for example, recently designated St. Petersburg as one of "America's Most Livable Communities."

Bakers' term expires on January 2, 2010.

Criticism

Despite the widespread praise Baker has received during his tenure as mayory, some feel that his positions on development and curbside recycling leave important questions about the city's future that still need to be addressed.

Recently, Baker and his administration have been under fire for "Gestapo" type tactics with respect to ridding the city of "unwanted homeless people", a group of these peoples had their tents slashed by police and fire department personnel in hopes they would move on.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• St. Petersburg, Florida

Nickname: Location of the city proper in Pinellas County the state of Florida Coordinates: Country United States State Florida County Pinellas County Founded 1876 Incorporated February 29, 1892 Government  - Mayor Rick Baker Area  - City  133. ...

External links

• Profile from the office of the mayor of St. Petersburg