"Just Say No."

The editorial page of today's Sunday edition of St. Petersburg TIMES featured a three-quarter page endorsement for Mr. Bill Foster, mayoral candidate for this fair city. While extolling Mr. Foster's civic qualifications, past city council leadership accomplishments, and detailed plans and proposals to move our city steadily forward in these uncertain economic times, the editorial board depreciated (one might say eviscerated) opposing candidate Kathleen Ford's lack of comparable attributes.

It serves no viable purpose to reiterate within this opinion piece the detailed examples of Foster's pro leadership style that were at length fairly articulated in the endorsement. For those fellow citizens who may yet be among the classification of "undecided voter," I would encourage each to read for themselves the TIMES carefully reasoned support for Mr. Foster's candidacy, and by doing so, reject, come election day, the audacious assertion that Ms. Ford past behavioral shenanigans in city government portends anything less if not more of the same. Like the emperor who paraded around his kingdom with no clothes on, attempting, if you will, to pull the wool over the eyes of his skeptical subjects, we, Ms. Ford, who otherwise possess clear vision and an ample reserve of discernible perception, see you for who you are and we are not fooled.

We clear thinking citizens who truly realize that this city must be governed by a rational leader who understands and evaluates the problems and difficulties facing our city today yet each must be carefully weighed against the scales of future consequence, who invites and embraces differing opinions in the search of common ground solutions, and who has the moral and ethical fiber to withstand without malice the slings and arrows of those who seek an opposing course, this is the type of leader the City of St. Petersburg must elect as our next mayor. That candidate can only be Mr. Bill Foster.

Come election day, cast your ballot for Bill Foster, and by doing so, tell Ms. Ford in no ambiguous language, "Thanks for playing along, Ms. Ford. Here's a copy of the home game. Your time is now up."