Episode 48: St. Petersburg Politics

Florida Spectacular

This week The Florida Spectacular talks with Ben Kirby, who worked alongside St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman as the Communications Director for Kriseman's two-term tenure, which ended earlier this year. Cathy and Ben talk about Kriseman's famous "no Trumps allowed" tweet, the challenges facing a Florida community recovering from a Jim Crow South, and the way Florida government – St. Petersburg in particular – allows people accessibility to their government.

More about Ben: Benjamin J. Kirby is a communications professional with 30 years in politics, federal and local government, the nonprofit sector, and advocacy. From 2014 to 2022, he served as the Communications Director for St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman. Born in western North Carolina and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Benjamin lives in St. Petersburg, Florida with his wife, Kendra, and his children, Emeline, Finnegan, and Elle.
Want more Florida? Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Support the show

Support the podcast! For $5/month, you get premium Florida Keys history and travel tips with Brad Bertelli and Cathy Salustri.
Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com.

Find her on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy; Twitter/IG: @CathySalustri

Question or comment? Email: [e-mail].
Free, weekly episodes of "The Florida Spectacular" are co-hosted by Rick Kilby.
Get Rick's books at rickkilby.com/ and http://studiohourglass.blogspot.com/. Connect: Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Twitter (@oldfla), and IG (@ricklebee).
Premium, biweekly episodes of "The Florida Keys" Spectacular are co-hosted by Brad Bertelli. Find Brad's column in The Keys Weekly newspaper, ch...