Political Party with Adam Smith: ‘These times require boldness’

Political Party With Adam Smith is a podcast about Florida politics. The host, an award-winning journalist and the longtime political editor of the Tampa Bay Times, describes the program as “a good opportunity not just to talk about campaigns or races, but issues and the things people are talking about. Very casual, very informal, and hopefully fun.”

As Chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Pinellas, Barbara Scott is barred from picking sides between Democratic candidates running against one another. But in a heavily contested school board race, Scott is all but endorsing educator Caprice Edmond over longtime former St Petersburg City Council member Karl Nurse.

“These times require boldness, and I’m not afraid to be bold,” Scott says in this episode of Political Party with Adam Smith.

She stressed that she did not explicitly urge people to vote for Edmond over Nurse at a recent Pinellas Democratic meeting, but, “What I’ve said is that representation matters. Qualifications for a position matters.”

Nurse, is a former city council member and owner of a printing business. Edmond is a science coach at Fairmount Park Elementary, and is active in PTA organizations and the teachers union.

Nurse comfortably won the four-way primary last month, but much of Pinellas County Democratic leadership is starting to line up behind Edmond. In part that is because a Nurse victory would create an all-white Pinellas County School Board for the first time in nearly two decades.

The officially non-partisan race is to represent a southern Pinellas School board district currently held by Renee Flowers, who has endorsed Edmond to succeed her. (Disclosure: Adam Smith has contributed to Edmond’s campaign.)

Scott was a life-long chef until the election of Donald Trump persuaded her that she needed to throw more of her energy into electoral politics.

Trump won Pinellas four years ago, and Scott said she urges activists to assume he’s poised to do so again unless they work hard enough.

“We operate like Donald Trump will get reelected. That’s how we operate. Every decision we make, all the work that we do, it’s like we take nothing for granted. Absolutely nothing.”