Mayor of St. Petersburg; Florida

Rick Kriseman (born August 2, 1962) is a Democratic politician who currently serves as the Mayor of St. Petersburg, Florida. Prior to his election as Mayor, he served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives, and represented the 53rd District from 2006 to 2012.

Kriseman was born in Detroit, Michigan, and moved to the state of Florida in 1972, where he attended Boca Ciega High School in Gulfport. He then matriculated to the University of Florida, graduating with a bachelor's degree in broadcasting in 1984. Following graduation, Kriseman attended the Stetson University College of Law, receiving his Juris Doctor in 1987. He was active in local politics, serving as a charter member of the Lake Pasadena Neighborhood Association and working as State Representative Lars Hafner's campaign manager.

After retiring from the legislature, Kriseman announced in 2013 that he would challenge incumbent Mayor Bill Foster in that year's mayoral election, citing Foster's lack of leadership, and criticizing him for his handling of the Tampa Bay Rays' desire to leave Tropicana Field and of the St. Petersburg Pier. Former City Councilwoman and two-time mayoral candidate Kathleen Ford, along with minor candidates Anthony Cates and Paul Congemi also joined Kriseman to challenge Foster. Kriseman and Ford attacked Foster for changing his position on a number of issues, while Kriseman was attacked by Ford for not passing any legislation while in the legislature, who questioned whether Kriseman would be partisan as mayor. The Tampa Bay Times, criticizing Foster's "lack of vision and unsure footing," strongly endorsed Kriseman, citing his "stabilizing influence" on the City Council and his focus on "environmental efforts and public education" in the legislature. The Times praised the "new energy" that Kriseman would bring to the mayor's office in negotiating with the Rays, redeveloping the Pier, and improving city services. The Tampa Tribune, meanwhile, though asserting that Foster's term consisted of "four bumpy years," and praising Kriseman for his "command of the issues, which he presents with enthusiasm and energy," endorsed Foster, observing that he presided over an "economic rebirth." In the primary, Foster narrowly edged out Kriseman to place first, though no candidate received a majority. Foster won 41% of the vote to Kriseman's 39% and Ford's 19%, and Foster and Kriseman advanced to the general election. Once again, the Times endorsed Kriseman and the Tribune endorsed Foster, while United States Senator Bill Nelson, former Governor Charlie Crist, and six out of eight City Councilmembers endorsed Kriseman.Despite the closeness of the campaign, Kriseman ultimately upset Foster by a fairly solid margin, winning 56% of the vote to Foster's 44%.

In December 2015, Kriseman received media attention after he tweeted about "barring" Donald Trump from entering St. Petersburg, which he did in response to Trump’s earlier controversial comment on banning all Muslims from entering the US at the wake of deadly terrorist attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.