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Darden Rice

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Darden Rice
Member of the St. Petersburg City Council
from the 4th district
Assumed office
January 2, 2014
Personal details
Born
Darden Janell Rice

(1970-06-12) June 12, 1970 (age 54)
EducationEckerd College (BA)
WebsiteOfficial website
Government website

Darden Janell Rice (born June 12, 1970) is an American politician serving as a St. Petersburg, Florida City Council member. Rice is a candidate in the 2021 St. Petersburg Mayoral Election.

Early Life and Education[edit]

Darden Janell Rice was born on June 12, 1970, to Joseph Rice, a data analyst, and Janell Rice (née Wheeler), an artist.[1][2] Rice grew up in Virginia and North Carolina. She graduated with distinction from Eckerd College with a bachelor's degree in American Studies, where she earned awards for collegiality and academic achievement offered by faculty and peers.[3] Rice also completed the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Harvard Kennedy School in 2014.[4]

Career[edit]

Darden Rice first became known in the Tampa Bay area as a community advocate and environmental activist while working with the Sierra Club, the Gulf Restoration Network, the League of Women Voters and other organizations.[3][5] From 2010 to 2013, Rice served as President of the St. Petersburg Area chapter of the League of Women Voters.[3]

Rice first ran to serve on the St. Petersburg City Council in 2005, becoming the first openly LGBTQ+ person to run for office in Pinellas County, Florida.[6][7][8] Rice was elected to the St. Petersburg City Council for District 4 in November 2013.[3] Rice declined to run for U.S. Congress in 2015 and instead opted to run for re-election to her current council seat in 2017.[9] In that election Rice was endorsed by U.S. Congressmembers Charlie Crist, Kathy Castor, and Gwen Graham[10] and subsequently re-elected in November 2017, garnering over 72 percent of the vote.[11] District 4 includes the Old Northeast and Crescent Lake neighborhoods. This term expires Jan 2, 2022.[3]

During her tenure on the St. Petersburg City Council, Rice has advocated for affordable housing,[12][13][14] expanding access to affordable healthcare, opposing voter suppression laws, and investing in clean water and energy.[3] Specifically, Rice spearheaded the Wage Theft Prevention Ordinance and universal curbside recycling, as well as founded the City Council’s Health, Energy, Sustainability and Resiliency Committee.[3] Rice also played a role in helping to secure $15 million through the Penny for Pinellas tax dedicated to closing the gap in financing and building more affordable housing in the region.[15] Rice served as City Council Vice Chair in 2016 and City Council Chair in 2017.[16]

On January 12, 2021, Darden Rice filed to run to be the 54th Mayor of St. Petersburg.[8][5][17] When launching her campaign Rice cited St. Petersburg’s economic and public health recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic as her top priority.[17] Other top platform issues have included creating universal pre-kindergarten and free two-year college and technical programs.[8] Her mayoral campaign was endorsed by State Senator Annette Taddeo,[18] fellow Councilwoman Gina Driscoll,[19] former Council members Jim Kennedy and Virginia Littrell,[19] as well as groups including Equality Florida Action PAC,[20] Emily’s List,[21] the LGBTQ Victory Fund,[7][22] Florida College Democrats,[23] and the Working Families Party.[24] If elected, Rice would be the city of St. Petersburg’s first woman mayor in its current strong form of government,[25] as well as the city’s first openly LGBTQ+ mayor.[8]

Recognitions[edit]

In 2014, Rice was selected as a Grand Marshal for St. Pete Pride,[26] the largest LGBTQ Pride celebration in Florida.[27]

In 2015, Creative Loafing named Darden Rice as “Tampa Bay’s Best City Council Member.” [28]

In 2016, the US Green Building Council recognized her with the “Outstanding Green Elected Official” Award.[3]

She has also earned the Sierra Club Black Bear Award, the St. Petersburg Preservation’s Presidents’ Award, as well as Eckerd College’s Outstanding Alumni Award (2008).[3]

Assignments and Board Appointments[edit]

  • St. Petersburg City Council – Chair (2017), Vice Chair (2016)[3]
  • Public Services and Infrastructure Committee – Chair [3]
  • Budget, Finance, and Taxation Committee [3]
  • Health, Energy, Resiliency, and Sustainability Committee – Founder [3]
  • Housing, Land Use and Transportation Committee [3]
  • Forward Pinellas – Chair [3]
  • Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) – Past Chair [3]
  • Tampa Bay Water Board of Directors [3]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. "Joseph Morrison Rice Obituary". www.legacy.com. Legacy.com.
  2. "Obituary for Janell Wheeler Rice". www.harwoodhomeforfunerals.com. Frontrunner Professional ULC.
  3. 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 "Darden Rice Official City Council Website". www.stpete.org. City of St. Petersburg.
  4. "Darden Rice joins distinguished list of government leaders as graduate of Harvard Kennedy School". www.victoryinstitute.org. LGBTQ Victory Institute. 28 July 2014.
  5. 5.0 5.1 Irwin Taylor, Janelle (12 January 2021). "Darden Rice officially in St. Pete mayoral race". Florida Politics.
  6. Covello, Rachel (4 October 2017). "OUTCOAST Leader Profile: Darden Rice, Chair of St. Petersburg City Council". www.outcoast.com. 2021 OutCoast, LLC.
  7. 7.0 7.1 "Spotlight Candidate: Darden Rice". www.victoryfund.org. LGBTQ Victory Fund.
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Williams-Jent, Ryan. "Darden Rice launches St. Petersburg mayoral campaign". Watermark. Watermark Publishing Group.
  9. Ammann, Phil (3 July 2015). "Darden Rice won't run for David Jolly's congressional seat". Florida Politics. Extensive-Enterprises 2021.
  10. "Charlie Crist, Kathy Castor, Gwen Graham endorse 'rockstar' Darden Rice for re-election". www.saintpetersblog.com. Digital Notices, LLC. 15 May 2017.
  11. Kumar, Divya (7 November 2017). "St. Pete Council District 4: Darden Rice cruises to re-election". Tampa Bay Times.
  12. Irwin Taylor, Janelle (27 March 2019). "Darden Rice says she's 'impatient' over St. Pete affordable housing". Florida Politics.
  13. Rice, Darden (24 May 2019). "Community Voices: It's time to dust ourselves off and move affordable housing forward". www.stpetecatalyst.com. St. Pete Catalyst.
  14. Rice, Darden (28 June 2019). "Darden Rice's plan for complete neighborhoods – a movement towards affordability in more than just housing costs". www.stpetecatalyst.com. St. Pete Catalyst.
  15. Irwin Taylor, Janelle (7 July 2021). "Darden Rice launches TV ad touting 'progressive' accomplishments". www.thetampabay100.com. The Tampa Bay 100.
  16. Frago, Charlie (15 December 2016). "Darden Rice new St. Pete City Council chairwoman". Tampa Bay Times.
  17. 17.0 17.1 Solomon, Josh (12 January 2021). "Darden Rice files to run for St. Petersburg mayor". Tampa Bay Times.
  18. Hayes, Kelly (26 May 2021). "Annette Taddeo endorses Darden Rice for St. Pete Mayor". Florida Politics.
  19. 19.0 19.1 Hayes, Kelly (13 July 2021). "Darden Rice nabs endorsements from former Council members Jim Kennedy, Virginia Littrell". Florida Politics.
  20. Hayes, Kelly (11 May 2021). "Equality Florida backs Darden Rice for St. Pete Mayor". Florida Politics.
  21. "State and Local Candidates". www.emilyslist.org. EMILY's List.
  22. Irwin Taylor, Janelle (9 August 2021). "Darden Rice reaches 100K voters through grassroots efforts". Florida Politics.
  23. "FCD 2021 Endorsed Candidates". www.flcollegedems.org. Florida College Democrats.
  24. "Deeply honored to have the @WorkingFamilies endorsement". www.twitter.com. Darden Rice For Mayor.
  25. Irwin Taylor, Janelle (23 February 2021). "Ruth's List Florida backs Darden Rice for St. Pete Mayor". Florida Politics.
  26. Razzano, Tiffany (24 April 2014). "Meet St. Pete Pride's 2014 Grand Marshals". Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Euclid Media Group, LLC.
  27. Holmes, Aaron (21 June 2019). "Seventeen years ago, they founded St. Pete Pride. They never dreamed it would get this big". Tampa Bay Times.
  28. "Best City Councilmember: Darden Rice". www.local.cltampa.com. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.

External links[edit]


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