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Darden Rice

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki


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 56)
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

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

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

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

  • 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

References

  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. Archived from the original on 2021-08-07. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  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.


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