Welcome back to season 2 of My Mayor, the Catalyst series that helps you get to know the person behind the policy. We sat down with each candidate and asked them each the same five questions, with a few follow up questions sprinkled in. For Episode 2, we asked:

  • What’s something you’ve become much better at in the last five years that would surprise your younger self?
  • What’s a question you wish more people would ask before forming an opinion?
  • Tell me about a time when you realized you’d been completely wrong about someone.
  • What’s a lesson life taught you the hard way?
  • When nobody’s asking anything of you and curiosity takes over, what rabbit hole are you most likely to disappear into?

Joe Hamilton:
We are back with Episode 2 of My Mayor, and joining me again is candidate Kevin Batdorf. Welcome, sir.

Kevin Batdorf:
Thanks for having me again. The first round went well.

Joe Hamilton:
It did. Ready for round two?

Kevin Batdorf:
Sure.

Joe Hamilton:
First question. What’s something you’ve become much better at in the last five years that would surprise your younger self?

Kevin Batdorf:
I’d have to say the ability to say no.

I’ve learned that “no” is a complete sentence. As someone who helps people, they see me as the fixer, the person they call when they need solutions. Sometimes those requests are in someone’s individual interest instead of the community’s interest.

Sometimes I simply have to say, “No, I can’t do that.”

Joe Hamilton:
That’s an important one. As mayor, I’m sure there will be far more requests than there is time, money or staff to address.

How do you decide when to say no because of limited resources, versus when it’s simply the right answer regardless of resources?

Kevin Batdorf:
You have to assess the entire situation.

When it comes to resources, there are going to be hard decisions. I’m able to make those without regret. It’s difficult to hear, but there are going to be positions at City Hall that won’t exist if I become mayor, and there are going to be programs that won’t continue because we need to tighten the belt.

Joe Hamilton:
Along those same lines, what’s a question you wish more people would ask before forming an opinion?

Kevin Batdorf:
Before I answer that, I’ll tell you the question people usually ask, and it’s mind-boggling.

“Are you a Republican or a Democrat?”

I always ask what that has to do with a nonpartisan race. Apparently whatever you registered as when you were eighteen determines whether some people think you’re a good person.

The question I’d rather people ask is:

“What’s your interpretation of Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have a Dream’ speech?”

That tells you a great deal about someone’s mindset.

Some people say it was a great speech but too idealistic or that it didn’t address the problems of the past. I don’t think Dr. King was trying to solve the past. I think he was laying out solutions for the future.

I believe we’re all equal. We should embrace our differences while treating each other equally. Once we do that, we can move forward together. If we continue focusing on where people came from or what happened decades ago, we’ll never get there.

Joe Hamilton:
Interesting.

Tell me about a time you realized you were completely wrong about someone.

Kevin Batdorf:
This is a tough one.

The person who surprised me most was my oldest brother, Bob.

My mother raised four boys by herself. Bob graduated near the top of his high school class, earned a full scholarship to the University of Miami and eventually managed restaurants there. He helped give Miami Sound Machine its start. He went on to open restaurant chains around the country and succeeded at everything he did.

I looked up to him tremendously.

Then one day he disappeared.

After tracking banking records, medical records and everything else we could find, we discovered he had gone to Las Vegas and taken his own life.

I never saw it coming. I never imagined he would even consider something like that.

That was probably the biggest surprise I’ve ever experienced about someone.

Joe Hamilton:
That’s incredibly difficult. I’m sorry you had to go through that.

Kevin Batdorf:
Sorry to be Debbie Downer.

Joe Hamilton:
No, that’s a real answer. That’s exactly why we’re here. Thank you for sharing it.

This may be in similar territory.

What’s a lesson life taught you the hard way?

Kevin Batdorf:
Trust is a fleeting concept.

I was taught from a young age that trust should be mutual in every relationship. Over time I’ve learned trust is conditional. It’s based on the other person’s ability to be trustworthy.

When I trust someone, I trust them completely. That’s just how I’m wired.

But life teaches you otherwise.

People say, “Once bitten, twice shy.” Unfortunately that’s true. Today it’s trust, but verify. You still need to trust people to accomplish anything, but you also have to recognize people are only trustworthy to a certain degree.

Joe Hamilton:
Trust gets stress-tested when the person you’re relying on has to choose between their own interests and keeping a promise.

As mayor, you’ll interact with an entire community. There will be requests, confidential information, agreements and competing incentives everywhere.

How do you balance the desire to trust people because that’s who you are, while avoiding becoming either too cynical or too trusting?

Kevin Batdorf:
That’s a great question.

Accountability has to be part of the answer.

The mayor ultimately makes decisions. If people know they’re accountable, they have every reason to act responsibly. Otherwise there are consequences.

We don’t live in an ideal world. There’s corruption. Sometimes it’s blatant, but more often it’s moral corruption. Decisions get made because of special interests or personal interests.

That’s what I want to change.

I want trust restored at City Hall.

Transparency is essential. Light shines on wrongdoing.

I’d like to hold press conferences as often as possible, ideally every week. The door will always be open for questions about what we’re doing and how we’re spending taxpayer money.

There won’t be hidden accounts. There won’t be departments withholding information from the public.

If you’re transparent, people trust you. If people trust you, they’ll let you do your job. If you don’t do your job well, you’re held accountable.

I don’t think City Hall is holding the mayor accountable today. I want a better relationship with City Council, and I want them to hold me accountable.

Joe Hamilton:
When you talk about special interests, every mayor has opinions about what’s best for the city.

Some issues are straightforward, like transparency. Others involve judgment calls, such as development, building heights or transportation.

How do you balance your own vision for the city with making pragmatic decisions that serve everyone?

Kevin Batdorf:
You look at every issue through one lens:

Is this in the best interest of the entire city?

Not one neighborhood. The entire city.

Take Tropicana Field.

I’m going to evaluate proposals based on what’s best for St. Petersburg.

I don’t believe anyone is owed that property today. When the property was originally assembled, homeowners were compensated at fair market value. Renters also received assistance relocating.

Economic opportunity should absolutely exist, but that’s different from saying someone is owed the property.

My view is that the site sits in the downtown corridor and should contain downtown-scale development that brings jobs and opportunity. I don’t believe low-income housing belongs there. We have other areas where housing can be built.

I’m confident Moffitt will come back, and I’d like to attract more employers like that.

Ultimately, though, I’m not going to dictate outcomes. I’ll listen to proposals and decide what’s in the best interest of St. Petersburg as a whole.

The same applies to transportation. Light rail is an interesting idea, but you have to ask who pays for it, where it goes and whether people will actually use it.

Everything has to be evaluated on its merits.

Joe Hamilton:
Final question.

When nobody’s asking anything of you and curiosity takes over, what’s the rabbit hole you’re most likely to disappear into?

Kevin Batdorf:
My wife and my fourteen-year-old son laugh about this.

I’ll disappear into Neil deGrasse Tyson lectures about Einstein, relativity and the fourth dimension. I’ll spend hours trying to understand concepts like whether cold actually exists, or how hydrogen-powered vehicles work.

I enjoy science because it challenges me.

I’m a fixer by nature. I like solving problems.

The things that fascinate me most are the problems I can’t solve. Those are the ones that make me want to keep learning.

Joe Hamilton:
I’ve been on a quantum entanglement kick myself lately. Fascinating stuff.

Wonderful. Thanks again. I appreciate you joining me for Episode 2. We’ve got another episode or two before the primary, and I look forward to catching up again.

Until then, good luck on the campaign trail.

Kevin Batdorf:
Thank you.