The Tampa Bay Times has recommended Charlie Crist for St. Petersburg mayor – the third city candidate pick under the newspaper’s newly-minted political recommendations process.
Times Chairman and CEO Conan Gallaty and Viewpoints Editor and columnist Graham Brink both recommended Crist over incumbent Mayor Ken Welch. The pair have also agreed in the city’s two council races, recommending Gabriel Hament in District 2 and Trevor Mallory in District 6.
The recommendations are part of the Times’ revamped process, which previously doled out endorsements under the collective banner of its editorial board. Now, the newspaper appends the names of individual decision-makers to its recommendations.
When the change was announced, Gallaty wrote that the old approach could create confusion about whose views the recommendations represented. Although the newsroom operates independently and does not participate in political recommendations, he said the editorial board label could suggest a broader, institutional unanimity.
“To many readers, an editorial board suggests a broad institutional voice – perhaps even the newsroom itself. In reality, it has always been a small group offering its judgment. Our newsroom operates independently and did not participate in these recommendations, but that distinction was not always clear,” Gallaty wrote.
But while the Times has changed who publicly takes responsibility for its recommendations, Gallaty said the underlying process for evaluating candidates has not.
The first decision is which races warrant a recommendation. Gallaty told Poliverse that they first consider which races have the biggest impact on the city, county or region and where weighing in could provide voters with useful guidance. From there, Gallaty and Brink identify the major issues surrounding the office, which tend to align with issues examined in the newspaper’s voter guide.
They then typically schedule interviews lasting 30 minutes to an hour with candidates who agree to participate.
“We pressure-test their answers to understand if they understand those issues and if not, whether they’d be willing to learn about them,” Gallaty said.
The interviews are one piece of a vetting process. Candidates can be asked to complete questionnaires, while the Times has said its review can include criminal and civil background checks, interviews with previous employers and colleagues, reviews of voting records and financial disclosures, and consideration of candidates’ public positions and appearances.
When asked if he were to apply a pressure test to his own candidate recommendation methodology, Gallaty acknowledged that the interview itself can introduce limitations. Some candidates may understand an issue but struggle to recall facts or data in the moment, he said, and might be better served by putting their answers in writing.
Verbal communication can also carry more weight depending on the demands of the office. Gallaty said candidates who are not strong speakers can still be qualified for public office, but some positions require an officeholder to persuasively communicate an argument, which is a marker of their overall favorability in the candidate pool.
Gallaty said he and Brink generally approach the interviews collaboratively rather than dividing candidates between them or employing distinctly different interviewing styles. Both jump in with questions and try to give candidates opportunities to build on their answers.
“The whole goal is to help us understand their approach,” Gallaty added. “There’s not one way to hold a seat in office, though there are many ways not to.”
The new format, however, allows Gallaty and Brink to reach different conclusions from that process. That happened during the August St. Petersburg mayoral primary, when Brink recommended Crist while Gallaty backed City Council member Brandi Gabbard.
After Gabbard failed to advance, Gallaty joined Brink in recommending Crist over Welch for the Nov. 3 election.
Their written recommendations also show that the qualities emphasized can vary by race. In the mayoral contest, Brink emphasized Crist’s executive experience, coalition-building and communication while criticizing aspects of Welch’s leadership. The council recommendations highlighted Hament’s understanding of city issues and work and life experience, while Mallory’s recommendation pointed to his increased experience and understanding of city government.
So far, Gallaty and Brink have reached the same conclusion in all three St. Petersburg general election races. The process behind those decisions, Gallaty said, remains essentially the one the Times used before – even as responsibility for the final recommendations now rests under individual names.