Kathleen's Bio

Kathleen graduated with honors from the University of Virginia in 1979. While working full time as a critical care nurse she attended law school, graduating from South Texas College of Law in Houston, Texas. She is licensed to practice law in Florida, Texas and the District of Columbia, Court of Appeals, and she has been practicing in Florida since 1992. She and her husband, Harvey, practice law together in St. Petersburg. They have been working and volunteering in the community while raising their two children, Drew and Meggie.

In 1996, former Mayor Ed Cole asked Kathleen to run for City Council. Kathleen served on City Council from 1996 to 2001. It was during this time that Kathleen honed her legislative skills and developed her no nonsense, common sense approach to government. She stood up to the special interest groups and power brokers and worked tirelessly for the benefit of the citizens of St. Petersburg. Kathleen helped the City transition from the council-manager to the strong-mayor form of government and as a council member she advocated for the replacement of the City's aging infrastructure, approved of the formation of Tampa Bay Water to end the decades old regional water wars, approved of the amendments to the Stadium Use Agreement for Major League Baseball, advocated for the hiring of a cultural arts coordinator and was a leading proponent in the reduction of the City's tax rate.

Her many other civic accomplishments include:

• Serving as President and Board member of the North Shore Neighborhood Association, now known as the Historic Old Northeast Neighborhood Association helping to develop the first neighborhood plan in St. Petersburg, which gave residents a voice in planning and implementation of neighborhood improvements. Today, there are over 20 city neighborhood plans, a direct result of this innovative, successful, collaborative process to restore City neighborhoods. Kathleen has been protecting neighborhoods since 1989.
• Serving on the City's Housing Roundtable, St. Petersburg Housing Initiative Program (SHIP) Advisor Board, two City Codes Compliance Task Forces, the Neighborhood Services Equity Committee, Citizens Vision 2000, the Waterfront Park/Al Lang Field Citizens visioning group in 2008.
• Volunteering in the Pinellas County School System.
• Coaching girl's soccer while serving on the Northeast Raider's Soccer Association, volunteering on the American Stage Children's Committee, and acting as a Brownie and Girl Scout Leader. She has been on the Board of Directors for the Junior League of St. Petersburg and currently serves as their pro bono counsel.
• Advocating on behalf of various environmental issues, including drafting a Charter amendment to preserve environmentally sensitive land in Pinellas County, which prompted the County Government to put forth a similar amendment which was approved by the voters.
• Drafting Charter Amendments to the City's Charter to give all citizens the right to vote on funding for any new professional sports facilities. The amendments would also give St. Petersburg's citizens the right to vote on any changes that are proposed for the use of St. Petersburg's waterfront parks.

Kathleen Ford has spent her entire professional life in St. Petersburg in service to her community. She is known for her relentless search for the truth from public officials, and her commitment to open and honest government. In addition to transparent government, she believes citizens should have an active role in determining the future of the City.