That was quite the up-close and very personal account of a local political figure in action carried in the Tampa Bay Times last Sunday. It involved St. Petersburg Mayor Bill Foster addressing more than the typical needs of a constituent. Foster was playing the role of good Samaritan on the Howard Frankland Bridge. A car had crashed into a cement barrier after colliding with another vehicle, and a young woman was crouched down next to the retaining wall. She was, it turned out, a bit shaken but not seriously injured. He comforted 16-year-old Olivia Snow Smith, called her parents and remained on the scene until her father showed up.
The father was Adam Smith, the Times political editor. Reportedly, the Lens, Midtown, the Rays and the run-off with Rick Kriseman barely came up.