ST. PETERSBURG -- Mayoral candidate Jamie Bennett today painted himself in a campaign statement as a fiscal steward, a move that appears to be a preemptive strike against challenger Kathleen Ford, who has called a news conference this afternoon to discuss the city budget.

“When the City Council held an all-day public workshop on the city’s 2010 budget on May 26th, I was disappointed that not a single other candidate for mayor attended," Bennett wrote. “The 2010 budget we discussed on the 26th is the very budget our next mayor will use to run the city. Had mayoral candidates shown interest then, those wishing to lead our city would have heard – line by line and department by department – how our budget was being built."

Bennett, a council member, was the only mayoral candidate to attend the council workshop on the budget in May.
 
Ford, a fellow Democrat, is scheduled to discuss her position on the budget at 3 p.m.

Cristina Silva, Times staff writer