ST. PETERSBURG -- The St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce won't endorse a mayoral candidate before the September primary.

That didn't stop the candidates for mayor from giving chamber members a detailed pitch.

Eight of the 10 candidates for mayor filled out the chamber's questionnaire last month. To read their responses about issues like baseball, Midtown development and economic development, go here.

The chamber also asked the candidates to list St. Petersburg's top three issues. Below are their responses.

City Council member Jamie Bennett: public safety, budget and job creation.

Student Richard Eldridge: crime, economy and education.

Lawyer Kathleen Ford: fiscal responsibility, crime and the changing economy.

Lawyer Bill Foster: budget, crime and neighborhood and business development.

Corporate executive Deveron Gibbons: budget, growing existing businesses, and attracting and retaining successful businesses from outside the city.

Business owner Larry Williams: crime, schools and homeless/panhandlers.

Real estate investor Scott Wagman: crime, budget and business development, and job creation.

Restaurateur John Warren: a more comprehensive approach to planning, improving relationships between city and others, and retaining existing jobs and job creation.

In a recent St. Petersburg Times poll, voters listed crime, schools and homelessness as their top concerns. Taxes came in fourth. City spending and job development, the issues cited by most candidates, ranked poorly among voters. Only 4 percent of voters cited city spending as a top concern. Only 1 percent said job development.

Cristina Silva, Times staff writer

*