ST. PETERSBURG -- In case you missed it, St. Petersburg Cty Council member Wengay Newton, a staunch opponent of the proposed new Pier, has been making robo calls to registered voters about the $50 million project.

Newton’s message urges residents to sign and return the postage-paid petitions sent out by the group voteonthepier.com that is seeking to force a vote on the project and save the current 1973 inverted pyramid Pier.

“In a democracy, everyone gets to vote,” Newtown says in the recording. “The Pier belongs to you, the citizens and taxpayers of St. Petersburg, not to a bunch of politicians.”

--Waveney Ann Moore, Times staff writer