2005 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral election

2005 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral election

←  2001 November 9, 2005 2009  →
Turnout	20.56%
Candidate Rick Baker Ed Helm Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Popular vote 22,785 9,582 Percentage 70.40% 29.60%
Mayor before election Rick Baker Republican Elected Mayor Rick Baker Republican

The 2005 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral election took place on November 9, 2005. Incumbent Mayor Rick Baker, who was first elected in 2001, ran for re-election to a second term. He was challenged by retired lawyer Ed Helm. Baker defeated Helm in a landslide, winning re-election with 70 percent of the vote.

Candidates

• Rick Baker, incumbent Mayor
• Ed Helm, retired lawyer and curbside recycling advocate ^[1]

Results

2005 St. Petersburg, Florida, mayoral general election ^[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Rick Baker (inc.)	22,785	70.40%
	Nonpartisan	Ed Helm	9,582	29.60%
Total votes			32,367	100.00%

References

1. Johnson, Carrie (August 3, 2005). "Mayor faces challenge with last-minute entrant". St. Petersburg Times . St. Petersburg, Florida. p. 3B. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
2. "St. Petersburg Mayor - Statement of Vote - Pinellas County, Florida - 2005 November 8 Municipal General". Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections. 2005. Retrieved July 4, 2025.