Michael Fridovich Thinking 'Outside of the Box'

With just two weeks of public service under his belt, Councilor Michael Fridovich has already met with business owners in the Waterfront District and 49th St. corridor.

“I’ve already started reaching out to 49^th St. businesses on the St. Pete side, to find out what they need and how they can be helped to be empowered,” he said.

Fridovich, 65, is also making his voice heard by sharing "out of the box" ideas.

Among Fridovich's ideas for development in the city, moving the Gulfport Police Department to 49th St. During last week's workshop, Fridovich suggested looking into borrowing $5 million dollars to pay for relocation of the station, improvements at the marina and other city projects.

Fridovich's main message . . . "be proactive". He says loan rates are between 1 and 2 percent, making it the best time to borrow. By making the first move to address crime and the perception of crime on 49th St., he says we can then talk to St. Petersburg about their commitment to the area.

“Gulfport doesn’t need fixing, it needs tweaking,” Fridovich said.

He's meeting and talking to everyone he meets in order to find out what residents want.

"I ran because Gulfport is a beautiful little community and I’d like to see it stay that way, but at the same time, if you don’t take progressive steps for preventive issues, it won’t be able to sustain itself over the years."

Part of why Fridovich believes we need to "think outside the box" is because he believes the way local governments run has changed in the last 20 years.

"Government's never tried or were never asked to make money, it's a totally different shift," he said.

Fridovich says now, Gulfport and many other cities are working to make money in order to sustain quality of life and improve services for residents.

“You have to think clearly out of the box today if you want to maintain services,”

“People never walked on the moon until it happened – you have to look at different perspectives.”

Although Fridovich has only lived in Gulfport for three years, he's confident his life experience with dozens of state, local and national campaigns, will help him tackle Gulfport's needs. Fridovich describes himself as an entrepreneur with political, business and even real estate experience. As far as life experience, he's lived on a sailboat, sailed the Caribbean and served during the Vietnam War.

He hopes to keep the lines of communication open with residents and help build teamwork on council.

“I’m not shy,” Fridovich said. “I really want to work with the other four members. I want to work with them, but I also want them to work with me and take my ideas as serious as I take theirs," Fridovich said.

You can reach Fridovich at mfridovich@mygulfport.us.

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