ST. PETERSBURG — Valentine’s Day launched the official kickoff of Maria L. Scruggs’ campaign for St. Petersburg City Council District 6. She chose Valentine’s Day to highlight her love for the community.
During a time when St. Petersburg is at a peak of redevelopment, she feels it is important that all residents of District 6 have an opportunity to be included in those development activities.
Scruggs has a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University in criminology. She holds certifications as a public manager in the State of Florida, crisis intervention and in pretrial services. She has been previously certified in three law enforcement academies as a police recruit, Florida Beverage Agent and a special agent with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Scruggs’ professional career has span more than 30 years in public service to include law enforcement, community corrections, public housing, community and economic development.
She is currently employed by Orange County Corrections where she commutes an average of 1,500 miles per week between Orlando and St. Petersburg. Scruggs brings the same level of passion for her career to her community to get results.
Within her community she is the president of the St. Petersburg Branch NAACP, an organization that she helped restructure. Under her leadership the branch has worked hard to restore its credibility and to shift the focus back on to the mission of the NAACP. She also serves as the chairwoman of Happy Worker’s Learning Center, Inc. SMART Board of Directors.
Scruggs believes that this campaign is about three things:
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Economic prosperity that includes specific strategies linked to jobs and business opportunities for the residents and businesses with in District 6
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Education linkages that ensure children in District 6 receive a quality education from preschool through college, the military or within the trades
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Environmental focus that ensures that district 6 is included in the City’s overall sustainability planning and implementation efforts
