Gabriel Hament is running for St. Pete City Council’s District 2 seat, currently occupied by Brandi Gabbard, who is term-limited.

Hament, an assistant public defender for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit, considers his occupation more akin to social work.

“Fifty percent of my clients are without housing or on the edge of losing housing,” Hament said. “So I’m intimately familiar with the pressures people are facing in the margins of our community, and how we can’t arrest our way out of homelessness, mental health and concurrent substance abuse.”

Despite coming from a background in public defense, Hament is not new to politics. According to him, his first foray into the political arena was at the age of 16, when he worked on Democratic congressional nominee Christine Jennings’ campaign against Republican Vern Buchanan.

As a political science student at the University of Florida, Hament’s interest in politics expanded once he realized the impact of local government, as opposed to larger congressional and Senate seats.

He later worked on Charlie Crist’s 2014 campaign, focusing on an LGBTQ fundraising effort, which Hament said was “cutting edge” for its time.

Hament continued working on and managing campaigns, which “ignited his passion for local government and advocacy.”

Bringing that experience to his candidacy, he pointed to a recent City Council decision that he disagreed with: the delay of public input on the Historic Gas Plant redevelopment.

“The city needs to take advantage of an elected mayor that allows for a unified vision to be executed,” Hament said. “The city has a lot to gain from the right partners. It will offset costs of resiliency infrastructure and ensure the city’s credit rating stays AA.”

“It’s time that area is activated and promises are kept,” he continued. “If elected officials are concerned that this is not unfolding deliberatively and transparently, we’ll hear it during the next election from the voter.”

Hament also pointed to Derby Lane, the defunct dog racing track turned casino, as a comparable redevelopment opportunity, and it falls within the master planning of the district he is seeking to represent.

Concerning Derby Lane, which is seeking proposals for major redevelopment, Hament suggested that a majority of the mixed-use land be allocated for affordable housing.

The surrounding area, he said, should be redeveloped so “people know that they are in St. Pete right when they get over the Howard Frankland Bridge.”

More broadly, he pointed to infrastructure gaps within District 2, including limited sidewalk connectivity and a lack of major park space.

He said he wants more connection that “strengthens the identity of District 2.”

“People need to know when they get off the Howard Frankland Bridge, they are in a special, connected city,” he said.