Former state representative Jennifer Webb kicked off her run for Gulfport City Council’s Ward III seat last Thursday at The North End Tap House and Kitchen. The launch doubled as a birthday celebration, giving the night an easy, celebratory edge.
Supporters packed into the Gulfport spot as drinks flowed and conversations bounced between neighborhood chatter and campaign talk.
The event was hosted by business owners Kelly Wright and Caleb Brown, who opened up North End for what quickly became a see-and-be-seen local affair.
Webb leaned comfortably into both the setting and the moment.
“I was voted one of the most effective freshman legislators more than my Republican colleagues,” she told the crowd.
“I took the priorities that were important to you and took them up to Tallahassee,” she added.
Webb also spoke about founding a nonprofit with Florida Blue that distributes Narcan at no cost.
“There’s no reason people should die from the opioid overdose,” she said.
These days, her focus has shifted closer to home. “I’ve fallen in love again with local, municipal work,” Webb said.
After the speeches, she expanded on that point in an interview with Poliverse, drawing a straight line between her time in Tallahassee and her return to city politics. “I’ve always sought to go where I could be of greatest use,” she said, pointing to work that crossed between public and private efforts, including reducing opioid deaths.
“I don’t get hung up on level office because I only care about where I’m of greatest service.”
Webb served one term in the Florida House before being unseated in 2020 by Linda Chaney, a chapter she referenced without lingering on it. The crowd reflected the night’s forward-looking tone.
Among those circulating were Jennifer Daunch, who is running for Ward I in Gulfport, Marilyn MacClellan of the Women’s Council of Realtors, Daniel Glenn, owner of True North Creative, and Karen Love, the mayor of Gulfport, along with a steady mix of familiar local faces.
Between birthday wishes and campaign talk, the evening felt less like a formal kickoff and more like a neighborhood gathering with a purpose — fitting for a candidate making the case that city halls, not capitols, are where she now wants to work.