St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch cast his ballot today, asking voters to judge his nearly five years in office as he seeks a second term against a crowded field of challengers, notably former governor Charlie Crist.
“It always feels good to vote,” Welch said. “I’ve done that for seven elections. The fact you can participate in civic society, that always feels good.”
Welch’s trip to the polls comes two days after early voting began Aug. 8. It continues through Aug. 16, with the primary election set for Aug. 18.
The incumbent faces former Gov. Charlie Crist, City Councilmember Brandi Gabbard, former St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Chief Jim Large, former Shore Acres Civic Association President Kevin Batdorf and former St. Petersburg NAACP President Maria Scruggs.
With seven candidates on the ballot, the race could continue into November. A candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote Aug. 18 wins outright. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters advance to the Nov. 3 general election.
Crist, who cast his ballot Saturday surrounded by supporters on the first day of early voting, has expressed confidence that he can clear that threshold and clinch the mayor’s seat in the primary, forgoing a November runoff.
“I don’t make predictions about this going to a runoff,” Welch said, challenging Crist’s presumptuousness.
Instead, Welch enters the final stretch of the campaign with nearly five years of City Hall decisions for voters to consider, having taken office in January 2022 as St. Petersburg’s first Black mayor and inherited the long-running effort to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District. His administration selected the Tampa Bay Rays and Hines to redevelop the site alongside a new Rays stadium, only for the agreements to collapse following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and subsequent political fallout over the financing.
Welch then restarted the redevelopment process, ultimately selecting proposals for portions of the district as the city again attempts to transform the land surrounding Tropicana Field while fulfilling promises made to the predominantly Black community displaced from the area decades ago.
Hurricanes Helene and Milton have likewise become a dividing line in the mayoral campaign. The 2024 storms devastated neighborhoods across St. Petersburg, flooding thousands of homes and leaving residents and City Hall grappling with recovery, permitting and infrastructure problems that continue nearly two years later.
Welch has defended the city’s response and pointed to recovery efforts, infrastructure investments and resilience work undertaken during his administration. His opponents have challenged that, particularly over permitting, storm recovery and the condition of the city’s aging infrastructure.
Housing affordability, development, public safety and city finances have also figured prominently in candidate forums as Welch’s challengers make their cases for a change at City Hall.
Crist brings decades of name recognition from his tenure as Florida governor, attorney general, education commissioner and a member of Congress. Gabbard, Large, Batdorf and Scruggs have spent much of the campaign pitching themselves as alternatives to both the incumbent and former governor.
Welch’s name may be one of many on the ballot, but as the incumbent, voters have years of City Hall decisions to consider, many of which were unprecedented challenges, as well as his extensive history on Pinellas County Commission.
“Look at our vision and accomplishments in the last five years and if you agree to that, I’d ask for your support,” Welch told Poliverse.