5 things I think about the St. Pete city elections for 1.26.26

In what feels like another lifetime, I launched the precursor to Florida Politics, SaintPetersBlog, with a regular column evaluating five things about the Tampa Bay Times.

With declining revenue and budget cuts plaguing newsrooms across the nation, and the Times certainly feeling the crunch themselves, there aren’t many things these days on which to opine, other than, perhaps, the inability to opine.

But the premise, which I borrowed from the legendary Peter King’s “10 Things I Think I Think,” is worth reviving. And with St. Pete municipal elections just a few months away, now is a great time to do it.

“Five things I think about the St. Pete city elections” will be a recurring column throughout this election cycle, detailing the Mayor’s race, City Council contests and anything else that may be adjacent to them. Here, there will be an opportunity to spotlight news, events, comments or anything else that’s noteworthy, but perhaps not so noteworthy it deserves its own 600-word column.

So with that preamble, here are five things to note this week in St. Pete city elections.

No comment on Alex Pretti shooting

The biggest news over the weekend was the shooting death of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Pretti was shot and killed during a protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE officials and officials from the Donald Trump administration have framed the shooting as justified, portraying Pretti as an armed individual who sought to “murder federal agents.”

Eyewitness accounts and video taken by onlookers appears to contradict some of the official statements, with no evidence so far that Pretti, who worked as an ICU nurse for a local VA, had brandished his weapon and video strongly suggesting he had been disarmed and subdued before the first of 10 shots were fired.

It is the second time this month ICE agents have shot and killed a U.S. citizen, and Pretti’s death has fueled further unrest in Minneapolis and prompted protests in cities across the nation.

Yet St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch has, as of Monday morning, not yet commented on the shooting or on protester calls for the St. Petersburg Police Department to cancel its 287(g) agreement with ICE, which authorizes cooperation with the federal agency in cases involving a lawful criminal investigation.

That’s in stark contrast to David Jolly, a Democrat running for Governor, who spoke out at a church service he attended Sunday following the Saturday shooting.

“We know what we say,” Jolly began, his words slow and deliberate. “An American citizen practicing civil disobedience was disarmed and then shot 10 times in the street and his body lay lifeless. And he was murdered.”

Jolly said it was important to be “on the right side of history” and said DHS Secretary Kristi Noem should be removed from office. He called for an investigation into ICE practices and possible civil rights violations.

Welch’s silence so far is important because he is expected to seek re-election amid a political committee funding deficit only made worse by the alleged theft of more than $200,000 from Welch’s committee, The Pelican Political Action Committee.

Welch was outspoken following the police shooting of George Floyd, but is somehow silent now. His silence could further trouble his campaign. At the very least, it’s noteworthy. Though it is worth pointing out that Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, who isn’t facing re-election, also has not so far publicly commented following Pretti’s death.

Welch PC theft turned over to the FBI

Officials working on Welch’s political committee say they have referred to the FBI allegations that the committee’s former Treasurer, Yolanda Brown, had stolen at least $207,500 from the committee through what it has now classified as “unauthorized expenditures” to a business she owns.

At issue are several expenditures committee officials say they did not initially know about and that were not authorized. Brown previously pleaded guilty to a felony grand theft charge of embezzlement in Alameda County, California. As part of the plea deal in 2024 Brown, under the alias Yolanda Cheers, was ordered to pay $330,000 in restitution. She was originally charged with six felonies, but the plea deal reduced that to just one charge.

Florida Politics reporter Jesse Mendoza has requested the complaint from the FBI under the Freedom of Information Act, but as of Monday had not received a response. The committee officials declined to provide additional information, citing the ongoing investigation.

Regardless though, this is an issue not likely to go away for Welch. Not only has it left him with less than $50,000 on hand, it could also frustrate donors who want answers on how the investment they made in Welch will be recouped. Perhaps worse, would-be donors may be hesitant to cut a check to a committee that has already failed to identify possible theft in a timely fashion.

Maria Scruggs uses doctored image

The only candidate who has actually filed to run for St. Pete Mayor this year is Scruggs. She has run for public office several times before — including once against Welch — and has been unsuccessful as many times. She’s not expected to be a competitive candidate against those expected to run, including Welch, former Gov. Charlie Crist and St. Pete City Council member Brandi Gabbard.

Still, she did something this weekend that is amusing, if not all that impactful to the overall race.

Scruggs posted an image Sunday that is clearly generated by artificial intelligence. And it’s bad AI at that. The image shows Scruggs walking down a sidewalk waving to dozens of adoring onlookers, from various ages, genders and racial demographics. It doesn’t take careful analysis to spot the problems.

A sign being held up from the crowd gets Scruggs’ last name correct, but lists her last name as “Marva.” And the shirt she’s wearing in the image misspells the name of the city she wants to lead as “St. Petlersburg” (note the ‘L’ in the spelling).

Using AI-generated images is quickly becoming a norm, so if it were just bad AI, that would be one thing. But Scruggs’ caption with the photo seems to imply it’s real.

“There is no substitute for showing up,” the caption begins.

But it seems for Scruggs there is a substitute, and its initials are A.I.

Let’s just say, if someone needs a fake image to document their support, they probably don’t really have much to begin with.

Where are the City Council candidates?

There are fewer than seven months until the city’s municipal Primary on Aug. 18, yet there aren’t very many candidates seeking election to City Council, despite there being several open seats.

Even-numbered seats are up for election this year. District 2 representative Gabbard, Lisset Hanewicz in District 4 and Gina Driscoll in District 6 are all term-limited out of office after this year. District 8 Council member Richie Floyd is up for re-election.

Three candidates have filed for Driscoll’s seat, guaranteeing a competitive race there. Floyd has filed for re-election, but so far no one has filed to challenge him.

No one has filed for Gabbard’s or Hanewicz’s open seats, which is unusual.

What’s more unusual is that we usually hear rumblings of people considering runs. They talk to people, gauging interest and determining whether a bid is viable. Running for office is quite the task, even for local races, so one would like to enjoy some reasonable confidence before taking the leap.

Those are the conversations that typically get around to me or one of my colleagues. Yet we haven’t been hearing about people asking around testing the waters.

Maybe folks are waiting to see what happens with the Welch situation. Maybe people are waiting until the last minute, securing campaign pledges so they can launch with a big number.

Regardless, it seems unlikely no one wants the job. Still, we’ll be watching for filings daily now that 2026 is well underway. And if you’re mulling a bid, give us a shout.

District 6, meanwhile, is off to the races. Former Mayor Rick Kriseman had already endorsed a candidate to replace Driscoll in District 6, with a nod to Children’s Network of Hillsborough County CEO Terri Balliet. Now, she and Linsey Grove, a nonprofit consultant who owns and runs The Hypatia Collaborative, both had decent fundraising quarters in the final three months of 2025.

Grove raised more than $5,700, while Balliet brought in upwards of $5,100. Balliet has raised about $20,000 more than Grove overall, however. And the third candidate, Jameka Williams, entered the race far later, reporting just $1,000 raised in the fourth quarter from just one donor.

Charlie Crist is getting warm receptions

Crist was not only an attendee at the Russian Heritage’s 30th annual St. Petersburg Winter Ball, he was a prime-time speaker. Welch, whom Crist is expected to challenge this year, was there too, but sources tell Florida Politics his welcome was not quite as warm.

That may have been a result of Welch’s timing. He came early and left early, speaking at a point in the evening when people were still mingling and not paying particular attention to the speaker’s podium. One person told Florida Politics there wasn’t a lot of engagement with Welch’s speech because of the timing.

But even though Welch’s attendance was brief, it seems Crist was commanding more attention than the incumbent Mayor. Crist was spotted mingling with former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker and Ark Invest CEO Kathie Wood, who gave Crist a hug.

This is adding to what is becoming a trend as campaign season draws near — Crist and Welch have been finding themselves guests in the same rooms, and that’s only going to continue. Earlier this month, Crist and Welch were photographed a few people apart during a groundbreaking ceremony for the St. Pete Science Center.

For those familiar with the Science Center issue, Crist’s presence at the groundbreaking says a lot. Crist helped secure funding to revitalize and reopen the center. Welch previously attempted to block it.

It’s an issue worth watching, if history is any indication. When Welch first sought election to St. Pete Mayor in 2021, polling showed a sizable majority of voters would be more likely to support a candidate who supported reopening the Science Center.