Ken Welch kicks off re-election bid with jabs at Charlie Crist

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch kicked off his re-election campaign Wednesday evening at the St. Pete Athletic Club, taking his first public shots at Charlie Crist, the former Governor and potential opponent.

Just hours after delivering his annual State of the City address, Welch told supporters the race was a choice between his steady leadership during recent turbulent times and what he described as alternatives who have not even had a seat at the table.

“We have a highly effective team, there’s no reason to change it, especially for a leader that has no vision and has never been involved in the things we’ve dealt with in the last 5 years, from COVID to hurricanes to the Historic Gas Plant (District) to housing,” Welch said. “We shouldn’t elect someone who hasn’t been here, that hasn’t had a voice in the vision like we have. We’ve faced those challenges, and we’ve shown what we can do.”

The Mayor’s campaign kicks off amid political headwinds, including a growing number of opponents and lingering fallout from controversy over an unauthorized transfer of funds by former registered agent Yolanda Brown from a political committee tied to his re-election effort. That situation has been referred to law enforcement, and the new St. Petersburg Progress PAC has been created to support Welch’s campaign. 

Welch did not address the situation on Wednesday, but told supporters he needs their financial support to help his campaign defend against Crist’s potential campaign. A PAC supporting Crist’s potential campaign has surpassed $1 million in total fundraising, even though the former Governor has not officially thrown his hat into the ring. 

Welch did not name Crist directly during his remarks, but acknowledged the financial imbalance his campaign faces ahead of the looming election.

“So, here’s the ask,” Welch told supporters Wednesday. “We are facing an opponent that’s got hundreds of thousands of dollars from campaigns five years ago when he was running for Senator or Governor or whatever the next office was. We need to raise funds to get our message out. We’re not trying to go dollar-for-dollar from some Washington fund, but we need to be able to tell our story about what we’ve achieved in St. Pete.”

The kickoff featured remarks from supporters highlighting endorsements from local police and fire unions and many of Welch’s accomplishments. They said they believed in Welch’s vision for St. Petersburg and rallied behind efforts to re-elect him for another term in office.

Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association Director and General Counsel Sasha Lohn emphasized the significance of backing from rank-and-file first responders, noting that leaders of the police and firefighter unions had chosen to support Welch publicly.

“In a time where it would have been easier for them to stand on the sidelines, to stay neutral, to stay out of it, they got behind this Mayor,” Lohn said. “They endorsed this Mayor. … Public safety isn’t a slogan, it’s a responsibility, and under Mayor Welch we have had a partner in City Hall since the moment he stepped foot there. That is rare.”

City Council member Copley Gerdes referenced his time serving alongside Welch and described him as collaborative and steady. He said there is no one other than Welch that he’d choose to lead the city.

“If there’s one Mayor that I get to pick, and my kids get to pick, to lead us over the next four years – sorry Mayor, it’s not five this time it’s four – but if there’s one Mayor that my kids and my family get to pick for the next four years it’s Ken Welch,” Gerdes said.

Welch used the event to reiterate his commitment to redeveloping the Historic Gas Plant District — the long-debated 86-acre site once home to a predominantly Black neighborhood displaced for the construction of Tropicana Field for the Tampa Bay Rays. The Rays are currently negotiating funding for a new ballpark in Tampa after previous ownership backed out of a deal with Welch’s team that would have kept the team in St. Petersburg.

The saga has drawn political scrutiny, putting Welch on the defensive early in his re-election campaign as a growing list of opponents step forward to challenge him. City Council member Brandi Gabbard — who has announced plans to run against Welch – recently scored a political victory over him with the Council’s approval of a resolution she pushed to slow Welch’s progress on redevelopment of the site for further consultation. 

Welch has said he intends to work with Council members to address concerns but remains committed to advancing the project nonetheless.

“It’s time to move forward,” Welch said. “We have planned for decades. It’s time to bring the jobs and the housing and the economic opportunity to honor those promises.”

Welch’s re-election campaign will unfold alongside a proposed $600 million infrastructure bond referendum expected to appear on the municipal ballot. The bond, he said, would fund stormwater and sewer upgrades and other infrastructure improvements.

When asked by Florida Politics during a press gaggle whether the bond could become a political issue during the campaign, Welch acknowledged the unusual overlap. 

“You usually don’t advocate for a bond when you’re on the same ballot, but this is so important,” Welch said. “It’s like the Penny for Pinellas that funds our infrastructure for fire stations and police stations and libraries. This will do the same thing for stormwater infrastructure, for sewer plants to get them to where they need to be.”

Welch told the press that the city needs to invest in infrastructure that withstands stronger hurricanes than current standards, especially in light of major storms that have battered the region in recent years.

“The question that we always get after the storm is what are you going to do about all this water in the streets in places we’ve never seen it before,” Welch said. “The way we do that is by catching up on those investments that we’ve ignored for decades, at least the investment wasn’t what it needed to be to match what we’re seeing now with the hurricane systems.” 

Welch asked voters to consider his track record and to donate in support of his bid for a second term as St. Pete’s Mayor.

“I’ve got the energy, I’ve got the drive to do another four years with my team,” Welch said. “I believe that we can do anything as a community if we work together, and I’m fired up and ready to go.”