The race for St. Pete Mayor is officially on, and not just because Ken Welch filed for re-election

Since the new year began, there’s been a fairly steady drip of news related to this year’s mayoral race in St. Petersburg. Now it’s February and it looks like the drips might turn to steady flows.

A lot has happened over the past few days to get to that conclusion, not least of which is that Mayor Ken Welch has now officially filed for re-election.

That’s the obvious, though. Looking beyond what’s right in front of our faces offers even more evidence that St. Pete politicking is officially underway.

On Friday, City Council member Brandi Gabbard, who has said she plans to run against Welch, filed an item for this week’s City Council meeting calling on colleagues to oppose any developer pitch related to the Historic Gas Plant District.

By seeking a resolution, Gabbard has quietly differentiated herself from her would-be opponent. She is setting up a major campaign talking point that, one can easily assume, will portray Welch as a failed leader who lost the Tampa Bay Rays (though technically the Rays deal crumbled more because of Hurricane Helene than anything Welch did) then rushed an alternative development at the Trop site despite warnings that doing so could lead to a subpar product.

At issue is a 30-day submission window Welch opened last month for developers to pitch their ideas for the sweeping Trop site. The window closes Tuesday at 10 a.m. From there, the Welch administration will be tasked with reviewing proposals and determining which, if any, to move forward with.

Gabbard says the answer should be none — at least for now. Her proposed resolution, if approved, “requests that the City Administration pause any action to select, negotiate with, or advance a developer for the Historic Gas Plant District until a comprehensive planning framework has been completed.”

The resolution directly “expresses opposition to City Administration moving forward with any developer selection for the redevelopment” of the site prior to a study creating a strategic roadmap. By failing to ensure due diligence, the city “risks the omission of meaningful policy decisions and limits community input,” Gabbard’s proposed resolution reads.

Whether it passes is anyone’s guess. The City Council will consider the resolution Thursday, two days after the submission window for proposals closes.

Gabbard could find some support. It was only a few months ago, in October, that the City Council voted unanimously to have a community discussion about potentially hiring the Urban Land Institute to study the site. That was Gabbard’s idea, too.

And City Council member Richie Floyd in November filed a resolution expressing opposition to a 30-day submission window, calling instead for a 90-day period.

That indicates there is at least some appetite for taking things a bit slower.

It’s a safe bet that Gabbard will vote in favor of her own resolution this week. If Floyd follows suit, that’s at least two of the five votes needed to approve the resolution, though even if passed, it would still only be symbolic, as Welch is not bound to a resolution. And there are at least two Council members — Copley Gerdes and Deborah Figgs-Sanders — who have been consistent Welch allies, meaning there might be at least two votes against Gabbard’s resolution, too.

While Gabbard has said she’s running for Mayor, she hasn’t officially filed for the race yet.

But already, Welch has said he will not extend the developer timeline for the Gas Plant District, setting up a point of contention before much campaigning has even begun. Speaking during a media availability after filing to run for re-election Monday, Welch said the development has a unique history, and “there are promises tied to that,” arguing it’s more important to honor the site’s history than selling to the highest bidder, which is what former Raymond James executive Tom Mullins has suggested.

But Gabbard isn’t Welch’s only potential election foe. Former Gov. Charlie Crist, who also briefly represented the area in Florida’s 13th Congressional District, is also expected to run. A political committee expected to support his eventual bid has already raised more than $725,000.

That’s an important footnote in these early days of the 2026 mayoral campaign season, because it eclipses Welch’s political committee. Since launching the committee last January — Welch’s political committee from his last election cycle in 2021 was shuddered by the state over missed reporting deadlines and details — Welch’s The Pelican Political Action Committee has raised just $282,800 and has only a little more than $30,000 on hand.

Worse than the small account balance is the reason it’s as small as it is. It’s not because Welch’s people have been spending appropriately on campaign-related items; rather, it’s because the committee’s former Treasurer, Yolanda Brown, stands accused of stealing $207,500 from the committee.

Taken together, all of these recent events portend a lively mayoral race to come. The next test for Welch will come by April 10, when the next campaign finance reports are due covering financial activity from January through March. That’s when, at the very least, voters will also get to see how much Welch raises for his official campaign.

By then, voters will be able to see how much of his early momentum Crist was able to carry forward, and whether Welch was able to pick up his own slow fundraising pace (and put a dent in some of those losses). If Gabbard files to run, or launches her own political committee, within the next several weeks, voters will also be able to see how much momentum she’s got heading into the cycle.

Buckle up, because this one’s looking like a ride for the big kids.