The race to replace Brandi Gabbard is beginning, as 2 candidates enter City Council, District 2 contest

With St. Petersburg City Council member Brandi Gabbard leaving office due to term limits, the race to replace her remained dormant in January and most of February.

That changed Friday when two people filed for the District 2 seat, which covers parts of northeast St. Pete roughly from Bayou Grande to Feather Sound, from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Tampa Bay.

The entrants include Courtney Bermudez, a local Community Association Manager for Resource Property Management, and Gabriel Hament, an Assistant Public Defender for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit.

Hament moved to St. Pete after completing law school at the University of Florida. As an assistant public defender, Hament provides legal counsel and defense for those charged with a crime who are deemed indigent, meaning they cannot afford to hire a private attorney.

Prior to law school, Hament served as a financial advisor for charitable organizations, including for Sarasota County Schools’ Financial Advisory Committee, according to his campaign announcement. In that role, Hament worked to ensure the District’s budgets aligned with voter sentiment and provided oversight for the District’s reserve funds.

He also previously served as a community organizer, focusing his efforts on voter access and fair representation for underserved communities.

Now, he’s hoping to take those skills and values to City Hall.

“The cost of living is outpacing many in our community, and the pressing challenges facing our coastal community require bold action,” Hament said in a press release.

His campaign will focus on affordability, public safety and expanding economic opportunity for working people. Hament said he will also prioritize infrastructure improvements to address the impacts of climate change by focusing on coastal stormwater resiliency.

Hament also said he would prioritize constituent and stakeholder engagement, including to improve public spaces and quality of life. He offered praise for former Mayor Rick Kriseman and former City Council member Steve Kornell who worked during their tenure to improve the Skyway Marina District in South St. Pete, which Hament said he would use as a guide to implement improvements to the Gateway area in his district.

“Former Mayor Kriseman and Councilman Kornell’s leadership in developing the Skyway Marina District is an excellent template for bringing a sense of place to our city’s northern gateway, enhancing the connection with St. Pete’s legacy districts. I look forward to working closely with neighbors and stakeholders on this exciting promise,” he said.

Hament lives in the Village Lake Condominiums with his partner, Cory Winegardner, a local hairstylist.

Bermudez has not yet launched a campaign website or made a formal campaign announcement. Florida Politics has reached out with an interview request and will be following up with more information on her campaign when it becomes available.

Bermudez is a Licensed Community Association Manager, a state-certified professional who manages various financial and administrative operations for residential homeowners associations, cooperatives and condo associations.

Gabbard, meanwhile, has said she plans to run for Mayor, challenging incumbent Mayor Ken Welch. She was first elected to the City Council in 2017.

The Primary for St. Pete City Council races and the mayoral race are Aug. 18. If no one else files for District 2, that race would be decided in the Primary. If an additional candidate or candidates enter and no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote in the Primary, the race would be decided in the General Election Nov. 3.