The leftist organization Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) is orchestrating and financing the Dump Duke campaign in both St. Petersburg and Clearwater, and St. Pete City Council member Richie Floyd is a major force in the effort.
To some, that may seem like a positive for Floyd. He’s standing up to a big, bad energy utility in favor of the little guy. Except that’s a shortsighted and counterproductive way to look at what is happening.
A self-described Democratic Socialist himself, Floyd has been working with local activists with ties to the party since at least last April, when the Tampa Bay Times reported that the DSA was funding efforts to “Dump Duke,” including through flyers, social media advertising, door-to-door canvassing and other anti-Duke materials.
Other Democratic Socialists behind the effort include known Bernie Bro Shane Meagher and Marley Price, a local resident who uncovered 100 illegal short-term rentals.
There is no doubt that Floyd’s heart is in the right place — his goal is to lower energy prices for his constituents. But like many complex issues, dumping Duke, as the campaign to instead create a municipal utility describes it, is not likely to yield savings and is more likely to cost taxpayers millions, if not more.
And perhaps more importantly, Floyd’s leadership on the issue and his continued presence on the City Council risk sending the city of St. Pete the way of New York City.
In fact, Floyd is shaping up to be St. Pete’s Zohran Mamdani.
Last month, when he officially launched his re-election campaign, Creative Loafing described it as “a sizzling socialist campaign in the ruby-red Sunshine State,” adding that Floyd told the outlet Mamdani’s election in New York led to new members joining the Pinellas chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. Indeed, Megan Romer, a national co-Chair of the party who spends most of her time in New York, attended Floyd’s kickoff.
There is no doubt there are people in St. Pete who like what Floyd is offering. And Floyd has already proven once he can win as a declared Democratic Socialist — even in what’s supposed to be a nonpartisan election. And he may very well be able to do it again — so far no one has even filed to challenge him.
But the Dump Duke campaign for which Floyd is spearheading along with other members of his party is just one example of why someone should step up to give voters another option.
It’s easy to get caught up in the glamor of challenging a billion-dollar corporation, and it’s certainly not the first time leftist organizations and activists have targeted Duke. But residents should be careful not to be swept away, as the unintended consequences of ditching experience in favor of ideology can be steep.
Local government, and the city of St. Pete specifically, has zero track record in managing the massive amount of infrastructure needed to power homes, businesses, churches and everything else for a city of 267,000 residents and countless visitors.
And taxpayers would be saddled with a protracted legal fight over eminent domain, a battle that would be necessary because Duke has made clear its assets are not for sale.
This is a city where hurricane response following the back-to-back whammies in 2024 was widely considered a flop, where the city can’t even run its own municipal marina, and where it has taken years to figure out what to do with the 86 acres of concrete at the Trop site and the future is still uncertain.
The list goes on and on and predates even the current administration, with protracted bureaucratic battles including the St. Pete Pier and the future of the Tampa Bay Rays in the city. On the latter, it appears all but certain the best St. Pete officials can hope for is a Major League Baseball team playing across the Bay.
As a utility serving the residents, businesses, stakeholders and visitors of St. Pete, Duke Energy should continue working with officials to improve its service for ratepayers, and reduce its rates where possible, something it regularly does even if socialist activists disagree.
But, to borrow a cliché, throwing the baby out with the bathwater is a terrible idea, and one that stands to do the opposite of what Floyd is attempting on behalf of his constituents.
And Floyd and his supporters should realize that Democratic Socialist policies in St. Pete may find some support, but a full-tilt effort to New York our St. Pete won’t go over well electorally in the long run. And in the short term, it risks causing more economic pain to those already hurting the worst.
Floyd has done a great job as a fierce promoter of affordable housing initiatives, one of the toughest challenges facing our city and even nation. But this bite at the apple is not only ill-advised, it’s poisonous.
If he wants to keep representing the city, he should look at the bigger picture, not just catchy leftist slogans.