Then St. Petersburg Fire Chief Jim Large at Demens Landing Park in St. Petersburg, Florida on Nov. 15, 2022. Credit: cityofstpete / Flickr
Retired St. Petersburg fire rescue chief Jim Large said he has always had a desire to lead. So it makes sense to see him enter the race to be St. Petersburg’s next mayor.
“I think at some point I figured I would move to the next level of public service, whatever that would be, when I finished my career with the fire department,” Large told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
For Large, it looks like the mayoral seat is his next move up. The 70-year-old worked under four different mayors during 50 years for St. Petersburg Fire Rescue. He was chief for 18 of those years.
He told CL that many people encouraged him to run and even asked him about whether he’d consider it before he retired.
A political committee called A Better Burg, registered in January, supports Large, who believes his experience with the city and managing the fire department’s budgets has nurtured his leadership skills and “good hand in budgeting.”
Large said he wants to guide that budget toward improving the city’s infrastructure, where he’s seen “the biggest neglect.”
“We’ve had a tremendous amount of growth when you look at St. Pete, where it was 20 years ago, 25 years ago, and where it is now,” Large said. “But our streets and our infrastructure—what you don’t see—the sewer system, stormwater system, everything, is very old and very strained.”
Large claimed when he spoke to a repair contractor, he learned that pipes for the sewer lines near his home in Mid-North St. Pete were 60-70 years old.
For Large, that was one example of the infrastructure that needs fixing—and those fixes are top-priority for the father of three grown children who want to live in the city.
“No, it’s not the ‘sexy, cool’ kind of thing to do, but it’s the necessary thing,” Large told CL. “I believe infrastructure has to catch up with the growth before we continue to keep growing and not address it.”
Large said he would also immediately revamp the permitting process and make changes to storm prevention and recovery plans, which he said were mismanaged.
“We don’t have a good recovery plan—that was evident after Helene and after Milton,” Large said. “There are certainly a lot of things that could be done differently if we get hit with a storm again.”
Large said strong storm recovery in St. Pete is an essential goal in his campaign, and good experience and leadership is key to achieving that.
And while Large doesn’t have qualms with Mayor Welch, there are other things he said he’d have approached in a different way—one of them being how Welch briefly placed Large on administrative leave in 2023 for anonymous hostile workplace accusations before reappointing him within the same year.
“I appreciate him reinstating me,” Large told CL. “ Now, the flip side of that is, I don’t agree with his leadership style and the way he handled the situation. But, everybody’s different; everybody has different styles. I would have handled it a little bit differently.”
Large said he took a “non-adversarial role,” toward Welch’s investigations, which ultimately brought up no evidence against him.
On that note, Large said he’d likely do “everything” differently as mayor. He doesn’t believe that Welch’s background as a commissioner is necessarily a “leadership background.”
“It’s different when you’re talking about making decisions that impact people versus making policy decisions or budget decisions,” Large said. “Not that they don’t impact people—but when you’re overseeing people, there are other concerns and other things in leadership that you have to look at.”
Large said one of those things is being present—and he promises he “won’t be a part-time mayor” of St. Pete.
He also said he’d ensure that “highly qualified individuals in their respective disciplines” surround him during his tenure—not “hinge-head” officials who don’t offer varying perspectives.
“You know, one of your main jobs is a talent scout,” Large said. “You have to seek out those people who would take those key positions and advance the city forward. And I think I saw a lack of that in the qualifications and how people were selected to fill key positions.”
On top of that, Large said he’d also reevaluate the city’s budget. He recalled that Blaise Ingoglia, Florida’s CFO, announced that St. Pete had more than $49 million in wasteful spending this year.
According to Large, Mayor Welch wrote the news off as politics. But after working under Welch for two years, he believes there’s an opportunity “for substantial savings in the budget.”
Large also disagrees with Welch on fast-tracking redevelopment plans for the Gas Plant District.
“The Rays look like they’re going to be in Tampa—that’s for certain, unless they can’t come up with the money—but, they’re not going to have that stadium built by 2028,” Large told CL. “So, you got to look at extending that lease. Why jump on a development project when you don’t even know how long the Rays might need that stadium?”
Large said he believes that while the district’s history is critical and shouldn’t be ignored, St. Pete’s needs are essential—and the city has to remember that as it navigates how to use 86 acres of land in the Gas Plant District conversation.
“I think you have to look forward,” Large said. “You have to be a little more forward-thinking. What can we do to recognize, memorialize some portion of the history that’s tied there, and at the same time, do what’s right for the city as a whole?”
Large also said he believes St. Pete should respect and uphold the art scene, and it’s fundamental to the city’s identity and tourism.
“I think they’re critical to the economy and everything else that makes St. Pete what it is,” Large said. “I’m a big believer—and we got to continue to support the arts.”
Large said he’s aware of county commissioners defunding arts organizations, and he understands both sides to that story—but the arts should be considered for all sectors it improves.
“It is very hard because the city’s position should be to provide fundamental services equally across the board,” Large said. “And you get a lot of discussion, a lot of argument that, ‘Well, you’re doing this special interest or you’re doing this agenda.’ And it’s really not. It’s for the benefit of the whole city.”
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This article appears in Mar. 26 – Apr. 1.
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