It’s no secret that workplace culture under St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has been questionable.
The writing was on the wall less than one year into his administration, when his then-Deputy Mayor resigned amid allegations of creating a culture of hostility and retribution. Welch claimed he didn’t know about those issues. But shortly after, a leaked letter from campaign staffers given to him before he was even elected showed he absolutely did.
And that wasn’t the only turnover. The senior staff member who leveled the allegations against former Deputy Mayor Stephanie Owens, former Communications Director Janelle Irwin Taylor (who, full disclosure, is now a senior staff member for Florida Politics) resigned due to the culture she divulged. And her successor, Bay News 9 reporter Erica Riggins, left her post after less than two years. Former Marketing Director Nina Mahmoudi also left her job.
And the city’s longtime fire chief, Jim Large, retired last March after reports that Large created a culture of bullying and discrimination during his then-17 years leading the city’s fire department. He was placed on administrative leave during an investigation, but ultimately reinstated after the Welch administration found allegations were unsubstantiated. Later, a photo surfaced of Large holding a mug that said, “go ahead, call HR.” His retirement was announced shortly thereafter.
Then there were reports of Welch’s work-from-home mentality, showing he was at City Hall on just 34% of regular workdays during his first eight months in office.
Adding insult to injury, the same investigation found that as Hurricane Ian approached Florida in 2022, Welch chose not to stay at the Emergency Operations Center at the St. Petersburg Police Department, opting instead to go home while his top staff left their own families to sleep at the facility.
There’s an awful lot that has happened since then — a failed stadium deal with the Tampa Bay Rays, “Welch Piles,” his weak response to the state’s demand that street murals be removed — but the latest is perhaps the worst, at least when viewed in the context of an administration that seems to keep finding itself in turmoil.
A high-level staff member has now been forced to resign amid credible accusations of sexual harassment, the details of which are disturbing and, well, gross.
To be sure, the guilty party here is most definitely Brian Caper, the city’s former Managing Director of Economic and Workforce Development who resigned last week after a female subordinate filed a complaint with HR alleging a troubling history of sexually charged comments, inappropriate communication and unprofessional, often after-hours comments about other city employees.
But what implicates Welch in this is both the inaction to address concerns that had already been levied and the culture created that seems to be allowing unprofessionalism to run unchecked at City Hall.
The specific allegations from the complainant, whose name Florida Politics is not releasing due to privacy concerns for the victim, are disturbing enough. Text messages provided as part of the sexual harassment investigation show Caper tracking the complainant after hours and inappropriately commenting on her whereabouts, declaring his love for her — he later said it wasn’t romantic love, but admitted being attracted to the employee (and, it’s worth noting, Caper is married) — and consistently making sexually-based comments.
But it’s the allegations that weren’t pursued that are perhaps the most damning not just to Caper, but to Welch.
Another employee, whose name Florida Politics is also redacting to protect her privacy, resigned in late 2022 due to Caper’s inappropriate conduct, which she outlined in her resignation letter. The investigative report findings show that the employee reported Caper’s toxic conduct, which she wrote included body-shaming women, defaming leadership and maliciously manipulating colleagues’ reputations for his own benefit. But she said management not only overlooked it, they promoted him.
To be clear, Welch was Mayor at that time. If he wasn’t aware of the employee’s allegations, presented in a resignation letter, he should have been. A good leader sets a tone that makes employees feel safe to present grievances. The investigative report suggests no such culture exists at St. Pete City Hall, despite Welch’s claim in response to the report that the city “takes any allegations of harassment or inappropriate behavior very seriously.”
But it doesn’t stop there. The same investigative report included transcripts of text messages Caper had sent to the complainant supporting the other employee’s claims. And those texts suggest one of Welch’s top-level administrators is also setting a toxic tone at City Hall.
A series of text messages show Caper describing City Development Administrator James Corbett as someone who drinks excessively and fraternizes with female employees. Corbett is married. In fairness to Corbett, these are unsubstantiated allegations from a disgraced former city employee, but the number of text messages referencing Corbett’s behavior at least warrant looking into.
In one text outlined in the HR report, Caper wrote that Corbett was holding hands with a female employee “at the bar.” The employee is named in the report, but Florida Politics is protecting her privacy.
In another, Caper wrote that “James eventually got overserved and it turned into daycare.”
In another, he wrote that “James was already smashed when I got there so hopefully he’ll be more capable than he let on.”
Still another said in apparent reference to a work trip to Atlanta that “lots of people were sloshed when I got here,” adding that “James and (redacted) showed up to dinner and started pounding drinks.”
If there’s any truth at all to Caper’s many text messages outlining Corbett’s drinking habits with city employees, that’s not just on Corbett — the buck stops with his boss, Welch, who promoted him as one of his first acts as Mayor.
Before taking office in early 2022, Welch promoted Corbett to Neighborhood Affairs Administrator from his previous role as Codes Compliance Director. Later that year, Corbett was named City Development Administrator, technically a lateral move, but one that is perceived to include more responsibility.
Taken individually, none of the headlines that have plagued the Welch administration over the past nearly four years would be especially concerning regarding Welch. Taken collectively, it paints a troubling picture of an administration in chaos, and one that is too busy putting out fires than making the progress Welch ran on.
He hasn’t filed yet, but Welch has said he’s seeking re-election next year. As the incumbent, he’s the assumed front-runner.
Already, City Council member Brandi Gabbard, a respected public servant and local Realtor, has said she plans to run against Welch. She’s a credible candidate, to be sure. As a moderate Democrat and a known supporter of property rights, she has the political bona fides to capture support from the city’s liberal base, and give enough comfort to its conservative constituency to back her over an incumbent plagued by plenty of negatives.
And it looks like she won’t be the only one challenging Welch. Charlie Crist, a former Governor and former U.S. Representative, is reportedly mulling a bid himself.
Former state Rep. Ben Diamond had seriously considered running, though he ultimately chose not to.
Incumbents don’t draw intraparty opposition — let alone twice over — unless they are unpopular.
If Welch is going to survive next year’s election, he’s going to need to stop giving his opposition fodder.