The former Florida governor tells 10 Tampa Bay News he’s “seriously considering it.”
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Former Florida governor and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist confirmed to 10 Tampa Bay News that he is “seriously considering” running for St. Pete mayor next year.
He says his friends are encouraging him to do so, but he will first need to discuss it with his family to decide the best timeline to move forward.
Current Mayor Ken Welch, who has held the seat since 2022, plans to run for re-election as well.
10 Tampa Bay News asked Welch about reports that St. Pete City Councilmember Brandi Gabbard is looking to be on the ballot.
In response, the mayor said: “We’re continuing to do our job here in the city of Saint Petersburg, looking forward to the campaign next year.”
During the Oct. 9 city council meeting, Welch and Gabbard had a spat over a proposal to fly variations of the city flag.
“The administration went ahead and rolled out an entire plan without consulting city council, without having a conversation,” Gabbard said.
“If you want to talk about this, give me a call and we’ll do that, but the theatrics up here, I’m not gonna deal with it, okay? You’re setting up division. We’re trying to move forward and make our city sustainable and respond to this strategically. So if you’re going to call out the administration when something is false, I’m going to counter that,” Welch had responded.
10 Tampa Bay News has reached out to Gabbard to confirm her plans but are still waiting to hear back.
According to the city’s website, the only person who has officially filed to run so far in next year’s mayoral race is Maria Scruggs. She’s the former president of the NAACP St. Pete branch.