Brandi Gabbard is putting climate resilience, affordability and neighborhood growth at the center of her campaign for St. Petersburg Mayor.
The St. Petersburg City Council member rolled out a comprehensive mayoral platform, outlining a vision focused on lowering costs for residents, modernizing infrastructure, expanding housing options, supporting small businesses and reshaping the city’s approach to major redevelopment.
In a campaign video accompanying the announcement, Gabbard said the city’s future depends on preparation for worsening climate threats.
“St. Petersburg is ground zero for rapid climate change and we need to be ground zero for rapid response. Over 49% of our city is currently located in the coastal high hazard, and that is why it’s so important that we help our residents to be able to build higher, stronger and faster. We have to marry good housing policy with job creation,” Gabbard said in the video.
“If you are going to be able to afford to live, work and play here in the city of St. Petersburg, we have to make sure that we’re creating better paying jobs. As a city of neighborhoods, we are going to build stronger together.”
The announcement comes as Gabbard works to make headway with St. Petersburg voters who are looking for an alternative to incumbent Mayor Ken Welch or former Gov. Charlie Crist in the 2026 mayoral race.
Her campaign largely focuses on affordability, accountability, resilience and community-driven leadership, with proposals aimed at utility costs, housing, public safety, small business support, transportation, food access and the future of the Historic Gas Plant District.
One of the sharper pieces of the platform is Gabbard’s call to explore energy independence from Duke Energy. Her campaign website argues residents and small businesses are facing some of the highest energy rates in Florida and says the city should study municipal or cooperative power models that could lower costs and keep utility revenue within St. Petersburg for reinvestment in local infrastructure.
The campaign website also emphasizes a desire to treat food access as necessary infrastructure, with a focus on addressing food insecurity in South St. Petersburg and other underserved areas. Gabbard’s plan also calls for expanding urban agriculture, supporting community-owned grocery stores and cooperatives.
Gabbard’s website also emphasizes a need to address climate vulnerability. Her plan calls for fast-tracking and streamlining permitting after storms, fully implementing the Resilient St. Pete Action Plan, maintaining focus on the city’s Stormwater Master Plan and continuing enforcement efforts around the “No Vehicle Wake Zone” law she backed to prevent avoidable storm damage to private property.
Her housing platform is built upon her background as a real estate broker and her City Council work. That includes St. Petersburg’s implementation of a 2020 law (HB 1339) to convert underused industrial and commercial land into affordable housing, a city-owned land policy prioritizing housing, expanded down payment and rehabilitation assistance, and a rental assistance program for city employees.
If elected Mayor, Gabbard said she would push zoning changes to reduce regulations and parking requirements that drive up housing costs, expand access to “missing middle” housing and accessory dwelling units, encourage businesses to invest in workforce housing, strengthen the city’s Community Benefits Ordinance and secure affordable live-work spaces for artists.
Her campaign also pitches a vision for the Historic Gas Plant District. Rather than rush into a binding agreement, her campaign maintains that the city should consider options to sell all 86 acres, evaluate alternatives such as long-term ground leases or dividing the site into smaller parcels while establishing a clear set of priorities before selecting a developer.
Gabbard said redevelopment should address the promises made to the Gas Plant community displaced decades ago, and called for “real economic opportunity and financial empowerment” for the neighborhood’s residents. She says the city should “press pause, catch our breath, and ensure we get this right” before committing to a permanent development plan.
Gabbard’s campaign also includes support for first responders with continued investment in alternative response programs. She points to the Community and Life Liaison, or CALL, program as a model for diverting mental health and poverty-related calls to specialists.
Her public safety platform also calls for competitive pay and benefits, confidential mental health support, updated equipment and facilities, advanced training, affordable housing options for first responders, direct communication with department chiefs and partnership with police and fire unions.
Gabbard’s small-business platform emphasizes her own experience as a self-employed entrepreneur and her work with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. Her website says she would focus on cutting red tape, making City Hall move faster for businesses, supporting workforce stability and building partnerships between neighborhood storefronts and larger regional employers.
The campaign also emphasizes a need for safer “Complete Streets” and transit-oriented development. Gabbard says St. Petersburg should adopt a Vision Zero approach that “ensures our streets are secure for all road users” by redesigning corridors with better sidewalks, protected bike lanes and lighting, and removing mandatory parking minimums.
Gabbard’s campaign also includes an environmental agenda, citing past support for EV charging requirements in multifamily developments, more than $1 million in BP settlement funds for the city’s tree canopy, a municipal seagrass mitigation bank, the Florida Urban Agriculture Act of 2021, the St. Pete Youth Farm and food forests on public land.
Her campaign said she will release additional videos throughout May and into early Summer on social media, each focused on pieces of the policy platform.