After nearly two hours of debate in St. Petersburg on Tuesday night, one issue had not come up: how the city’s next Mayor would navigate Florida’s new restrictions on diversity, equity and inclusion programs in local government.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 1134 earlier this year, prohibiting counties and municipalities from funding, promoting or taking official action related to diversity, equity and inclusion. The law also voids existing programs, policies and ordinances tied to those efforts and allows municipal officials who violate the law to face removal from office.
Asked by Florida Politics after the debate how they would handle the law if elected, candidates in the St. Pete Mayor’s race offered sharply different answers ranging from compliance with caution to outright criticism of the state’s approach.
The question is not an abstract one in St. Petersburg, where city leadership has long made equity a core pillar for the city even before Mayor Ken Welch took office. His administration and other city officials are under pressure to review programs, staffing structures and public-facing symbols embedded within the city’s inner workings before the law’s Jan. 1 effective date.
St. Petersburg has already begun making changes. The city’s Office of Equity was renamed the Office of Community Impact late last year, while the Office of Supplier Diversity was renamed the Office of Supplier Development. But the renamed offices, along with roles such as the city’s LGBTQ+ liaison, remain under new scrutiny as the city works to determine what the law allows.
Welch said his administration is already reviewing city programs and spending to determine how St. Petersburg can comply with the law without abandoning the city’s broader values.
“Strategically and intentionally, all of our departments are now looking at their programs, their budget to make sure we’re in compliance,” Welch said. “But we still want to have the impact on our programs.”
The issue carries weight in St. Petersburg beyond the city’s internal operations. After the state ordered the removal of Pride and Black History-themed street murals, city leaders explored alternative ways to maintain those expressions of identity. Welch cited the risk of losing millions in state funding if the city refused to comply, and the city later installed Pride-inspired bike racks as a symbolic response.
Welch said he believes the city can still pursue its inclusivity goals, even if it must be done within the limits of the law.
“All of our departments are now looking at their programs, their budgets, to make sure we’re in compliance, but we still want to have the impact on our programs — for example diversity in procurement, there’s still ways that we can make that happen,” Welch said.
He also highlighted efforts such as rainbow-painted steps at City Hall as an example of ways St. Petersburg can continue to express its identity after the law takes effect.
“We’re looking at ways to be in compliance, but still express our values and still make sure we’re an inclusive government,” Welch said.
Former Gov. Charlie Crist took a more confrontational posture, saying he would have resisted the state’s action in a jab against Welch.
“I would have fought it, unlike the Mayor,” Crist said. “I think freedom of speech is sacred. It’s brought to us by the First Amendment. It’s the first one for a reason.”
Crist said the issue is especially important in St. Petersburg, where Pride displays and other public symbols have been washed away by state laws.
“If you’re not willing to stand up for the rights of people in a situation that relates to their freedom of speech, that’s an unconstitutional act,” Crist said. “Those kind of things I think are wrong, intolerable, and we should have had better leadership.”
City Council Member Brandi Gabbard said the city does not have the option of ignoring the law and is already working to evaluate what it means for its policies, procedures and partnerships.
“We will comply with the law. We don’t have a choice, and it’s really unfortunate,” she said.
Gabbard said the issue is not only symbolic, but also economic. She said some programs labeled as DEI-related have real-world impact that helps support economic activity in the city.
There’s so much economic vitality that happens around some of these so-called DEI initiatives,” Gabbard said. “I’m very, very concerned about what that ultimately means for community organizations that we work with, but we’ll navigate it and we’ll navigate it together under my leadership.”
Jail administrator Maria Scruggs said she is “not concerned at all,” arguing that the city’s mistake was treating DEI as a separate office or function rather than embedding it directly into executive decision-making.
“My belief is that diversity, equity and inclusion starts at the Mayor’s Office,” Scruggs said.
Scruggs said governments made DEI an easier political target by creating positions that lacked real authority to implement policy. Under her view, the Mayor should be the official responsible for ensuring those values are reflected throughout city government.
“That’s who the chief DEI officer is,” Scruggs said.
Former Shore Acres Neighborhood Association President Kevin Batdorf saw the issue less as a fight over DEI itself and more as a question of how the city describes and funds its priorities.
Batdorf said he believes the “Mayor has maybe gone a little bit too far in his DEI initiatives,” but fundamentally believes in equal opportunity.
He said city funding tied to an event or program should benefit St. Petersburg, but added that includes DEI themes such as the St. Pete Pride Parade & Festival.
“If it benefits the city, it’s probably a good investment,” Batdorf said.
The answers reflect one of the clearest divides in the race over how St. Petersburg should respond to state preemption and culture wars.
Whoever is elected Mayor will be forced to make necessary changes when the law kicks into effect in January, but not before voters decide who will be in office to do so.