It wasn’t me.
In 2013, a man in a chicken suit kept turning up at mayoral debates Kathleen Ford skipped, holding a sign that read “Too chicken to debate Foster & Kriseman.” I told the Tampa Bay Times I was absolutely not behind the chicken. I confessed on Primary morning, in the suit. The Times headline was “Schorsch lied about role in chicken suit.”
A man in an inflatable Santa suit worked a St. Petersburg intersection this week. I didn’t rent the suit or hire the guy in it. I found out when Pinellas County Commissioner Rene Flowers posted the clip.
Flowers, a Ken Welch supporter, narrated it: “Thank you, Santa, for ringing the bell for the re-election of Ken Welch as the Mayor of the city of St. Petersburg.”
Then came the note underneath: “Actually you guys, he was out there ringing a bell for Ken’s opponent. However, since he was by Mayor Welch’s signs more often than not, I took advantage of a public photo opportunity.”
Santa was there for Charlie Crist. He just happened to be standing near a Welch sign, so a County Commissioner filmed him anyway and claimed him for the Mayor. The Welch campaign is borrowing Santa.
The latest St. Pete Polls survey has Crist at 53% and Welch at 32%, the second poll since the Primary to show a lead north of 20 points. Welch’s fundraising has all but dried up: $9,650 in the last reporting period, about $41,000 left, against Crist’s nearly $411,000. Election Day is Nov. 3.
Welch is the city’s first Black Mayor. If anyone was going to stick with him to the end, it was Black Santa.
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Ed. note: Michelle Todd Schorsch is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee backing Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.
Ed. note: This column was drafted with assistance from AI. Editorial judgment, sourcing, and final review were performed by Peter Schorsch and the Florida Politics editorial team.