{"id":123567,"date":"2026-01-19T10:05:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/123567\/"},"modified":"2026-01-19T10:05:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-19T10:05:09","slug":"gershom-faulkner-returns-to-charlie-crist-orbit-as-new-vice-chair-of-st-pete-shines-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/123567\/","title":{"rendered":"Gershom Faulkner returns to Charlie Crist orbit, as new Vice Chair of St. Pete Shines PC"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Pete Shines<\/a>, the political committee established<\/a> to support candidates committed to a brighter future for St. Petersburg, is adding new talent to lead operations, with\u00a0Gershom\u00a0Faulkner joining as Vice Chair.<\/p>\n

While St. Pete Shines has not directly listed an individual or individuals it will support, it\u2019s expected to be used to help former Gov. Charlie Crist, who is also a former U.S. Representative, if he chooses to run for St. Pete Mayor.<\/p>\n

Crist has openly said he is seriously considering.<\/p>\n

Faulkner previously served as an outreach director<\/a> for Crist when he served in Florida\u2019s 13th Congressional District. Before that, Faulkner volunteered for Crist\u2019s 2016 Congressional campaign. He also served in various roles under Frank Peterman Jr., both when he was a St. Pete City Council member and later as a state Representative. He\u2019s also worked on campaigns for U.S. Rep. Kathy\u00a0Castor, for whom he later served as her outreach director, as well as Betty\u00a0Castor\u2019s 2004 senatorial campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs evidenced by our successful fundraising, it is clear there is abundant support for the St. Pete Shines mission. As we continue exploring how best to plan for our city\u2019s future, I\u2019m thrilled to announce Gershom Faulkner as the Vice Chair of St. Pete Shines,\u201d said Michelle Todd Schorsch, the chairperson for St. Pete Shines. \u201cHis long history of community involvement makes him a great addition to our team, and I\u2019m confident that with his breadth of experience, we are well-positioned to move St. Pete in the best direction for its residents, stakeholders and visitors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Faulkner echoed that sentiment, noting the committee\u2019s success shows community \u201ctrust and enthusiasm.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cStepping into the role of Vice Chair is both an honor and a responsibility I take seriously. Together, we have an opportunity to guide thoughtful growth that strengthens St. Petersburg for today and for generations to come,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Faulkner joined the Marines after graduating from high school and served during the Gulf War. He has a long history of civic service to St. Pete, including stints on the Civil Service Board, the Southside St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area, the city\u2019s ad hoc Planning Committee, the St. Petersburg Midtown Rotary Club and the Neighborly Care Network.<\/p>\n

The St. Pete Shines committee brought in more than $725,000<\/a> in its first 49-days, according to fourth quarter reports. That includes more than 336,000 transferred from the Friends of Charlie Crist committee, funds remaining from his unsuccessful 2022 bid for Governor.<\/p>\n

Even though Crist has not yet announced a decision to run, the large amount of money banked puts him at an immediate and major fundraising advantage. Incumbent Mayor Ken Welch\u2019s committee, The Pelican Political Action Committee<\/a>, raised just over $48,000 in the fourth quarter, and it retains about $32,000 after the committee\u2019s previous treasurer, Yolanda Brown, allegedly stole more than $207,000<\/a> from the committee.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even if those funds were returned, Welch would still be at a major funding disadvantage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Pete Shines, the political committee established to support candidates committed to a brighter future for St. Petersburg,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":123568,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3347,61397,2346,37377,202,204,3304,203,37378,199,201,200,3521,3525],"class_list":["post-123567","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-charlie-crist","tag-gershom-faulkner","tag-ken-welch","tag-michelle-todd-schorsch","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-mayoral-race","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-pete-shines","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-the-pelican-political-action-committee","tag-yolanda-brown"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123567","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123567"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123567\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123568"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123567"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123567"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123567"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}