{"id":159928,"date":"2026-02-18T15:36:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/159928\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T15:36:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T15:36:36","slug":"like-the-debris-after-helene-the-st-pete-beach-mayoral-race-attacks-are-piling-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/159928\/","title":{"rendered":"Like the debris after Helene, the St. Pete Beach mayoral race attacks are piling up"},"content":{"rendered":"

First, a resident video surfaced raising questions about incumbent Mayor Adrian Petrila\u2019s access to the island following Hurricane Helene. Then, a contentious candidate forum<\/a> led to admonishments from the host. Now, a website outlines numerous complaints about Petrila, including claims he attempted to profit from Hurricane Helene\u2019s massive devastation.<\/p>\n

A website backed by the group Restore St. Pete Beach includes a roundup of news clippings, a trove of opposition research, and an advertisement released last week slamming the St. Pete Beach Mayor for having \u201cPerks for Petrila<\/a>\u201d to the detriment of beach residents.<\/p>\n

The ad outlines a resident video first reported last month<\/a> showing workers present at Petrila\u2019s home with blowers used to dry out flood damage. At the time that the workers \u2014 and, the video shows, Petrila \u2014 were present at the home, access to the beach was still prohibited as officials worked to ensure safety following massive storm surge and widespread flooding.<\/p>\n

Petrila claimed the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Department allowed access after he reported a gas leak. But as Bay News 9 reported<\/a>, TECO said it did not have any natural gas infrastructure on the island and the Pinellas County Sheriff\u2019s Office said it had no record of the emergency call. TECO suggested it was possible the gas leak could have been propane.<\/p>\n

The ad opens with a female narrator declaring that \u201cpolitician Adrian Petrila\u2019s motto\u201d is \u201cpublic service, private perks.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

\u201cWhile Petrila was serving himself, residents were suffering \u2014 no food, no water, supplies washed away,\u201d she continues.<\/p>\n

The anti-Petrila site also includes video of an advertisement it claims Petrila made in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in which Petrila can be seen offering discounted real estate services<\/a> to homeowners wishing to offload their flood-damaged properties.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough. It\u2019s emotional. And I know that on top of it, figuring out what\u2019s next can be just overwhelming,\u201d he says in the video with a large debris pile sitting behind him.<\/p>\n

In the ad, Petrila offers \u201csomething special\u201d to help, including offering his service for just a \u201chalf a percent commission fee,\u201d which he noted would still include \u201cthe full listing experience,\u201d such as lockboxes, social media promotions and expert negotiations.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is the only way to ensure that you get the best possible outcome,\u201d he says in the video.<\/p>\n

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

The Restore St. Pete Beach-backed website attacking Petrila<\/a> also includes links to several news stories outlining criticism of the Mayor\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

One story says \u201cSt. Pete Beach residents and business owners waited months for permits after the hurricanes,\u201d referring to Hurricane Milton, which hit just a couple weeks after Helene. Another report says the city failed to \u201cmove permits efficiently after the storms, leaving families displaced and businesses unable to reopen.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the cited reports, from 10 Tampa Bay on Nov. 19, 2024<\/a>, noted that as of Oct. 1 of that year, the city had received more than 570 permit applications. But by the time the story was published more than a month and a half later, only about 75 of the requested permits had been issued.<\/p>\n

The website also cited a report from Fox 13 on Dec. 9, 2024<\/a>, chronicling St. Pete Beach residents who, two months after the hurricanes had passed, found it \u201cextremely frustrating\u201d that permits were still not being issued. By the time of that report, the city said it had received about 600 applications, with fewer than 80 issued.<\/p>\n

Even a St. Pete Beach internal analysis<\/a> of its storm recovery processes outlined deficiencies, with a presentation from a community meeting on Jan. 15, 2025, finding the city was meeting just 45% of its daily permit processing goal.<\/p>\n

The anti-Petrila site also tackles a contentious issue facing the beach town. It links to news coverage about, and video of, Petrila pitching tolls at the north, central and southern access points of the island to fund ongoing infrastructure repairs and improvements following the back-to-back hurricanes in late 2024.<\/p>\n

Despite his plan exempting residents, employees and business owners, it has been controversial, with some worrying such tolls would reduce tourism and other revenue-generating traffic on St. Pete Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cPetrila is now resorting to tolls and higher costs to cover for his poor planning,\u201d the website attacking the Mayor reads.<\/p>\n

Restore St. Pete does not list support for any particular candidate for office, but the site it\u2019s backing no doubt benefits Scott Tate, Petrila\u2019s challenger this year. The group\u2019s website lists its mission as supporting \u201clocal candidates who believe in responsible government that listens to its residents and supports the small business economy while protecting the unique character of St. Pete Beach.\u201d<\/p>\n

While not as direct in its attacks against Petrila, the Restore St. Pete Beach site<\/a> under its section listing issues takes aim at Petrila without using his name directly.<\/p>\n

It references \u201cshort-sighted proposals, such as a visitor toll,\u201d and blasts \u201cthe current Mayor\u2019s adversarial relationship with our local business community,\u201d arguing that \u201cthreatens our economy, revenue, and way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The site refers to St. Pete Beach as a \u201ccity in disarray.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Dec. 31, 2025, Petrila and Tate were locked in a close race from a fundraising perspective<\/a>, with Tate nearly matching Petrila\u2019s fundraising. Fourth-quarter reports showed Tate had brought in just over $14,000<\/a>, only\u00a0$1,300 less than Petrila<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the race is nonpartisan and candidates\u2019 political affiliations won\u2019t appear on the ballot, both are Republicans.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare in the age of Florida GOP dominance to see a Republican challenge another. So the fact that a challenger has not only emerged, but managed in less than three months to gain near-parity with the incumbent in fundraising, suggests broad community support and possible frustration with the status quo.<\/p>\n

Tate has positioned himself as a change-maker who can fix administrative bottlenecks and address infrastructure priorities that have stalled recently. He\u2019s a project management professional offering organizations insight into complex challenges and helping deliver projects on time and on budget.<\/p>\n

Tate is already involved in the St. Pete Beach community, serving on the St. Pete Beach Police Pension Board and the Belle Vista Civic Association Board. He also plays in a local band.<\/p>\n

Petrila is facing his first re-election contest after first being elected in 2023, when he unseated then-incumbent\u00a0Alan Johnson.<\/p>\n

The St. Pete Beach municipal election is March 10.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"First, a resident video surfaced raising questions about incumbent Mayor Adrian Petrila\u2019s access to the island following Hurricane…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115321,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[16826,3125,76658,28811,202,75492,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":{"0":"post-159928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-st-petersburg","8":"tag-adrian-petrila","9":"tag-hurricane-helene","10":"tag-restore-st-pete-beach","11":"tag-scott-tate","12":"tag-st-pete","13":"tag-st-pete-beach-mayors-race","14":"tag-st-pete-headlines","15":"tag-st-pete-news","16":"tag-st-petersburg","17":"tag-st-petersburg-headlines","18":"tag-st-petersburg-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159928","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=159928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115321"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=159928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=159928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}