Between a new political committee and political contributions, St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch raised just shy of a quarter million dollars for his reelection campaign.<\/p>\n
St. Petersburg Progress, Welch\u2019s third and newest political committee supporting him, reported raising $183,060 between January and March. Of that, $85,000 was rolled over from the Pelican Political Action Committee that has supported past campaigns.<\/p>\n
St. Petersburg Progress\u2019 biggest donations include $25,000 from the Tampa Bay Rays, $25,000 from a hospitality group run by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Bryan Glazer and $25,000 from John and Margo Catsimatidis. John Catsimatidis is the developer of The Residences of 400 Central, St. Petersburg\u2019s tallest tower.<\/p>\n
Other notable donations include Ferg\u2019s Sports Bar & Grill owner Mark Ferguson and the Philadelphia Phillies\u2019 Florida operation.<\/p>\n
Welch, who filed to run for reelection Feb. 2, also took in $37,706 in donations to his campaign account.<\/p>\n
A first look at political committee reports and campaign contributions by Friday\u2019s deadline shows he is leading his declared opponents: former St. Petersburg Fire Rescue Chief Jim Large, two-time City Council member Brandi Gabbard, former St. Petersburg NAACP branch president Maria Scruggs and former Shore Acres Civic Association president Kevin Batdorf.<\/p>\n