{"id":302784,"date":"2026-06-10T17:03:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:03:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/302784\/"},"modified":"2026-06-10T17:03:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T17:03:15","slug":"st-pete-mayoral-debate-candidates-clash-over-affordability-hurricane-prep-future-of-gas-plant-district-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/302784\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete mayoral debate: Candidates clash over affordability, hurricane prep, future of Gas Plant District"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Brief<\/p>\n

St. Petersburg mayoral candidates clashed over hurricane preparedness, utility costs, and the Gas Plant District during a Tuesday debate.<\/p>\n

Former Gov. Charlie Crist criticized incumbent Mayor Ken Welch, while Welch defended his decisions regarding the failed Rays stadium deal.<\/p>\n

A second debate is scheduled for July 28 before the city’s primary election on Aug. 18.<\/p>\n

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – St. Petersburg<\/a> mayoral candidates went head-to-head on Tuesday night, clashing over some of the city\u2019s biggest challenges during a debate<\/a> hosted by the St. Pete NAACP at the Obama Main Library.<\/p>\n

St. Petersburg mayoral debate<\/p>\n

The backstory<\/p>\n

The debate focused on several issues facing the city, including the future of the Gas Plant District<\/a>, hurricane<\/a> preparedness, affordability and utility costs.<\/p>\n

Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist criticized the leadership of incumbent Mayor Ken Welch throughout the night.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m just disappointed in his leadership and I think we need a change,” Crist said. “So do the other people at this table with me, or they wouldn\u2019t be running either.”<\/p>\n

Debating the failed Rays stadium<\/p>\n

The other side<\/p>\n

Mayor Welch defended his decision not to commit additional public dollars to the failed Rays stadium deal following Hurricanes Helene and Milton.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“After the hurricanes, they came back and said we need more money to stay here, and I said not another dime,” Welch said. “We were a traumatized community.”<\/p>\n

Focus on city hurricane preparedness<\/p>\n

What they’re saying<\/p>\n

Former Shore Acres Neighborhood Association President Kevin Batdorf says the city must improve its storm readiness efforts immediately.<\/p>\n

“We need a much more robust team in place to prepare for hurricanes,” Batdorf said. “We need to have crews on standby.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Future of utilities<\/p>\n

Why you should care<\/p>\n

Former NAACP St. Pete President Maria Scruggs raised concerns about rising utility costs and the city\u2019s relationship with Duke Energy.<\/p>\n

“We have people that have excessive utility bills,” Scruggs said. “We do not have a solution as to why individuals are receiving $10,000 water bills.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Upcoming dates for voters<\/p>\n

What’s next<\/p>\n

Former St. Pete Fire Chief James Large, a sixth candidate in the race, did not attend the debate.<\/p>\n

As the debate came to a close, City Council member Brandi Gabbard focused on what she called a pivotal moment for the city\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

“The choices we make over the next year will define our future for the next generation,” Gabbard said. “We must lead in a proactive way with a bold vision for our future.”<\/p>\n

A second mayoral debate is scheduled for July 28 at the James Museum of Western & Wildlife Art. Not long after that, voters will head to the polls for the primary election<\/a> on August 18.<\/p>\n

The Source<\/p>\n

Information for this story came from statements from the NAACP St Petersburg, interviews with St. Pete mayoral candidates and previous reporting on FOX 13 News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Brief St. Petersburg mayoral candidates clashed over hurricane preparedness, utility costs, and the Gas Plant District during…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3347,31740,942,109721,2346,106552,23856,44418,202,204,203,199,201,200,96918],"class_list":["post-302784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-charlie-crist","tag-gas-plant-district","tag-hurricane-preparedness","tag-incumbent-mayor","tag-ken-welch","tag-mayoral-candidates","tag-mayoral-debate","tag-primary-election","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-utility-costs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302784","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=302784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}