![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Welch_campaing_report-300x168.png\")
<\/p>\nSt. Pete Mayor Kenneth Welch\u2019s political action committee (PAC) filed his second quarter (Q2) campaign contributions, totaling $114,000, albeit after the required June 10 deadline, adding another tally to a history of PAC-related mishaps that mired his first term as mayor.<\/p>\n
Adrienne Bogen, Welch\u2019s PAC chair, told the Catalyst: \u201cDue to a family emergency our filing was postponed, we have now filed and look forward to continuing to fuel this campaign on promises kept and momentum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now that it\u2019s filed, Welch\u2019s Q2 report shows three developers whose contributions exceed the others: $50,000 came from Sun Labs USA, $25,000 from Altis Cardinal Skytown LLC, and an accumulative $25,000 from Reza Yazdani.<\/p>\n
The three contributions account for nearly 88% of the PAC\u2019s total fundraising during the reporting period and all come from individuals or entities tied to significant development activity in St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mayor Kenneth Welch\u2019s most recent campaign finance report for Q2, showing multiple development interests for ongoing projects. Image: Screengrab.<\/p>\n
Sun Labs USA is registered to Srujani Pagidipati, a well-known bay area entrepreneur who invests in philanthropic projects. Pagidipati recently donated $50 million to St. Joseph\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital, helping establish the Pagidipati Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n
Pagidipati is also a co-founder of Ellison Development, which has partnered with ARK Investment Management and Horus Construction on a bid to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District. The group is one of four development teams still competing for the massive redevelopment project surrounding Tropicana Field, a decision that Welch and city officials continue to weigh as negotiations progress.<\/p>\n
Conversely, the other notable donor was Altis Cardinal Skytown LLC, which has spearheaded a 34-acre mixed-use development in the Skyway Marina District that, when completed, will stack more than 2,000 apartment units across the acreage alongside commercial and retail space.<\/p>\n
Skytown made recent headlines for appealing to City Council to reject a project proposed by Kolter Multifamily, a development competitor, called Alton Skyway. City Council ultimately rejected Skytown\u2019s appeal, approving Kolter\u2019s 619-unit project, which will be erected across the street from the larger SkyTown development.<\/p>\n
The dispute highlighted growing competition among developers in the rapidly transforming Skyway Marina District, one of the city\u2019s fastest-growing corridors.<\/p>\n
Reza Yazdani is the only major contributor tied to development who donated individually rather than through a business entity. Yazdani is the longtime developer behind Marina Bay Development Group and the 67-acre Marina Bay community adjacent to Eckerd College.<\/p>\n
Yazdani had filed a $120 million development proposal for a 12-story Marina Bay Residence tower on land acquired from Eckerd College, a project that would have added 96 luxury condominium units overlooking Boca Ciega Bay and the Gulf beaches. However, the proposal was ultimately denied by the city\u2019s Development Review Commission in April after officials rejected requests for additional building height and related site modifications.<\/p>\n
While the tower was denied in its proposed form, the property remains entitled for residential development under existing approvals.<\/p>\n
Welch\u2019s most prominent adversary in the campaign is former Governor Charlie Crist, whose campaign finances nearly tripled Welch\u2019s during the reporting period at almost $300,000 in contributions during Q2. Crist\u2019s latest fundraising haul adds another substantial sum to the more than $1.5 million campaign war chest he has amassed.<\/p>\n
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