{"id":312643,"date":"2026-06-19T03:33:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T03:33:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/312643\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T03:33:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T03:33:11","slug":"st-pete-mayoral-candidates-keep-it-civil-in-second-debate-as-large-makes-first-appearance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/312643\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete mayoral candidates keep it civil in second debate, as Large makes first appearance"},"content":{"rendered":"

St. Petersburg\u2019s mayoral candidates met again Thursday evening for the race\u2019s second debate, but the tone was far more tame than their first forum<\/a>, where tensions rose as opponents piled on incumbent Mayor Ken Welch<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Hosted by the League of Women Voters<\/a> and partner organizations at St. Petersburg College<\/a>, Thursday\u2019s matchup was largely substantive and light on confrontation \u2014 in contrast to the NAACP-hosted forum earlier this month that turned into two hours of incoming fire on Welch.<\/p>\n

The candidates fielded questions on property taxes<\/a>, housing affordability, the future of the Historic Gas Plant District<\/a>, growth, infrastructure, traffic safety, youth programs, arts funding, City Hall responsiveness, and diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n

The night also gave voters a clearer look at the race\u2019s emerging themes<\/a>: Welch defending his record through a first term marked by crisis and criticism of his response; former Gov. Charlie Crist<\/a> promising a steadier hand and sharper executive leadership based on his political experience; City Council Member Brandi Gabbard<\/a> leaning on years of experience at City Hall, business acumen and a detailed platform<\/a>; jail administrator Maria Scruggs<\/a> calling for administrative accountability; and former Shore Acres Neighborhood Association President Kevin Batdorf<\/a> pitching business-minded fixes.<\/p>\n

Former Fire Chief Jim Large<\/a> also appeared alongside the other mayoral candidates for the first time. He called for a sharper focus on core city services.<\/p>\n

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

Balancing development and the city\u2019s charm<\/p>\n

One of the night\u2019s livelier moments came on a question about how to reconcile downtown\u2019s high-rise boom with St. Petersburg\u2019s character, as the Tampa Bay Times\u2019 Colleen Wright reported<\/a>. Candidates described neighborhoods that feel neglected as towers rise downtown, even as the 2024 hurricane season underscored the need to protect flood-prone areas nearby.<\/p>\n

Scruggs, a former president of the NAACP\u2019s St. Petersburg branch, said the city has prioritized developers over residents. \u201cThe focus has been downtown, downtown, downtown, and how can the buildings be higher, higher, higher. Missing from that conversation is what about the people,\u201d she said, according to the Times. \u201cSo the way I would start with the conversation with development is to focus on the people first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch defended the growth as the product of decades of planning. \u201cHigh rises are not the problem,\u201d he said, per the Times. \u201cThe development is happening in the areas we planned for over 30 years.\u201d He argued the real challenge is infrastructure: \u201cIf we had zero growth, we still would have a problem with our infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Crist said development pays for essential services but has to be done carefully. \u201cSt. Pete is a charming place to live, and is a special place to live, and so our development has to be smart. It has to be regulated appropriately,\u201d he told the forum. \u201cIt provides jobs, so I\u2019m for it, but I\u2019m not for ruining the charm that makes St. Petersburg such a special place.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Large called for slowing down, the Times reported: \u201cWe can\u2019t keep putting tomorrow\u2019s development on yesterday\u2019s infrastructure.\u201d Gabbard and Batdorf, who both live in flood-prone neighborhoods still recovering from the 2024 hurricanes, said they would make permits easier to obtain and study development\u2019s effects on the city\u2019s water, stormwater and wastewater systems.<\/p>\n

Welch and Crist draw contrasts after a testy week<\/p>\n

Welch and Crist, who delivered the sharpest exchanges of the first debate, largely stayed out of each other\u2019s way this time around \u2014 but the two front-runners still drew clear contrasts on taxes, utilities, housing, and storm readiness.<\/p>\n

Crist leaned into his affordability message. He pledged a property tax cut he said would save residents about $15 million a year. He also pointed to his record as Attorney General suing power companies on consumers\u2019 behalf, saying he\u2019d go to court again if necessary to keep utility costs affordable.<\/p>\n

Crist also promised to speed up permitting and to use city-owned land and incentives to push for affordability in new development.<\/p>\n

In a nod to criticism often raised by Welch\u2019s critics, Crist said he\u2019d prepare for major storms in advance of an emergency. He highlighted experience he gained as Governor, calling for hardened stormwater and sewer systems, a vulnerable-residents registry, pet-friendly shelters, advanced debris contracts and a single recovery center for permitting, inspections and FEMA<\/a> help.<\/p>\n

In response to questions about support for diversity, equity, and inclusion during a time of increased pressure from Tallahassee, Crist committed to protecting \u201cevery resident from discrimination in their job, their housing and their daily life. No exceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll stand with our LGBTQ neighbors, our young people and our families, and I will make sure City Hall has their back. Not just in June during Pride Month but all year long,\u201d Crist said. \u201cI\u2019ll keep St. Pete Pride<\/a> strong because it\u2019s part of who we are, and it lifts this whole city. This one is simple to me: everyone deserves respect, and we need to treat everyone with respect, kindness and decency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Welch, by contrast, leaned on his record as the incumbent throughout the night.<\/p>\n

On the budget, he countered that the deeper cuts proposed by Crist need to come with answers about what gets reduced, noting his administration already cut the millage rate over his first three years. He noted that residents at budget hearings have asked for more \u2014 not less \u2014 investment in public safety, complete streets, homelessness services and the arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the last 12 public hearings and budget public open houses, not one person has asked for a cut. They asked for more money for complete streets, more money for public safety, more money to fill the arts gap when the state cut the arts, more money for homeless services, more money to increase the CALL program, more money for affordable housing,\u201d Welch argued.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it will be very difficult to cut $35 to $50 million from our budget, and that is one reason I oppose this. This is not property tax reform, this is a property tax shift.\u201d<\/p>\n

On utility costs, Welch noted electric rates are set by the Public Service Commission<\/a> and said the city has leverage over franchise fees and utility taxes through its Duke Energy<\/a> agreement, which is soon due for renegotiation.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted his track record on housing, noting that more than 1,000 units have been preserved or built during his tenure, with another 1,000 in the pipeline.<\/p>\n

Welch has also defended his administration\u2019s storm readiness, pointing to the city\u2019s existing registries and evacuation protocols. He said hurricanes Helene and Milton exposed a new level of threat that his proposed SPAR resilience plan is already meant to address.<\/p>\n

The closest the night came to a direct clash was on diversity and inclusion, where Welch pointedly asked the stage who had spoken up when DEI programs, Black history curriculum and LGBTQ history were being stripped from schools.<\/p>\n

The first mayoral debate did not broach the subject, but candidates criticized Welch<\/a> later that night when interviewed about the topic by Florida Politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you do when DEI was being threatened? When Black history was being pulled out of schools? When LGBTQ history was being pulled out of schools? Did you say something? I did. With the city\u2019s name, as Mayor, on record I stood against \u2026 the backwards legislation coming from Tallahassee,\u201d Welch said. \u201cThat\u2019s important. That\u2019s also why I renamed the Historic Gas Plant development from Tropicana Field, because it wasn\u2019t about a baseball field. It\u2019s about a community. So standing on those issues and using the bully pulpit as Mayor is what I have done, it\u2019s what I\u2019ll continue to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The race\u2019s front-runners largely skipped the fireworks this time, but plenty has happened off the stage since they last shared one.<\/p>\n

The calmer night came after an eventful stretch for both campaigns. Welch\u2019s political committee, St. Petersburg Progress, missed its latest campaign finance filing deadline<\/a> this week, and the report that did land showed him still raising far less than Crist\u2019s St. Pete Shines committee over the same period. State Sen. Darryl Rouson<\/a> also signaled support for Crist<\/a>this week while maintaining his existing support for Welch \u2014 a dual nod that gave Crist a boost as voters look to community leaders for guidance on the mayoral race.<\/p>\n

Crist, meanwhile, made headlines that had little to do with his race for City Hall. He joined Republican U.S. Sens. Rick Scott<\/a> and Ashley Moody<\/a> in calling for Tampa officials to cancel Ye\u2019s upcoming concerts<\/a> at Raymond James Stadium over the rapper\u2019s history of antisemitic remarks.<\/p>\n

His political committee also dropped a new ad this week<\/a> hitting Welch over the scuttled Moffitt Cancer Center<\/a> deal, closing with a dig that Welch lacks \u201cthe executive leadership to close the deal \u2014 not with Moffitt, not with the Rays, not for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Moffitt deal was at the center of heated debate between the two candidates during the first event but was absent Thursday despite the new ad.<\/p>\n

Large makes his debut<\/p>\n

Former Fire Chief Jim Large made his first appearance on the debate floor Thursday evening, quickly establishing himself as the race\u2019s most explicitly conservative voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Large leaned on his decades with the city, which include executive leadership in the Fire Department, where he worked under four different mayors and helped oversee budgets, facilities, personnel and crisis management.<\/p>\n

He said the city needs operational leadership focused on core services \u2014 especially if voters approve property tax changes that could significantly impact city funding \u2014 and not career politicians.<\/p>\n

Large argued local government should stick to \u201ccore responsibilities\u201d rather than \u201cpolitical processes.\u201d<\/p>\n

He criticized the focus on energy prices and on Duke Energy, arguing water rates are a larger problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy water bill has been higher than my electric bill for the last four months, so I don\u2019t find the electric bill outrageous. I find the water bill outrageous,\u201d Large said. \u201cI think, as a city, we have far too many other problems to handle than to try \u2026 doing something with electric right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked about DEI, Large said he believes city government should \u201cstay neutral\u201d on social, cultural and political issues and focus instead on services like paving roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat road doesn\u2019t ask you if you\u2019re Black or white, or if you\u2019re gay or straight,\u201d Large said. \u201cWhatever the case may be, they all deserve that road to be paved, to be driveable and to be safe. That\u2019s the position the city should be in, providing safe neighborhoods and safe streets.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabbard goes at Welch<\/p>\n

Gabbard, who has largely avoided direct confrontation on debate nights, drew one of the clearest contrasts with Welch over the future of the Historic Gas Plant District.<\/p>\n

Gabbard called for a comprehensive planning study before the city restarts a developer selection process for the land, arguing St. Petersburg should not rush to hand over one of its most valuable public assets without first deciding what should be sold, what should be kept and what the city actually needs from the site.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve led the charge at City Hall<\/a> to request the pause of a developer selection until we can do a comprehensive study on this site,\u201d Gabbard said. \u201cThe residents are asking us to make sure that we do not give away our most valuable asset before we know what we really need to have there in that location.\u201d<\/p>\n

She said residents are still asking whether the city should sell the land at all, or whether some parcels should remain public assets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not even begun to answer those questions,\u201d Gabbard said.<\/p>\n

Welch pushed back against delay, saying the city has already held extensive community conversations and heard the same priorities repeatedly: jobs, housing, economic opportunity and honoring the promises made to families displaced from the Gas Plant neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way you honor those promises is to move forward and to not delay for another decade,\u201d Welch said. \u201cWe\u2019ve planned, and planned, and planned to death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabbard also criticized Welch\u2019s responsiveness to post-storm recovery. She said resident services are a \u201cculture issue\u201d that starts at the top, stating that her Council office became an informal clearinghouse for residents struggling to navigate the permitting process after recent storms.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy office served as essentially the triage office for permitting for about 20 months after these storms,\u201d Gabbard said. \u201cWhat I can tell you is that people need to be heard, people need to know response, they need to know where they are in the queue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabbard also invoked a past administration while discussing traffic safety, saying St. Petersburg passed its Complete Streets plan under former Mayor Rick Kriseman<\/a> but has not kept up with the investment under Welch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have failed in getting further investment in that plan over the last few years,\u201d Gabbard said. \u201cWe need to reinvigorate that plan. We need to invest fully in that plan. I was endorsed by Activate St. Pete because I believe in people over pavement. I believe that people should be able to get around our city safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

Throughout the rest of the debate, Gabbard leaned on her Council record on housing, Duke Energy, traffic safety and storm recovery. She touted her work creating the city\u2019s employee-assisted housing program and said she pushed the Council to devote 76% of federal ARPA dollars toward housing.<\/p>\n

She also reminded the room she was one of two Council members who pushed the city\u2019s \u201cDump Duke<\/a>\u201d feasibility study<\/a>, emphasizing that it is not a promise to leave Duke Energy but a way to negotiate \u201cfrom a position of power.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gabbard also highlighted her experience representing a district that she said lies 95% within the coastal high hazard area. She said the city needs to prioritize resiliency projects based on how many homes and businesses they can protect from future flooding.<\/p>\n

Scruggs calls for less rhetoric, more receipts<\/p>\n

Scruggs, the jail administrator, criticized the field for playing politics, repeatedly arguing that City Hall needs accountability, transparency and measurable results. She\u2019s the only candidate to qualify by petition<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Scruggs said the city has spent more than $50 million on youth programming under the current administration but still faces \u201csystemic, sustained issues\u201d with young people. She said the city needs to audit how youth dollars are being spent before assuming existing programs are working.<\/p>\n

Scruggs also offered one of the night\u2019s more candid answers on infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have an answer,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a very complex and technical issue. The fact that I hear solutions being spewed, when we have neighborhoods flooding that have never flooded before, says to me we\u2019re in trouble.\u201d<\/p>\n

She called wastewater, stormwater and hurricane resilience a complex and technical issue that requires bringing the right experts to the table rather than offering politically convenient fixes.<\/p>\n

Scruggs also used the diversity and inclusion question to make a broader point about who has access to City Hall. She said too many decisions in St. Petersburg have been made \u201cbased on who you\u2019re connected to,\u201d and said hearing from a 15-year-old who described the city as a place of \u201ccliques\u201d showed a deeper problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat tells me that we have a fundamental issue about inclusion,\u201d Scruggs said.<\/p>\n

Batdorf pitches business-minded fixes<\/p>\n

Batdorf<\/a> leaned into his outsider pitch and returned repeatedly to infrastructure, permitting and the value of city-owned land.<\/p>\n

Batdorf said the city should leverage land near Tropicana Field, which he valued at $390 million, to help pay for other city priorities without new taxes. He also called for a different approach to development, saying developers should be required to show the full infrastructure impact of their projects and not just pay standard impact fees.<\/p>\n

Batdorf proposed extending the Pinellas Trail into more neighborhoods to create a more connected bike and pedestrian network, and even floated the idea of adding an automated electric tram system along the trail.<\/p>\n

He called for involving private businesses in youth programming to offer paid apprenticeships for teenagers, especially those at risk of entering the court system. He said the goal should be to connect young people with skills, financial advice and a path to full-time work or entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n

Batdorf was most pointed on infrastructure, calling for accurate mapping of the city\u2019s underground drainage and sewer pipes and prioritizing the most vulnerable systems first.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s really not that hard,\u201d Batdorf said. \u201cIt\u2019s common sense, and it\u2019s just not being done because it\u2019s not sexy.\u201d<\/p>\n

With two forums now behind them, the contours of the race are coming into focus: a front-runner contest between Welch\u2019s record and Crist\u2019s promise of sharper executive leadership, with Gabbard, Scruggs, Batdorf and Large each carving out a lane \u2014 process and planning, accountability, business-minded fixes and a back-to-basics conservatism. The calmer tone Thursday is unlikely to hold. With the looming property tax vote threatening to reshape the city\u2019s budget, campaign finance reports drawing fresh scrutiny and the Gas Plant District\u2019s future still unresolved, the candidates have plenty left to fight over before voters render the only verdict that counts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"St. Petersburg\u2019s mayoral candidates met again Thursday evening for the race\u2019s second debate, but the tone was far…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":312644,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[3300,3347,3401,13644,1644,71439,2346,72295,3175,48033,130240,202,204,203,199,201,200,3815],"class_list":["post-312643","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-brandi-gabbard","tag-charlie-crist","tag-duke-energy","tag-historic-gas-plant-district","tag-housing","tag-jim-large","tag-ken-welch","tag-kevin-batdorf","tag-maria-scruggs","tag-moffitt-cancer-center","tag-south-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-tampa-bay-rays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312643","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=312643"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/312643\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/312644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=312643"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=312643"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=312643"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}