The second St. Petersburg mayoral debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters at SPC\u2019s Music Center Thursday night, differed sharply from the first.<\/p>\n
The NAACP\u2019s June debate often devolved into attacks on Mayor Kenneth Welch\u2019s record, particularly regarding hurricane response and transparency. This time, the format prohibited rebuttals and direct exchanges, forcing candidates to spend nearly all of their time discussing policy.<\/p>\n
All six candidates participated, including former St. Petersburg Fire Chief Jim Large, who skipped the first debate. Without the opportunity for candidates to challenge one another, voters received a more focused look at where the field stands on issues ranging from electric rates and affordable housing to redevelopment and growth.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the candidates stacked up when questions were posed:<\/p>\n
Cheaper electricity<\/p>\n
\u201cDump Duke\u201d has become the battle cry of residents frustrated by rising electric bills, and candidates largely split between those willing to explore alternatives and those skeptical that the city should take on an electric utility.<\/p>\n
Maria Scruggs argued the city should have been evaluating its relationship with Duke Energy years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are now in a situation where we are reacting and not giving us the appropriate timeline to plan,\u201d Scruggs said.<\/p>\n
Welch attempted to demystify how electric rates are set.<\/p>\n
\u201cRates are designated by the PSC, so the city\u2019s impact is small, but having said that we can press for new renewable options,\u201d Welch said, adding that his administration is already working with Duke Energy as the franchise agreement comes up for renewal.<\/p>\n
Large mostly agreed with Welch: \u201cWe\u2019re really limited on what we can do,\u201d he stated. \u201cIf you look at Dump Duke versus keeping Duke, it\u2019s just not the right time. We need to be reducing the size of government, not increasing.\u201d Instead of electricty, Large shifted focus toward water bills, arguing that municipal water rates have become a larger problem than electricity costs.<\/p>\n
Batdorf was even less convinced by the municipal utility discussion: \u201cLet\u2019s look at it. The city can\u2019t run a water utility, but it\u2019s going to run an electric utility. It\u2019s not going to happen. It\u2019s never going to happen,\u201d he said, criticizing the city\u2019s $590,000 feasibility study as a waste of money.<\/p>\n
Gabbard, one of the council members who supported the study, defended the decision.<\/p>\n
\u201cI make no promises that we will actually move forward with that municipal study,\u201d Gabbard said. \u201cBut mostly I believe in due diligence.\u201d Gabbard argued the study gives the city leverage in future negotiations with Duke.<\/p>\n
Crist fell back on his record as Florida Attorney General: \u201cI sued power companies, for you, for the consumers,\u201d Crist said. \u201cOne way you can find justice is going to court.\u201d He added that he would be willing to pursue legal action if necessary to protect consumers.<\/p>\n
Affordable housing<\/p>\n
Housing affordability remains one of the race\u2019s central issues, though candidates differed on whether the solution is building more housing, increasing wages or streamlining government.<\/p>\n
Welch pointed to his administration\u2019s record, including more than 1,000 affordable units built or preserved and another 1,000 in the pipeline.<\/p>\n
The morning of the debate, Welch spoke at The Grove, an affordable housing development completed in partnership with Habitat for Humanity.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt remains a priority all across this city,\u201d Welch said. \u201cWe are putting affordable housing on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n
Large divided the issue between those concerned about affordability and those concerned about subsidizing affordability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe cost of housing has risen, and the mayor cannot control construction costs, cannot control interest rates,\u201d Large said. \u201cSo as a city we have to make it convenient to build here, no obstacles with the permit department.\u201d<\/p>\n
Accelerating permitting has become a central plank of Large\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n
Batdorf, who has worked in real estate since 1999, said the issue ultimately comes down to supply and demand.<\/p>\n
\u201cHonestly, it\u2019s supply and demand, using smart development when we are building,\u201d Batdorf said. \u201cIf there was a solution, it would have been done already.\u201d He encouraged residents to take advantage of existing down-payment assistance programs.<\/p>\n
Gabbard highlighted a city program she championed that helps lower-level city employees afford housing within St. Petersburg: \u201cWe can scale those programs,\u201d she said, adding that the goal is ensuring \u201call of us can call this city home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist promised three things: to speed up permitting, use city-owned land to incentivize affordability and protect longtime residents from being priced out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be an honest broker,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n
Scruggs challenged the premise of the question itself. \u201cAffordable for whom?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n
Pointing to affordable housing developments such as The Grove, Scruggs noted that many recipients are working professionals, and therefore \u201cthe issue is people need to make more money, a livable wage,\u201d not build more affordable housing.<\/p>\n
Rather than focusing solely on subsidized housing, she argued the city should focus on helping residents earn enough to afford existing housing stock.<\/p>\n
Historic Gas Plant District<\/p>\n
The Historic Gas Plant District once again emerged as one of the clearest points of division among the candidates.<\/p>\n
Large said redevelopment must balance honoring the neighborhood\u2019s history with maximizing the value of the land.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to recognize the history,\u201d Large said. \u201cBut we need to make sure this tract of land works in the best interest for the whole city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Batdorf argued the site should be leveraged to help address needs throughout the city, not just at the Gas Plant. \u201cThe fair market should be developing that property,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s the fair market that will generate the income to solve the other issues this city has.\u201d While not explicitly stated, his response implies minimal government inclusion in the Gas Plant redevelopment.<\/p>\n
Gabbard reiterated her call to pause the current redevelopment process until a comprehensive study is completed.\u201cWe have not even begun to answer those questions,\u201d she said, referring to whether the city should sell the property at all or retain portions of it as public assets.<\/p>\n
Crist said the project should produce jobs, affordable housing and long-term economic opportunity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to examine them carefully,\u201d he said of the four remaining development teams.<\/p>\n
Scruggs argued that discussions about the site often lose sight of the people displaced when the neighborhood was demolished.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to start telling the truth,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She also called for a broader master plan for South St. Petersburg, noting that many other parts of the city already benefit from long-term planning efforts.<\/p>\n
Welch pushed back against further delays: \u201cWe\u2019ve planned and planned and planned to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
With a developer selection expected later this month, Welch maintained that moving forward is the best way to honor promises made to the families displaced from the neighborhood.<\/p>\n
Balancing new high-rises with St. Pete\u2019s character<\/p>\n
Questions about development and growth produced some of the evening\u2019s most substantive responses.<\/p>\n
Batdorf suggested that every major development should be accompanied by an impact report detailing how it will affect surrounding neighborhoods and infrastructure.<\/p>\n
Scruggs said City Hall has spent too much time focusing on developers and not enough time considering residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe focus has been downtown, downtown, downtown, and how can the buildings be higher, higher, higher,\u201d Scruggs said. \u201cMissing from that conversation is what about the people?\u201d<\/p>\n
Welch defended the city\u2019s growth strategy: \u201cHigh rises are not the problem,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you look at the state of our economy, you\u2019ll see how much high-rise developments contribute to our tax base.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist took a middle-ground position.<\/p>\n
\u201cSt. Pete is a charming place to live, and is a special place to live, and so our development has to be smart,\u201d Crist said. \u201cI\u2019m for it, but I\u2019m not for ruining the charm that makes St. Petersburg such a special place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe development has far outpaced the maintenance of our infrastructure,\u201d Large said. \u201cWe can\u2019t keep putting tomorrow\u2019s development on yesterday\u2019s infrastructure.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gabbard tied future growth to resiliency and infrastructure planning, arguing that development decisions must account for impacts on water, wastewater and stormwater systems.<\/p>\n
While the first debate largely revolved around criticism of Welch\u2019s administration, Thursday\u2019s forum gave voters something different: a side-by-side comparison of how each candidate would govern.<\/p>\n
The sharpest divide of the evening remained the Historic Gas Plant District. Welch argued the city has spent years studying the site and must move forward. Gabbard maintained that St. Petersburg still has fundamental questions to answer before handing over one of its most valuable public assets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The second St. Petersburg mayoral debate, hosted by the League of Women Voters at SPC\u2019s Music Center Thursday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":315510,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-315509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315509","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=315509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/315509\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/315510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=315509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=315509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=315509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}