{"id":357835,"date":"2026-07-30T18:06:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/357835\/"},"modified":"2026-07-30T18:06:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-30T18:06:10","slug":"tampa-bay-times-splits-st-pete-mayor-endorsement-but-snubs-ken-welch-twice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/357835\/","title":{"rendered":"Tampa Bay Times splits St. Pete Mayor endorsement, but snubs Ken Welch twice"},"content":{"rendered":"

Split endorsements often suggest a newspaper is hedging its bets. However, the Tampa Bay Times<\/a> still delivered a clear snub<\/a> to incumbent St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch<\/a> when its two endorsements went to his challengers: former Gov. Charlie Crist<\/a> and City Council Member Brandi Gabbard<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Times Publishing Co. Chair and CEO Conan Gallaty<\/a> recommended Gabbard, while Tampa Bay Times Viewpoints Editor Graham Brink<\/a> chose to support Crist. They disagreed over who should replace Welch, but united around the conclusion that the city needs a change.<\/p>\n

Brink launched his case for Crist with a lengthy indictment of Welch\u2019s first term. He pointed to the failed Moffitt Cancer Center proposal<\/a>, workplace allegations involving Welch\u2019s former Deputy Mayor, transparency disputes, unusually high water bills and the improper bonuses awarded to city employees who worked on the now-defunct Tampa Bay Rays<\/a> stadium deal.<\/p>\n

Brink, who was part of the editorial board that endorsed Welch in 2021, argued the Mayor has spent his first term convincing him to change his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had the maturity, experience and cohesive agenda for improving the city. He was the better candidate,\u201d Brink wrote of Welch\u2019s first run.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cNot anymore. He\u2019s had 4 \u00bd years to prove otherwise. His track record isn\u2019t awful. But that\u2019s not the right measure. St. Pete deserves better than \u2018not awful.\u2019 Too often he chose poorly, communicated poorly or wasn\u2019t around enough. And now it\u2019s time for a change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brink also criticized Welch for frequent absences from City Hall, citing Tampa Bay Times reporting<\/a> from 2022 that found Welch had used his badge to enter City Hall on only 34% of workdays during his first eight months in office.<\/p>\n

Brink said the low attendance likely made it possible for Welch to miss turmoil within his administration that led to hostile-work-environment claims<\/a> made by his former Communications Director, Janelle Irwin Taylor<\/a>, who currently works for Florida Politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cMayors shouldn\u2019t spend every day at City Hall, but 34%? No wonder he didn\u2019t notice the bullying,\u201d Brink said.<\/p>\n

Brink described Crist as an imperfect candidate but credited him with the ability to build coalitions, communicate during crises and move an agenda forward.<\/p>\n

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

Gallaty\u2019s recommendation was more cautious. He opened by saying the race offered \u201cno great options\u201d and threw support behind Gabbard \u2014 whom he called \u201ca rising talent.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHer work has given her exposure to both the growth and development issues facing downtown and the concerns of some of the city\u2019s most challenged neighborhoods. Capable service among a broad range of constituents bodes well,\u201d Gallaty said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said moving from City Council to the Mayor\u2019s Office would test Gabbard\u2019s ability to manage a large workforce and communicate the administration\u2019s accomplishments. Gallaty also warned that her campaign against Duke Energy would eventually require more detailed and realistic financial, legal and operational plans.<\/p>\n

Still, he concluded that Gabbard\u2019s Council experience, community connections and policy priorities offered voters a stronger foundation for the city\u2019s next chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis choice comes with risk. Just as Welch went from a County Commission role to an executive seat, voters have to hope Gabbard can command a staff of public servants and communicate their results better than the current administration,\u201d Gallaty said. \u201cBeing Mayor requires skills and responsibilities that differ from a deliberative body.\u201d<\/p>\n

The recommendations arrived after a particularly combative stretch in the race.<\/p>\n

Welch has spent much of the race playing defense against barbs about his administration\u2019s handling of the COVID pandemic, five hurricanes, the collapse of the Rays deal and mounting infrastructure concerns. He has highlighted increased housing production, repairs to Tropicana Field, negotiations with The Burg Bid for Tropicana Field redevelopment, and a proposed $600 million infrastructure bond that will appear before voters this year as highlights of his campaign.<\/p>\n

Crist skipped a Suncoast Tiger Bay Club forum Tuesday<\/a>, citing its admission fees, and instead held a free tele-town hall his campaign said reached more than 7,500 people. The five candidates who attended used his absence to question his proposed property-tax cut, hurricane messaging, campaign finances and connection to St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n

The former Governor later defended the decision in an interview with Florida Politics the following day and sharpened his case against Welch. Crist has proposed a 0.4-mill property-tax reduction and argues that St. Petersburg should remain open to another deal with the Rays. He is critical of Welch over failed negotiations with the team and other lost economic-development opportunities.<\/p>\n

Gabbard has distinguished herself from both candidates, arguing residents have lost trust in the Mayor\u2019s Office and need an administration more focused on neighborhood concerns. Her platform emphasizes affordability, resilience and accountability, along with proposals to explore energy independence from Duke Energy, expand housing options and slow down redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District until the city settles on clearer priorities.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Six candidates are competing in the Aug. 18 election. Unless one receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates will advance to the Nov. 3 General Election.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

Ed. note:\u00a0Michelle Todd Schorsch\u00a0is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee backing Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to\u00a0Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Split endorsements often suggest a newspaper is hedging its bets. However, the Tampa Bay Times still delivered a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":357836,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[134338,3300,3347,78919,3401,146009,146010,13644,2346,202,204,3304,203,199,98044,201,15767,200,66357,3815,19880],"class_list":["post-357835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-st-petersburg","tag-aug-18-primary","tag-brandi-gabbard","tag-charlie-crist","tag-conan-gallaty","tag-duke-energy","tag-editorial-endorsements","tag-graham-brink","tag-historic-gas-plant-district","tag-ken-welch","tag-st-pete","tag-st-pete-headlines","tag-st-pete-mayoral-race","tag-st-pete-news","tag-st-petersburg","tag-st-petersburg-elections","tag-st-petersburg-headlines","tag-st-petersburg-mayor","tag-st-petersburg-news","tag-suncoast-tiger-bay-club","tag-tampa-bay-rays","tag-tampa-bay-times"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357835","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=357835"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357835\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/357836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}