Tuesday\u2019s St. Petersburg mayoral debate between Mayor Ken Welch and challenger Charlie Crist was moderated by Holly Gregory of Spectrum News 9. Here\u2019s a curated list of some of the\u00a0 evening\u2019s questions and exchanges.<\/p>\n
Each candidate was given 30 seconds for an opening statement and two minutes to respond to the same questions, with an additional 30 seconds for rebuttal if one candidate called out the other.<\/p>\n
Welch leaned on his five years of service as mayor, while challenger Charlie Crist highlighted his recent endorsements from all four living former St. Petersburg mayors.<\/p>\n
What are your expectations for the Gas Plant District plans?<\/p>\n
\u201cI want a blue ribbon panel [an ad hoc group of independent experts] to review the plan already selected by the mayor,\u201d said Crist. \u201cI think all the plans look good. I\u2019m really coming at it with no bias.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist underscored that the land belongs to the citizens of St. Petersburg, and therefore parks and open spaces should be paramount.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it should be very green \u2026 along with multi-use developments.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welch referred to the 2021 mayoral promise that helped get him elected to office: honoring economic inclusion for those displaced from their homes to make way for the original baseball stadium. \u201cWe are moving forward with a 30 year plan, not just for green space but for jobs and economic opportunity which was the original promise.\u201d<\/p>\n
In July, Welch selected The Burg Bid, led by Thompson Whitney Blake, with partners including Related Group, Elliott Investment Management and the Pinellas County Housing Authority.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have an even better more impactful agreement,\u201d said Welch, even though the earlier Hines\/Rays deal collapsed under his tenure \u2014 a failure he maintains is squarely the fault of the Rays and Hines.<\/p>\n
Should a comprehensive plan have been passed before a developer for the Gas Plant District was picked, and how can the city ensure this transformational project reflects the character of St. Pete?<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the city council was selected by you, the people, to serve. It\u2019s fundamental that we include them,\u201d said Crist.<\/p>\n
Though Crist seemed to lean more into the people themselves, rather than their elected representatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is your land,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
In hindsight, could the city of St. Pete have done anything else to convince the Tampa Bay Rays to stay?<\/p>\n
\u201cWell you never know, until you try,\u201d said Crist.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil the deal is not done, the ground not broken in Tampa, let\u2019s keep it on the table,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Even if the Rays move to Tampa, Crist said, \u201cwe have to keep the spirit of the Ray\u2019s in St. Pete alive, because its been such a critical part of our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
Notably, the Rays have already signed agreements with Tampa.<\/p>\n
Welch said unequivocally, \u201cNo.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He focused not just on baseball, but on the broader opportunities for economic development.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal is not to pay any price to keep baseball here. We have obvious needs in our infrastructure,\u201d Welch said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not dependent on baseball staying here; we gave this our best shot \u2026 we have a better opportunity [for the Gas Plant redevelopment],\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Where were you leading up to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and in the aftermath?<\/p>\n
Both Welch and Crist have faced criticism over their whereabouts during the 2024 hurricanes, with Welch\u2019s critics contending that he left the emergency response center early, while Crist was reportedly traveling back and forth between St. Petersburg and Minnesota.<\/p>\n
Welch, who was in St. Pete during the storms, used the question as an opportunity to advocate for GO Bonds to fund stormwater infrastructure improvements.<\/p>\n
Crist said he was in St. Pete and Minnesota due to his fianc\u00e9e\u2019s former husband dying by suicide, while also tending to his ailing parents in St. Pete.<\/p>\n
Crist held no public office at the time of the hurricanes.<\/p>\n
Should voters support the GO Bond referendum to expedite stormwater resilience?<\/p>\n
Crist said he would not support GO Bonds.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery week I go door to door \u2026 and what citizens tell me is that this kind of flooding is a problem, we need to fix it, but as it relates to a 600 million dollar bond, everyone\u2019s squeezed in Florida financially \u2026 I don\u2019t want to burden you with more debt on the city,\u201d said Crist.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think these problems for infrastructure and pipping for sewage and drainage system it should have been addressed earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welch pushed back, pointing directly to the former mayors who have endorsed Crist.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say that infrastructure should be addressed,\u201d rejoined Welch, \u201cthat is true, and every mayor who mentioned that endorsed you [all four living former St. Pete mayors] that supports you did not invest in the infrastructure, and that is why we need to fix it now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot afford to kick this down the road again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some have asked for a community oversight panel if the GO Bonds are adopted. Would you support that?<\/p>\n
Both Crist and Welch said they would support a community oversight panel.<\/p>\n
What would you do to make St. Pete more affordable?<\/p>\n
Welch referred to his Five Pillars of Progress, which includes affordable housing as one of the main pillars of his leadership, and pointed to projects that have already been completed or are underway.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have about 35,000 units being built or unders construction,\u201d said Welch, pointing to Fairfield apartments as an example. The site, formerly home to Tibbetts Lumber, has been redeveloped into affordable housing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe won an award for using the highest ratia of ARPA funds in the state to help fund affordable housing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist focused his response on reducing property taxes by 0.4 mills.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s one way we can make things more affordable is return to you your hard earned wages in forms of taxes to the city.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crist added that \u201cunder the current administration, some development [subsidy] costs per unit are like $800,000. That\u2019s not affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welch disputed that figure.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know where that $800,000 figure came from,\u201d he said, adding that development subsidies are typically between $60,000 and $70,000 per unit.<\/p>\n
Welch also referenced a new development with rental costs he said were as low as $350.<\/p>\n
Do you believe people need property tax relief, and do you think Amendment 3 will do it?<\/p>\n
Reiterating his earlier point, Crist supports property tax reductions, but not a full exemption, which he said would \u201cbe like a hammer\u201d and \u201cleave cities in a lurch.\u201d<\/p>\n
Welch agreed that Amendment 3 would be catastrophic if passed.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot one person who has come to our budget meetings has asked to reduce millage. They ask to add arts funding, complete streets, safe neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
Following up on those responses, Gregory asked whether there was room for budget cuts outside of police and fire.<\/p>\n
Welch and Crist sparred over this one.<\/p>\n
Crist said police and fire need to be protected, but there is room for cuts in other areas of city bureaucracy. He pointed to the 262 new positions created under Welch\u2019s administration, claiming that many employees at City Hall are making more than $150,000 a year.<\/p>\n
Welch snapped back.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou haven\u2019t done your homework, Charlie.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of those positions are not funded by property taxes,\u201d said Welch, continuing to list city workers whose positions are funded through other revenue sources, including utility, stormwater and sewer operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are mixing apples and oranges. To say we can cut property taxes without looking at the budget and knowing where those dollars go \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why you would want to audit it first, which of course I would, if elected,\u201d said Crist. \u201cThat\u2019s just prudent. That\u2019s just honest.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are audited every year,\u201d Welch responded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tuesday\u2019s St. Petersburg mayoral debate between Mayor Ken Welch and challenger Charlie Crist was moderated by Holly Gregory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[202,204,203,199,201,200],"class_list":["post-427853","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\/427853","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=427853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}