St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch and former Florida Gov. and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist faced off Oct. 13 in the only televised debate ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
No defining moment emerged in the anticipated showdown hosted by Bay News 9 and moderated by anchor Holly Gregory. Both camps declared victory soon after in news releases.
Welch, looking to gain ground after finishing a distant second to Crist in the August primary, has said he was eager to debate his challenger. But he largely stuck to themes he has repeated on the stump, knocking Crist for splitting his most recent years between St. Petersburg and Minnesota and second guessing actions taken while he was away.
“It’s easy to speak after the fact [as a] Monday morning quarterback,” Welch said.
“If I may, you were here, and you weren’t here,” Crist retorted in one of the sharper exchanges of the evening.
Welch argued that he has led the city through “some of the most challenging times” and has continued the city’s progress.
“I think you need to elect someone who’s done the work, who’s been here for the work, who’s not coming in after the fact with what they would have done, but elect someone who’s been here for the fight, that helped this city recover from five hurricanes,” he said.
Crist began by stating his endorsements from all four past living mayors, Republican and Democrat, and three City Council members because they back his vision for the city. Two of those former mayors endorsed Welch in 2021.
“They’ve done so because of my vision and my plan for the future of our beautiful city,” Crist said.
Differences on storm preparedness
In 2024’s pair of hurricanes, Welch took the city’s sewage plants offline to prevent further damage. Several neighborhoods flooded for the first time.
To address that, Welch is championing an additional property tax that would pay for bonds to accelerate a $2.7-billion priority list of water, stormwater and sewage improvement projects. Voters will decide on that measure in a referendum.
“We’re not going to kick the can down the road like previous administrations have done,” Welch said. “The realities of our weather demand that to be a resilient city, we have to make those investments now.”
Crist said he will vote no on the additional tax, also on the ballot.
“The last thing I want to do is burden you with a bond that has more debt on the city of St. Petersburg than we have right now,” Crist said. “We need to live within our means.”
The Suncoast Sierra Club endorsed that referendum with reservations. The group has asked for a citizen oversight committee on the money raised and to include nature-based solutions to stave off the effects of climate change.
Welch said he was supportive of those measures. However, City Council member Richie Floyd took action to begin those discussions to make those requests a reality.
Can St. Pete keep the Rays around?
As the Rays got ready for a playoff game in a fixed-up Tropicana Field, brought offline for a year after Hurricane Milton ripped off its roof in 2024, both candidates were asked about the city’s future with the team and the 86 acres around the stadium.
Crist said he’d convene a blue-ribbon panel to review all bids submitted, including Welch’s pick of the pitch submitted by Black Investment Partners. He said he’d like to have a sizable park, an idea paraded by former mayor Rick Baker.
Crist called it a tragedy if the Rays end up leaving St. Petersburg after the team’s contract at the Trop expires at the end of the 2028 season. He recalled the effort to bring a Major League Baseball team to a sleepier St. Petersburg more than 30 years ago.
“So many people put so much sweat equity into making this happen,” he said. “To not try everything possible to have them stay here is almost unconscionable to me.”
Welch said the site has been studied enough. He said he wants to move forward with a “better, more impactful agreement” than the one his administration brokered with the Rays under prior ownership. He took credit for fixing up the Trop on time and under budget even after prior Rays leadership at first objected, though the city is contractually obligated to make repairs.
“The goal is not to pay any price to keep baseball here,” Welch said.
Crist has said he would seek to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg long term, which Welch dismissed.
“To say that we have a shot now with baseball as they’re signing contracts in Hillsborough is just not realistic,” Welch said.
Crist hones stance on property taxes
Crist came out against a statewide ballot question to raise the property tax exemption on owner-occupied homes, calling it “a sledgehammer to cities and counties.” He previously expressed uncertainty about where he stood.
Crist said he plans to cut $15 million in property taxes and will look at city employees making more than $150,000 a year.
Welch accused Crist of not doing his homework. He said Crist’s plan would “bleed all our leadership” and would still require the city to find another $11 million to cut.
“It’ll be just as harmful to the city,” Welch said.
What about Childs Park odors?
Both candidates were asked if there was anything the city can do to get to the bottom of a lingering smell in the Childs Park neighborhood. Installed air monitors found that air pollutants exceeded health thresholds.
Welch called it a decades-long problem.
“If it was an easy solution between the county, the city and the state, we would have solved it by now,” he said.
Former City Council member John Muhammad, now the president of the Childs Park Neighborhood Association, recently requested that the city use the rules it has on its books against the alleged source of the smell, Howco Environmental Services. The city is looking into it.
“I don’t know why, in the five years since the mayor’s been there, that this hasn’t been addressed in a more rapid fashion,” Crist said.
• • •
Tampa Bay Times Election Coverage
- 2026 midterms voter guide: Get information on candidates in Tampa Bay and acrossFlorida
- A property tax proposal and more: All 3 Florida amendments on the ballot, explained
- Governor candidate stances: Clashing ideas of David Jolly and Byron Donalds putFlorida at crossroads
- 3 reasons: Here’s why David Jolly could win the governor’s race, and here’s why Byron Donalds could
- Florida polling averages: governor and Senate
- Redistricting: A snapshot of each of Tampa Bay’s new congressional districts
- St. Pete mayor’s race: 5 takeaways from the primary results
- On St. Petersburg ballots: A breakdown of referenda and charter amendments coming before city voters
