No. 4 on the list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians: Ken Welch

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch continues to hang out in the Top 5 on the list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians, landing the No. 4 spot this year after nearly topping the list last year at No. 2.

It’s no surprise that someone leading the second-largest city in the Tampa Bay region — the fifth-largest in the state — would land anyone on this list. Add to that leading as the city’s first African American Mayor at a time when arguably the biggest development project in modern city history is finally coming together and it’s even more of a no-brainer.

“St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch’s quiet confidence, his unique personal ties, and his political experience and leadership (have) successfully led the city to successfully negotiate the Tampa Bay Rays new stadium and redevelopment of the Historic Gas Plant District,” said Helen Levine, a partner with Corcoran Partners who previously worked for the University of South Florida.

“This transformational project will change the sports, cultural, and economic landscape of St Petersburg for decades.”

It’s Welch’s third year in his first term, and he’s made major progress on the Tropicana Field site redevelopment project, with a development team selected and City Council nearly ready to take a vote on the deal.

“Ken Welch has accomplished what many naysayers said could not be done — he struck the deal that will very likely keep the Tampa Bay Rays in Tampa Bay. The plan is fair, unlocks tens of millions of dollars in community benefit, and ensures taxpayers see a huge return on investment,” said strategist Christina Barker.

“In a brief period, Mayor Welch has addressed several other crucial issues facing St. Petersburg, including housing, workforce, downtown development, and support for small businesses.”

While there is some heated opposition to the Rays/Hines deal to redevelop the Historic Gas Plant District — a name Welch insisted on to honor the site’s historic roots — there’s even more excitement about the plan’s inclusion of affordable housing, new office space, park space, a new African American history museum and more. Of course, keeping the Rays in St. Pete is a big bonus for fans, too.

One of his first major tasks as Mayor in 2022 was scrapping the previous development plan, which was chosen under Welch’s predecessor, Rick Kriseman. Then, he noted that a fresh look was needed to ensure that proposed developments were responding to new challenges, like the housing crisis.

Welch, himself a former resident of the Gas Plant District as a boy, also emphasized the need for honoring the site’s legacy, a priority that earned him support from the local NAACP, which said in a memo that the group had offered resolute support for the project because it aligns with the NAACP’s Game Changers initiative, specifically as it relates to multigenerational economic development.

The group’s executive committee unanimously voted to support the project, “recognizing its potential to catalyze opportunities for future generations, with a special focus on empowering the African American community and businesses in St. Petersburg,” according to the memo.

“Grounded in his personal knowledge of St. Petersburg’s history, Mayor Welch’s leadership has laid a solid foundation for guiding the city into its future, proving to be an effective and winning strategy,” Barker added.

Operating under what he describes as his Pillars for Progress, Welch’s administration focuses on youth opportunities; equitable development, arts, and business opportunities; neighborhood health and safety; housing opportunities for all; and environment, infrastructure and resilience.

“Mayor Welch’s dedication to St. Pete, innovative inclusive leadership, and ability to bring people together for the betterment of the entire Tampa Bay region makes him one of the most powerful politicians,” said Ashley Bauman, a communications consultant who worked on Welch’s campaign.

“His commitment to sustainable strategic development, economic growth, and social equity has profoundly impacted the community, making him a visionary leader who represents the best interests of all Tampa Bay residents.”

While the Trop site project is the sort that defines legacies, Welch has also been busy fulfilling his pillars.

Welch established the Mayor’s Future Ready Academy, a program that connects young adults ages 18-24 with employment opportunities with the city. The first cohort graduated in May.

He is also laser-focused on increasing access to affordable housing, an issue plaguing communities nationwide as housing prices soar. That includes the opening in April of 50 affordable units at Innovare located downtown and the groundbreaking on Bayou Court Apartments, a 60-affordable unit project in South St. Pete.

Welch also led a May request to the federal government for additional funding to support environmental resilience programs that harden homes and infrastructure and develop long-term strategies to mitigate disasters. This request was accompanied by a letter signed by several Pinellas County Mayors.

His work follows an eventful first two years that saw action on a number of Welch’s priorities.

Early in his administration Welch oversaw action increasing the city’s down payment assistance available to certain first-time homebuyers to $60,000. The previous assistance was just $40,000. The city also implemented a $500 per month stipend for its lowest-paid city employees who face residency requirements to remain in their jobs, which applies to about 250 employees.

During his early months in office, there was also a flurry of ribbon cuttings on affordable housing developments, including SkyWay Lofts — a community serving those earning at or below 60% or 80% area median income (AMI) that is now expanding — and Delmar 745 — a 65-unit apartment community targeted to those earning as low as 30% AMI.

But while there is no doubt all of that is important, it’s the Historic Gas Plant Project that is most likely to keep Welch in the top five on this list going forward — assuming plans don’t get interrupted.

Heading into the rest of 2024 and into 2025, watch for City Council and County Commission decisions on public funding and subsidies for the deal and approvals that are needed to move forward. While it looks like Welch has the votes to support the plan, opponents are fighting hard to woo elected officials to their side.

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Methodology

We define the Tampa Bay region as Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco, but can also include Hernando, Polk or Sarasota — if the politicians from those counties impact either Pinellas or Hillsborough.

We define a politician as being in office or running for office.

Being first on a panelist’s list earns the politician 25 points, second earns them 24 points and so on, to where being listed 25th earns a politician one point. Points are added and, voilà, we have a list.

Special thanks go to our experienced and knowledgeable panelists, who were essential to developing the 2024 list: Christina Barker of the Vinik Family Office, Ashley Bauman of Mercury, Matthew Blair of Corcoran Partners, Ed Briggs of RSA Consulting, political consultant Maya Brown, Ricky Butler of the Pinellas Co. Sheriff’s Office, Reggie Cardozo of The Public Square, Ronald Christaldi of Schumaker, Ana Cruz of Ballard Partners, Justin Day of Capital City Consulting, Barry Edwards, Joe Farrell of Pinellas Realtors, pollster Matt Florell of Vicidial Group, Shawn Foster of Sunrise Consulting Group, Adam Giery of Strategos Group, political consultant Max Goodman, Mike Griffin of Savills, Natalie King of RSA Consulting, political consultant Benjamin Kirby, TECO Energy Regional Affairs Coordinator Shannon Love, Merritt Martin of Moffitt Cancer Center, Mike Moore of The Southern Group, political consultant Anthony Pedicini, Ron Pierce of RSA Consulting, J.C. Pritchett, pastor of St. Pete’s Faith Church, Darren Richards of Tucker/Hall, Preston Rudie of Catalyst Communications Group, Amanda Stewart of Johnston and Stewart, and Alan Suskey of Shumaker Advisors. With Michelle and Peter Schorsch.