No. 9 on the list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians: Bob Gualtieri

Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri is no stranger to the Top 10 on the list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians. His No. 9 placement this year is actually his worst ranking in several years, after landing at No. 7 last year, No. 5 in 2023 and No. 8 in 2022. 

In some ways, it’s not surprising to see Gualtieri slip slightly on the list — after all, he’s no longer President of the Florida Sheriff’s Association, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Public Safety Commission, which he led, has long-since completed its work. 

But on the other, it’s no surprise that Gualtieri continuously finds himself among the most powerful politicians in the Tampa Bay area. He’s a go-to for legislative issues pertaining to public safety and, specifically, law enforcement. When lawmakers want to know whether a public safety bill meets muster, they ask Gualtieri. 

Look no further than this year, when state Sen. Nick DiCeglie was sponsoring a bill that had received some pushback, over changes to the use of cameras mounted on school buses to enforce stop-arm laws, DiCeglie consulted his local Sheriff, who offered his expert opinion on the controversial new program that has since become rife with issues. 

“As a Pinellas County resident, I’m proud to call Bob Gualtieri our Sheriff. His commitment to public safety, both in everyday circumstances and during natural disasters, is exceptional. I had the privilege of working with Sheriff Gualtieri in the hours and weeks following Hurricanes Helene and Milton. His expertise on a range of legislative issues, including the school bus camera safety initiative this past Session, was invaluable. Sheriff Gualtieri is an asset not only to Pinellas County but to the entire state of Florida,” DiCeglie said.

Gualtieri was blunt in his opposition to the law that allows camera ticketing in the first place, telling Florida Politics it was “red light camera 2.0,” a program he also opposed, and that the program should be entirely reevaluated, because drivers shouldn’t be confronted with citations “so that some company can make a gazillion dollars,” referring to vendors who operate the camera programs.

But reading the writing on the wall — the law wasn’t going to get overturned this year — Gualtieri offered a suggestion to soften its negative impacts by including an amendment addressing the lack of an effective citation appeals process and better allocating citation authority. 

And just because Gualtieri’s most high-profile appointments to boards and commissions have passed, it doesn’t mean he’s not still sought after. This year, Senate President Ben Albritton, appointed Gualtieri, along with Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, to the new State Immigration Enforcement Council, a group created through a sweeping immigration measure, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, meant to align state policy with President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown priorities.

While that puts Gualtieri in a position to carry out priorities speeding through the MAGA universe, it doesn’t mean Gualtieri is always on the extreme right side. He’s a Republican, to be sure, but he makes choices he feels are best for his community and in the best interest of public safety, even if that means going against some in his party.

For example, mid-last year Gualtieri publicly supported Pinellas County School Board member Laura Hine in her reelection campaign, which pit her against a Moms For Liberty-aligned candidate backed by DeSantis. School Board races in Pinellas County, and in much of the state, are nonpartisan, but Hine is a registered independent. Still, she earned considerable support from Democrats, progressives and groups aligned with both. So his endorsement was a departure from his party. For some politicians, that could be problematic, but for Gualtieri, it didn’t leave so much as a scratch. 

First appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott in 2011, Gualtieri was subsequently elected in 2012 and then reelected in 2016, 2020 and 2024. In 2024, the same cycle he bucked support for a Moms For Liberty School Board candidate, Gualtieri was reelected without opposition, an easily quantifiable sign of an official’s influence in power among their electorate. 

Gualtieri’s law enforcement service goes back decades. After moving to St. Pete with his parents as a young adult, Gualtieri began working for the Sheriff’s Office as a detention deputy, later becoming a patrol officer, and then detective. 

He later attended Eckerd College’s now-defunct Program for Experienced Learners program, graduating with a degree in American Studies and going on to earn a law degree from Stetson University College of Law. For a time, he served both as Pinellas County Sheriff and as the agency’s legal counsel. 

In all, Gualtieri’s services dates back to 1982. He left for a stint with the Dunedin Police Department, but otherwise has been a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office staple, including as an investigator for domestic and international drug trafficking cases as part of a DEA task force. 

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A special thanks to RSA Consulting Group, the sponsor of this year’s rankings.

As for methodology, we define the Tampa Bay region as Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco, but we 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.

We also want to thank our experienced and knowledgeable panelists, who were essential to developing the 2025 list: Vinik Family Office Chief of Staff Christina Barker; communications consultant Ashley Bauman of Mercury Public Affairs; Matt Blair of Corcoran Partners; Reggie Cardozo of The Public Square; Stephanie Cardozo of The Southern Group; Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick managing partner Ron Christaldi; former state Sen. Janet Cruz; political consultant/strategist Barry Edwards; Vicidial Group President Matt Florell; Sunrise Consulting Group President Shawn Foster; businessman Michael Griffin; Clay Hollis of Tucker/Hall; Natalie King of RSA Consulting Group; Moffitt Cancer Center VP of Public Affairs and Communications Merritt Martin; former state Rep. Seth McKeel of The Southern Group; political consultant Chris Mitchell; Mike Moore of The Southern Group; RSA President and CEO Ron Pierce; Tucker/Hall CEO Darren Richards; political consultant Jim Rimes; political consultant Preston Rudie of Catalyst Communications Group; TECO VP of State and Regional Affairs Stephanie Smith; lobbyist Alan Suskey of Shumaker Advisors; Doyle Walsh, Chief of Staff for St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch; and Michelle and Peter Schorsch, publishers of Florida Politics.