ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — From five to two.
St. Petersburg voters whittled down their selections in the city’s mayoral primary last month, deciding on a Ken Welch-Robert Blackmon general election on November 2.
Welch took 39.2% of the vote in the primary. Blackmon ganered 28.6%.
On this week’s episode of our To The Point Already podcast, Spectrum Bay News 9’s Rick Elmhorst and Roy DeJesus talk with Welch and Blackmon about the election and their visions for the city.
Welch and Blackmon outlasted city council member Darden Rice (16.5 percent), former council member Wengay Newton (7.4) and businessman Peter Boland (6.2) in the primary.
“It’s about advancing opportunities. It’s about uplifting neighborhoods,” said Welch, who has announced a positive test for COVID-19 before Labor Day weekend. “It’s about making sure everyone sees hope, even those who are bound by the impacts of poverty and crime and addiction.
"So at this point we’ve come so far as a city, but we need leadership progress that is inclusive. That is authentic towards what makes St. Pete great in the first place, and that’s built on a foundation of equity.”
Blackmon, meanwhile, says his priorities are affordable housing, infrastructure and the environment. A registered Republican in a strongly Democratic city, Blackmon stressed change can be good.
“We don’t have to do things the same as we always have just for the sake of continuation,” Blackmon said. “We can have real change.”
ABOUT THE SHOW
Spectrum Bay News 9 Anchor Rick Elmhorst sits down with the people that represent you, the people fighting for change and the people with fascinating stories to ask the hard questions.
To The Point Already will cover people, politics and issues from a Tampa Bay perspective every Wednesday.