Meet St. Petersburg’s new public information officer

After spending the past six years representing various branches of state government, Samantha Bequer eagerly anticipates connecting with the St. Petersburg community and local media.

Mayor Ken Welch announced Sept. 12 that Bequer would serve as the city’s new public information officer (PIO) and spokesperson. She fills the role Erica Riggins vacated May 2.

Bequer said she relishes the opportunity to return to Tampa Bay and local government. She also believes Welch is at an “interesting time” in his tenure, as he approaches the halfway point of his first term.

“I think that’s really when you start to see where the leadership is headed,” Bequer said. “I’m really excited to see what else he has in store.”

Bequer’s first day at City Hall is Monday, Sept. 23. She will report to Alizza Punzalan-Randle, managing director of communications and community engagement, and earn $130,000 annually.

In her most recent role, Bequer, 27, served as the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s communications director. She did “a little bit of everything” at the state level and looks forward to focusing on media relations in St. Petersburg.

The community will likely appreciate her eagerness to establish new relationships. A recently released livability survey found that just 40% of residents believe city officials are open and transparent.

Bequer’s crisis communications background should align with some of St. Petersburg’s most pressing issues. She spent nearly three years with the Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) and served as press secretary for the State Emergency Response Team.

As St. Petersburg has experienced several flooding events over the past year, environmental resiliency will remain a critical topic for the foreseeable future.

“We would staff the emergency operations center … just in case we needed to respond to any type of events,” Bequer said. “We did flooding, tornadoes, wildfires, the Surfside (Chaplain South Tower) building collapse – I was the state PIO when we responded to that – and, of course, Covid.”

Bequer oversaw state, local and national media relations strategies during the pandemic. She believes those “baptism by fire” experiences prepared her to handle seminal events for the remainder of her career.

“I definitely think it will help me in this role,” Bequer added. “It taught me how to respond and get information out there quickly. And really just how to tell people what they need to know in order to make safe and smart decisions.”

St. Petersburg’s newest city official has researched local issues and projects, like the Historic Gas Plant District’s redevelopment. Bequer also appreciates the opportunity to interact with local stakeholders on subjects that affect daily life.

Bequer will become Welch’s third PIO in less than three years. She also hopes to be his last.

Bequer, who frequently moved growing up as a “military kid,” said she would “love” to plant roots in the area. She attended high school across the bay in Lutz before graduating from the University of Central Florida.

Bequer earned her graduate degree in political science at Florida State University. While she called Tallahassee a “nice little area,” she said it resembled South Georgia more than Florida.

She also missed her family and living on the coast. “My mom got sick earlier this year – that helped me put some things in perspective,” she said.

Bequer emerged from a pool of 100 applicants. She will now “help serve a community that I admired so much growing up” in Tampa Bay.

“It was a perfect combination,” Bequer said of the role. “Like a perfect storm of every reason to come down here. And when the universe is pushing you one way, you just got to go.”

Her first experiences in St. Petersburg have validated those instincts. Bequer said she received a warm welcome from dozens of city stakeholders before her first day on the job.

Bequer found that early outreach both exciting and “a little nerve-wracking.” She realizes St. Pete has a “deep, rich and vibrant community that really seems to care about each other.”

“I hope I make them proud,” Bequer added. “I hope that I fulfill expectations.”