Thrive
St. Pete mayor reflects on Rays, reelection and legacy
Ken Welch pledged to promote inclusive progress when running for mayor. Fulfilling long-deferred promises in the former Gas Plant neighborhood – now home to Tropicana Field – remains a critical part of that plan.
While the Tampa Bay Rays recently walked away from an arduously negotiated deal with the City of St. Petersburg and Pinellas County, Welch does not believe uncertainty surrounding the team’s future defines his legacy. “Absolutely not,” he said.
Many of the same people who bemoaned the city’s $287.5 million contribution to a new stadium now blame Welch for potentially losing the Rays. He prefers to ignore the criticism and focus on the bigger picture: Ensuring all residents benefit from his time in office.
“One thing I learned is not to govern by sticking your finger in the air to see which way the wind is blowing,” Welch told the Catalyst. “I’m confident enough in being in touch with the community.”
After over three years in office, the first Black mayor in St. Petersburg’s 137-year history believes his legacy, much like the Gas Plant’s redevelopment, is about more than baseball. Some residents would disagree due to the pomp and circumstance that followed the city’s self-proclaimed engagement with the Rays.
Welch said he can name the same “four or five people” who continuously oppose his actions. He does not notice the number increasing or affecting “broad support” from the community.
Those with an affinity for reading public comments might call that naivete. For Welch, 60, the stance stems from feedback at “Publix and church,” and 25 years of experience as a local elected official.
“I’ve had folks literally tell me to buckle my chinstrap because you’re done,” he added. “I said, ‘I’m an old (football) offensive lineman, my chinstrap is always on.’”
Welch lost his first campaign to serve on the Pinellas County School Board in 1998. He has since gone undefeated, including five terms on the county commission.
Still, many believe he must rebound from the latest chapter in a Rays saga that has spanned several mayoral administrations to keep that streak alive. The November 2024 municipal elections could foreshadow the 2026 race.
Welch noted Council Chair Copley Gerdes ran unopposed, and Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders secured one of the widest victory margins on record. Both were staunch advocates of the Gas Plant deal and remain among the mayor’s most ardent supporters.
Welch said he fulfilled his campaign pledge to nurture relationships with the county, which allocated $312.5 million in bed tax revenues to a new ballpark. Commissioners have since signaled a willingness to help fund a convention center at the Trop site and convert Al Lang Stadium back into a spring training complex.
The Rays would have contributed $700 million to a new stadium, covered cost overruns and provided $50 million in community benefits. “What I promised is that we would put together our very best effort, and that’s exactly what we delivered,” Welch said.
“I think folks certainly understand that you can’t force someone to marry you,” he added. “But I also made it clear that we weren’t going to pay any price to keep baseball here, and we have a bright future, with or without the Rays in the Gas Plant.”
Welch said “no other deal,” including the Midtown Development proposal selected by his predecessor, “could have gone forward without the Rays’ cooperation,” as they shared development rights. He called that their “big card.”
“We have those development rights back for the first time in 30 years,” Welch continued. “And that changes the game for us.”
Moving forward
Administrators are already exploring redevelopment opportunities on the 86-acre site’s outer parcels. Detractors say other long-awaited projects, like rebuilding the St. Petersburg Municipal Marina, reimagining the Main Library – opening this summer – and discerning the Municipal Services Center’s (MSC) future, have languished as the city focused on the Gas Plant.
“That’s just not factual,” Welch said. “We’ve moved forward on all those items simultaneously.”
He reiterated that staff have worked overtime to bring multiple projects to fruition while balancing their daily responsibilities. A devastating hurricane season impeded those efforts and exacerbated previous issues.
Welch said he supported former mayor Rick Kriseman’s previous plans for the marina. The city council sank that deal.
City council members similarly voted against plans to sell the MSC to a private developer before Welch assumed office. While his administration was forced to restart some projects, he said they have a path forward “for all of them.”
“The marina is very likely something we bring internally because of what’s happened with Blackstone acquiring Safe Harbor (Marinas),” Welch said. “There will be progress on those, but if you look at each case, you’ll see exactly why those projects took the path they took.
“It certainly wasn’t because of a lack of focus from our team.”
Welch said his administration and residents have embraced his five pillars of progress, which include providing youth, housing and equitable development opportunities. Most people realize the entire city will benefit from honoring long-broken promises with the Gas Plant’s redevelopment.
Welch believes his tenure highlights how he and his cabinet have never shied away from their principles. He noted St. Petersburg donated more American Rescue Plan Act funding to affordable housing than any other city nationwide. Those efforts continue paying dividends.
National analyses frequently place St. Petersburg at or near the top of several quality of life and business climate rankings. The city recently secured its third Fortune 500 company.
“We ran on inclusive progress, partners for progress, and we stuck to that, and it’s been very productive for us,” Welch said. “Inclusive progress is exactly that – it moves us forward at every level.”
Andrew
May 14, 2025at8:38 pm
You have a lot to say on this topic but you weren’t able to make a deal. It’s probably best to focus on your current home in NC and realize you were completely ineffectual in your role as City Development Administrator. You seem to enjoy complaining about the city, however you did nothing in your seven years. How’s the Commerce Park deal? How did your dealmaker, Shaun, do? What about Footlocker under your watch?
Go away!
Mike
May 12, 2025at2:17 pm
David began the only people playing the race game are you are mayor Welch. We are the ones funding his fever dream of St. Petersburg’s black residents buying their way out of self responsibility with someone else’s money.
Welch was born a racist. He was raised racist. He’s a racist today.
I just want the streets fixed and the trash collected. Why do I have to pay anyone else’s bills or rent or mortgage? This guy is unpopular for a reason. Starting with his broken reprehensible world views. His record is indefensible.
David Beahn
May 12, 2025at10:29 am
So sad to read of your folks disdain for our mayor. I’m sure you’re doing your part to make Saint Petersburg better like volunteering your time (after school tutoring) as opposed to you volunteering nothing but negative spews. Sad you follow 47’s misogyny and racist attitude. Any of you need help removing your bur?
Suzanna
May 11, 2025at10:30 am
Is this article a piece by the Onion or Babylon Bee? Its definitely satire because everything this mayor says and does is a joke
Alan DeLisle
May 11, 2025at6:40 am
It’s one thing to make misery mistakes but it’s quite another to make light of them and try to spin them into deception. It helps, of course, when you have the Chamber and Catalyst willing to participate in this “make believe.”
Welch is wrong about the Rays always having contractual control and he knows it. That is not what the existing contract says. It’s just a position he took because he would do anything for the Rays until he got burned like we all said he would. Kriseman’s Midtown deal kept the city in control and protected the taxpayers, not the Rays. St Pete, you can do so much better. The Emperor has no cloths and most people understand that.
Christopher Wiand
May 11, 2025at5:49 am
Under his watch, how many gallons of raw sewage have been pumped into the bay? How many sagging streets have just been patched and not fixed? How can 40+ story buildings get permits along with the ability to clear land happen so seamlessly and yet homeowners are still waiting on permits post-hurricane? No mention of that in this fluff piece.
Ryan Todd
May 10, 2025at10:58 pm
Start the Recall NOW.
Ted Bochnik
May 10, 2025at9:54 pm
Mayor Welch is an unmitigated disaster by any objective measure. He ran the Moffitt Center and Rays out of town while the city can’t provide basic services like debris removal and sanitation management. I hope my fellow citizens realize this DEI experiment has failed (like all the others) and going forward we elect officials based on ability, not identity.
S
May 10, 2025at4:16 pm
Subject: Mayor Welch’s Legacy: DEI Jargon, Fiscal Madness, and Gibberish Governance
No one in their right mind is impressed by Mayor Ken Welch. The man governs like a walking policy disaster, fumbling his way from one bad idea to the next. If there’s a scoreboard for incompetence, he broke it months ago.
Let’s start with the obvious: DEI. It’s not just bad policy—it’s flatly illegal under both the Florida Constitution and the U.S. Constitution. Florida law explicitly bans government institutions from using race or identity to make decisions, and yet Welch treats DEI like it’s some sort of state religion. Newsflash: it’s not. It’s unconstitutional virtue-signaling dressed up as policy.
That makes his obsession with “inclusive progress” and “equity goals” about as lawful as his sketchy scheme to sneak bonuses to city bureaucrats right after the second stadium-related City Council election. That, too, reeked of backroom dealing and political payoff.
Welch’s errors aren’t just piling up—they’ve achieved escape velocity. And the worst part? He can’t even communicate in standard English. His public statements read like the output of a malfunctioning diversity-generator AI. Full of phrases like “broad-based community engagement strategies” and “inclusive opportunity pipelines.” Does he even know what he’s saying?
It’s probably worked in his favor. If the average citizen actually translated this word salad into plain English, they’d be sprinting to the ballot box to demand a recall.
Take this masterpiece, for example:
“St. Petersburg donated more American Rescue Plan Act funding to affordable housing than any other city nationwide. Those efforts continue paying dividends.”
Donated? Did St. Petersburg start a GoFundMe?
No, that’s taxpayer money, taken from residents and handed out like Monopoly cash. This isn’t charity—it’s coerced redistribution. The mayor isn’t donating anything. He’s redistributing your earnings under the delusion that he’s doing the city a favor. And he says it with a straight face.
This is what happens when ideology replaces reality and jargon replaces leadership.
St. Petersburg deserves better than a mayor who governs by buzzword and spends by fantasy.
S. Rose Smith-Hayes
May 10, 2025at3:27 pm
A DEI Administrator is not needed if hiring and promotions are fair. That salary can be better used elsewhere like upgrading/repairing the sewer system. The Moffit deal was a winner because one cannot get a mammogram South of Central Avenue, sorry it was ‘tanked’.
Paul D Haywood
May 10, 2025at2:37 pm
Get over it Billy boy!You could be given an ice cold glass of water in hell and you would probably find something negative to say about it.
Billy Miller
May 10, 2025at12:37 pm
The City of St. Petersburg’s DEI Administrator salary is negotiable but does not exceed $319,000. This includes a base salary and benefits. The city also offers a variety of benefits, including a wellness center, paid leave, and pension options.
Time to take this $$$ and put it towards after school tutoring that might actually help our community.