St. Pete mayor’s PAC donations soar following opposition survey

A former state representative’s recent opposition poll has seemingly led to a financial windfall for St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch.

His new political action committee, The Pelican PAC, had accrued $92,275 as of the June 30 reporting deadline. Over $56,000 of that amount – 61% – coincided with former friend and Rep. Ben Diamond’s voter opinion poll. 

The survey, issued the week of June 23, was critical of Welch’s response to a devastating hurricane season. It also highlighted how the 2026 election could feature a white candidate running against the city’s first Black mayor. 

Diamond acknowledged he was behind the poll and considering a mayoral run. Welch said Tuesday that some people were likely waiting to see if a potential opponent emerged before deciding to “step up and support.”

“Of course, that’s good to see – financial support is important,” Welch told the Catalyst. “But I think even more than that, just the recognition of folks expressing that they appreciate our approach to governance.” 

Pelican PAC

State documents show that Reginald Cardozo, who is no longer involved, created the new PAC in January. He was the chairperson for Welch’s previous committee, Pelican PAC (with no “the” prefix). The new committee is a legally distinct entity. 

Florida Department of Elections (DOE) officials began issuing Pelican PAC revocation notices in August 2024 for failing to appoint a new treasurer and submit required reports. Cardozo blamed the issue on miscommunication. 

According to state filings, Pelican PAC was inactive from May 2022 through September 2024, when it submitted a $2,000 payment to Brown Financial and Consulting. The company shares an address with Yolanda Brown, who became the committee’s new treasurer and registered agent in September. 

She received a DOE letter – its last to Pelican PAC – in March regarding a late report in November. “The notification that you had no reportable activity for the report deadline of November 1, 2024, was not filed until November 5, 2024,” reads the notice. “Although the notification is late, no automatic fine is assessed because you had no receipts or expenditures during this reporting period.”

New election, new funding

The state now lists Brown as The Pelican PAC’s chairperson, treasurer and registered agent. 

The Pelican PAC reported $5,100 in contributions from January through March. That number ballooned to $81,175 from April through June, with 69% coming in the week following Diamond’s poll. 

Welch said he never had to raise over $80,000 during his 20 years on the Pinellas County Commission. When he launched his mayoral campaign in 2021, Welch realized that one of his “leading opponents” had more than $200,000 in their PAC, “right out of the box.”

“So, that was a quick introduction to the need for a level of fundraising to make sure you’re able to get your message out in a mayoral race in our city,” Welch said. “That’s what it’s evolved to. That’s the reality.

“We thought we’d start early and do some limited fundraising while, of course, continuing to focus on the full-time job we have running this great city.” 

The largest donors to date include R.A. Real Estate, Inc., an entity linked to John Catsimatidis Sr., founder of Red Apple Group and the Residences at 400 Central’s developer. The company contributed $25,000 in May. 

Green Savoree Racing Promotions, which annually organizes the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, donated $25,000 June 23. Tampa-based Sun Labs USA, Inc. contributed $25,000 June 30. While company information is scarce, its listed occupation is “digital dental labor.” 

The Pelican PAC also has 17 small-amount donors. Welch believes supporters “appreciate the staff and the team we’ve been able to put together,” and his eagerness to incorporate community feedback into storm recovery, affordable housing and economic development efforts. 

While most of the new funding coincided with the opposition survey, Welch reiterated his focus remains on “our performance, our vision and our execution on those priorities.” He said potential challengers can “speak for themselves, and I’ll leave it at that.” 

Welch also stressed that he has a “pretty important full-time job,” which takes precedence over fundraising. He said the “only approach is to really start earlier” while working on the upcoming budget, Historic Gas Plant District’s redevelopment, improving homelessness services and “all those other things our team is focused on.”

“I’m not really concerned about what anyone else raises,” Welch continued. “I just want to make sure we’ve got what we need for our messaging, understanding that this is the first time we’ll have a mayoral election and general election in an even year.”

Voters approved a city charter amendment in 2022 that moved municipal elections to even-numbered years, aligning with state and national races. The switch gave elected officials another year in office and likely increased campaign costs significantly. Local candidates must now compete for attention on a much broader scale.

“I have every intention of filing, qualifying and being on the ballot, God willing, because we’ve got a great team and a lot of opportunity before us,” Welch said. “I’m looking forward to completing that work.”