Welch adds to his administration
January 8, 2022 - On Friday, Mayor Ken Welch announced the promotion of three City of St. Petersburg employees to new positions. Rob Gerdes, former neighborhood affairs administrator, will now serve as assistant city administrator. Welch originally announced this move during his inauguration Thursday as a means to address the affordable housing crisis. Replacing Gerdes as neighborhood affairs administrator is James Corbett. Corbett is the former director of code compliance, a position also once held by Gerdes. Welch also appointed Joe Zeoli as interim city development administrator. Zeoli has served the city for nearly 35 years, most recently as managing director of administration and finance. Prior to this latest staffing announcement, Welch named Stephanie Owens as his deputy mayor and chief of policy, Tom Greene as interim city administrator, Janelle Irwin Taylor as communication director and Doyle Walsh as his senior adviser.