Kenneth Welch
2022 - Present
2027
3
Kenneth Welch is the Mayor of St. Petersburg in Florida. He assumed office on January 6, 2022. His current term ends on January 7, 2027.
Welch ran for election for Mayor of St. Petersburg in Florida. He won in the general election on November 2, 2021.
Welch was a Democratic member of the Pinellas County Commission from 2000 to 2020.[1][2]
Biography
Kenneth Welch was born and lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. Welch earned a B.A. from the University of South Florida at St. Petersburg and an M.B.A. from Florida A&M University. His career experience includes working as an accountant with Florida Power Corporation, a technology manager for his father's accounting firm, and as a county commissioner.[3]
Elections
2021
See also: Mayoral election in St. Petersburg, Florida (2021)
General election
General election for Mayor of St. Petersburg
Kenneth Welch defeated Robert G. Blackmon in the general election for Mayor of St. Petersburg on November 2, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kenneth Welch (Nonpartisan) | 60.5 | 40,579 | |
| Robert G. Blackmon (Nonpartisan) | 39.5 | 26,509 | ||
| Total votes: 67,088 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Mayor of St. Petersburg
The following candidates ran in the primary for Mayor of St. Petersburg on August 24, 2021.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Kenneth Welch (Nonpartisan) | 39.4 | 21,827 | |
| ✔ | Robert G. Blackmon (Nonpartisan) | 28.3 | 15,659 | |
| Darden Rice (Nonpartisan) | 16.6 | 9,189 | ||
| Wengay Newton (Nonpartisan) | 7.5 | 4,128 | ||
| Peter Boland (Nonpartisan) | 6.2 | 3,424 | ||
| Michael Ingram (Nonpartisan) | 0.8 | 460 | ||
| Marcile Powers (Nonpartisan) | 0.7 | 404 | ||
| Torry Nelson (Nonpartisan) | 0.4 | 212 | ||
| Michael Levinson (Nonpartisan) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 9 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 88 | ||
| Total votes: 55,400 | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2021
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kenneth Welch did not complete Ballotpedia's 2021 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign website
Welch’s campaign website stated the following:
| “ |
Ken’s agenda for Principled Progress will be based on the guiding principles that informed his public service and ensured the most accountable and responsive government. He calls them the Six I’s:
Ken is an experienced business leader who will promote inclusive and thoughtful economic development that lifts up and improves the quality of life for every neighborhood in St. Petersburg. This includes public-private partnerships and initiatives focused on improved transportation, job-training, education, incubators and mentorships and more effectively using the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area. Development in and of itself is not progress, Ken recognizes, and Inclusive Progress means that everyone in our community feels invested in our progress, not displaced by it. Every decision must be aimed at improving the quality of life in St. Petersburg.
St. Petersburg faces ever-growing challenges from sea level rise that our next leader must tackle head-on. As Mayor, Ken will ensure that St. Petersburg continues its firm commitment to sustainability and that resiliency will drive every decision about the community’s infrastructure and growth.
Ken understands that the people driving St. Petersburg’s economy and quality of life – mom and pop entrepreneurs, contractors, artists, teachers, and first responders – must not be priced out of St. Petersburg’s housing market. Smart growth and preserving what makes St. Pete great, requires innovative and inclusive public-private collaborations.
Ken believes strong leadership is inclusive and collaborative leadership. St. Petersburg does not need rigid, my-way-or-the-highway leadership. Rather, it needs a mayor who strives for consensus building and public buy-in. He will be a mayor to serve and listen to every corner of the city.
Ken understands that too many St. Petersburg residents are concerned about neighborhood safety — he will work to change that. A strong supporter of accountable law enforcement, he has and will continue to support competitive pay and benefits for officers and funding for essential infrastructure.
As a member and/or chair of multiple transportation agencies and committees, Ken has helped to shape improvements to our transportation system — from Sunrunner Bus Rapid Transit, to the Gateway Express, local roads and the Pinellas Trail. Providing diverse transportation options, including bikes and safe pedestrians pathways, will be a priority under the Welch administration. [4] |
” |
| —Ken Welch’s campaign website (2021)[5] | ||
Noteworthy events
|
|---|
| Coronavirus pandemic |
| Select a topic from the dropdown below to learn more.
|
Welch announced on January 3, 2022, that he tested positive for COVID-19. He said he was vaccinated at the time he contracted the virus.[6]
See also
2021 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Mayor of St. Petersburg |
Officeholder Mayor of St. Petersburg |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Florida Politics, "It’s official: Ken Welch is running for St. Pete Mayor," January 15, 2021
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "In mayoral run, Ken Welch wants St. Petersburg to achieve 'inclusive progress,'" June 19, 2021
- ↑ Ken Welch for Mayor, "About Ken," accessed December 11, 2021
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Ken Welch’s campaign website, “Principled Progress,” accessed September 15, 2021
- ↑ Tampa Bay Times, "St. Petersburg mayor-elect Ken Welch has COVID-19. His inauguration will be virtual," January 3, 2022
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Rick Kriseman |
Mayor of St. Petersburg 2022–Present |
Succeeded by NA |
| Preceded by - |
Pinellas County Commission District 7 2000-2020 |
Succeeded by René Flowers (D) |
| |||||||||
