Ken Welch

Economy
On housing and jobs, Welch points to steps his administration has already taken rather than untested proposals. He cites expanded down-payment assistance for first-time buyers, additional loan forgiveness for lower-income households, and hundreds of affordable and workforce units brought online during his term, alongside job-training partnerships such as St. Pete Works and a workforce program aimed at construction and technical trades. He has also directed small-business support toward minority- and women-owned firms in south St. Petersburg. Defending continued high-rise development against critics who blame it for rising costs, he told one candidate forum, "High rises are not the problem," arguing dense projects help fund city services.

Security
Welch's public safety pitch rests heavily on crime statistics from his tenure: city data he cites shows homicides falling to their lowest level since the late 1960s and overall crime dropping by roughly a sixth in a single year. He frames this less as a story of heavier policing than of combining conventional law enforcement with community investment, health-oriented outreach, and faster emergency response, describing the approach as built on accountability and public trust rather than any single tactic.

Infrastructure
Recovery from recent hurricane seasons is a recurring theme of Welch's case for re-election. He points to the rapid clearing of storm debris, accelerated permitting for residents rebuilding their homes, and relief funneled to renters, homeowners, and small businesses after the storms. Looking ahead, his campaign points to a five-year, roughly $750 million resilience program covering stormwater and drainage work, including more than $200 million in capital projects aimed specifically at reducing flood risk citywide.

Health
Health-related investment appears in Welch's platform mostly through neighborhood-level initiatives layered onto his public-safety work, and through his continued push to land a long-sought institutional anchor: a Moffitt Cancer Center research and treatment presence in the city's Historic Gas Plant District redevelopment. Welch shelved an earlier version of that deal in 2022 and has faced criticism for it since, but as of early 2026 he maintained that talks with Moffitt were continuing and that the institution still intended to locate in St. Petersburg.

Education
Welch's youth agenda, organized under what his administration calls a "Whole Child" framework, spans early-childhood literacy and swim-safety instruction through teen job programs, a youth-farm leadership initiative, and a Future Ready Academy that trains young adults for city and public-safety careers. The stated goal is to connect city services to residents from early childhood through their first jobs, treating youth development as a mayoral responsibility rather than one limited to the school district.

Immigration
St. Petersburg police signed a 287(g) agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during Welch's term. He has described the decision as compelled by the state, saying it was "not a choice at the local level."

Governance
Welch describes his overall approach through a self-styled "Pillars for Progress" framework covering housing, resilience, economic development, education, and neighborhood health and safety, guided by principles he sums up as staying in touch with residents, inclusive, and results-focused. On at least one utility matter, he notes his administration is negotiating a renewed franchise agreement with Duke Energy as it comes up for renewal, one of the few levers city hall has over local electricity rates otherwise set by state regulators.