The race to replace outgoing St. Petersburg City Council Member Brandi Gabbard has been a fairly sleepy affair, and one candidate appears to have a much bigger path to victory than the other.
Two candidates filed to replace Gabbard — Courtney Bermudez, a local Community Association Manager for Resource Property Management, and Gabriel Hament, an Assistant Public Defender for Florida’s 13th Judicial Circuit.
Hament, however, has been running the more organized campaign, with a strong fundraising presence and high-profile endorsements.
As of Oct. 9, Hament had raised more than $64,000 for his race, and retained more than half that to use in the final stretch ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
Bermudez, meanwhile, had raised just over $2,000 as of the same point, and had less than half still on hand, meaning any paid campaign apparatus was essentially unfunded.
And Hament has significant backing from influential locals and organizations, including the Tampa Bay Times, Rep. Michele Rayner, St. Pete City Council Member Lisset Hanewicz, former Mayor Rick Kriseman, former St. Pete City Council Member Ed Montanari, former Rep. Ben Diamond, the Sun Coast Police Benevolent Association, the Suncoast Sierra Club, Stonewall Democrats and more.
Bermudez lists just one endorser, the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women, which typically supports women candidates who support reproductive freedom, though the group also supports men whose campaign platforms align with its pro-women’s rights platform.
This is the first Midterm-year cycle for St. Pete municipal races since voters in 2022 approved a charter amendment moving city elections to even-numbered years, beginning in 2024.
That means Hament and Bermudez will appear on the same ballot as candidates for U.S. Senate, Governor, the U.S. House, the state Legislature, several judicial contests, constitutional amendments and other local races, putting the race at the bottom of a long ballot and potentially overshadowing lesser-funded local races.
With so little money raised, Bermudez may have faced challenges reaching voters in a heated political environment where bigger-ticket races are sucking air out of the room.
And Bermudez has had a limited social media presence. Her campaign Facebook page features several posts this month, but nothing in August or September. Of the more recent posts, most are unrelated to the election, including two posts supporting a local wine bar in the Warehouse Arts District.
Hament moved to St. Pete after completing law school at the University of Florida. As an Assistant Public Defender, Hament provides legal counsel and defense for those charged with a crime who are deemed indigent, meaning they cannot afford to hire a private lawyer.
Prior to law school, Hament worked as an investment adviser for charitable organizations and served on the Sarasota County School Board’s Financial Advisory Committee. On the Committee, Hament worked to ensure the School District’s budgets aligned with voter sentiment and provided oversight for its reserve funds.
He also previously served as a community organizer, focusing his efforts on voter access and fair representation for underserved communities.
His campaign will focus on affordability, public safety and expanding economic opportunity for working people. Hament said he will also prioritize infrastructure improvements to address the impacts of climate change by focusing on coastal stormwater resiliency.
Hament also said he would prioritize constituent and stakeholder engagement, including to improve public spaces and quality of life.
Bermudez is a Licensed Community Association Manager, a state-certified professional who manages various financial and administrative operations for residential homeowners associations, cooperatives and condo associations.
She is running on a platform that prioritizes stronger hurricane response; equity and inclusion; affordability, including pathways to homeownership and protections for renters; responsible development; and transparency and accessibility.
The candidates did not face a Primary in August, because they were the only candidates to qualify. The General Election is open to voters citywide.
