St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch’s political committee spent more than four times what it raised in its latest campaign finance report, while former Gov. Charlie Crist continues to hold an overwhelming financial advantage in the race.
St. Petersburg Progress, the political committee supporting Welch’s re-election, raised $14,000 from June 27 through July 3. But the committee spent more than $62,000 during the same period.
The largest share of that spending went toward polling and communications. The committee paid more than $19,000 to SEA Polling, along with more than $19,000 to MDW Communications across two payments. The political committee also paid $8,000 to ARC Initiatives, $5,000 to CN2 Strategies, $4,000 to AB Strategy and $3,000 to Bison Strategies. Another $3,400 went to the Tallahassee law firm Meyer, Blohm and Powell.
Since launching in January, the committee has raised just over $326,500 and spent nearly $140,000, leaving it with nearly $187,000 available based on its reported monetary activity.
Landry/French Construction contributed the largest donation of three donors to St. Petersburg Progress this reporting period, donating $9,000.
The employee-owned Landry/French commercial construction company is based in Maine and opened its first Southeast office in downtown St. Petersburg in February as part of an expansion into Florida and the broader region. The company’s St. Petersburg office is meant to serve as a hub for its continued Southeast growth, according to reporting by Emma Behrmann and the Tampa Bay Business Journal.
Green Mills Construction and Haminn Quaintance each donated $2,500. Green Mills Construction is a company tied to the affordable housing developer Welch’s administration selected for the $20 million Heritage Grove project along the Deuces, according to reporting by Mark Parker and the St. Pete Catalyst. Quaintance is a former college basketball player who owns Versatile Basketball Inc. in Palmetto.
The St. Pete Shines political committee in support of Crist continues to operate with a much larger financial cushion than Welch’s operation. St. Pete Shines has raised more than $1.52 million since launching and reported about $346,700 in expenditures and other disbursements, leaving roughly $1.18 million available.
From June 27 through July 3, the committee raised over $16,000 from seven donors, including $10,000 from Michael Connor, $2,500 from Rick Baker and $2,000 from Mark LaPrade. It spent nearly $35,000 during the same period, with much of the money going toward media, digital work and consulting.
At the political committee level, St. Pete Shines has raised about 4.7 times as much as St. Petersburg Progress and has roughly 6.3 times as much money available.
The latest committee reports follow candidate account filings that also showed Welch trailing Crist and former St. Petersburg Fire Chief Jim Large in total money collected through their official campaigns, although the latest candidate account reports show Welch improving his position.
From June 13 through June 26, Crist raised just under $8,500, followed by Welch with just over $7,000 and Gabbard with nearly $6,500. Large raised about $2,000, community advocate Maria Scruggs brought in $1,250 and former Shore Acres Neighborhood Association President Kevin Batdorf reported $275.
Large has brought in the most money through his candidate account, at nearly $91,000 raised and nearly $62,000 available, though his total includes a $30,000 candidate contribution. Crist has raised $79,000 and has about $48,000 available, while Welch has raised $67,000 and has just over $25,500 remaining.
A Better Burg political committee, which supports Large, has raised nearly $56,000 overall and spent over $13,000, leaving it with just over $42,000 available. However, the committee reported no new contributions during the three most recent periods and spent just over $3,000 from June 27 through July 3.
Meanwhile, Gabbard has raised nearly $43,000 through her campaign account and has just over $18,000 available. The Forward Together PC, which supports Gabbard, has not reported a contribution since the first quarter. The committee has raised over $10,500 overall and spent nearly $8,000, leaving nearly $3,000 available.
Scruggs has raised over $20,000 and has about $1,300 remaining, while Batdorf has raised over $4,000 but has expended the amount.
The Primary is Aug. 18. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a Nov. 3 runoff.
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Ed. Note: Michelle Todd Schorsch is the Chair of St. Pete Shines, a political committee backing Crist for St. Petersburg Mayor. Todd Schorsch is married to Peter Schorsch, the publisher of Florida Politics.
