Charlie Crist took 62% to Mayor Ken Welch's 38%, and voters passed the $600 million water bonds and four other city questions. Unofficial results, all precincts.
Charlie Crist won the race for mayor of St. Petersburg on Tuesday, unseating Mayor Kenneth T. Welch. Crist took 64,858 votes, or 62%, to Welch’s 39,758, or 38%, with all 86 city precincts counted.
The results come from the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections’ unofficial election night results. The figures here are from the county’s summary file published at 10:43 p.m. ET Tuesday. They stay unofficial until the county canvassing board certifies them.
Voters also approved all five city questions on the ballot, including up to $600 million in bonds for stormwater, wastewater and drinking water work.
Mayor and City Council
| Race | Winner | Votes | Share | Runner-up | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mayor | Charlie Crist | 64,858 | 62.0% | Kenneth T. Welch | 39,758 | 38.0% |
| Council District 2 | Gabriel Hament | 48,465 | 53.4% | Courtney Bermudez | 42,365 | 46.6% |
| Council District 6 | Linsey Grove | 51,344 | 55.3% | Trevor Mallory | 41,558 | 44.7% |
Crist’s margin was 25,100 votes. In the council races, Hament won by 6,100 votes and Grove by 9,786. Both council races appeared on ballots across the city, and each drew more than 90,000 votes.
The five city questions
All five needed a simple majority. The order below is the order on the ballot. The City Council put each one on the ballot on July 23, according to its action-taken agenda for that meeting.
| Question | What it does | Yes | No | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Referendum No. 1 | Up to $600 million in general obligation bonds for stormwater, wastewater and drinking water work (Resolution 2026-316) | 73.9% | 26.1% | Passed |
| Referendum No. 2 | Lets the council extend the Harborage Marina submerged land lease to 30 years, with new docks, boat lifts and restrooms built at no cost to the city (Ordinance 640-H) | 75.1% | 24.9% | Passed |
| Charter No. 1 | Takes nine city-owned vacant lots near Unity Park off the Charter’s Park and Waterfront Map, so they can be rezoned and possibly sold for affordable or workforce housing (Ordinance 639-H) | 53.0% | 47.0% | Passed |
| Charter No. 2 | Raises the longest lease the city can sign at the Port of St. Petersburg without a citywide vote from 10 years to 25 (Ordinance 641-H) | 64.3% | 35.7% | Passed |
| Charter No. 3 | Finishes the 2022 change that moved mayor and council elections to even-numbered years (Ordinance 642-H) | 78.4% | 21.6% | Passed |
The details of each question come from the ballot text and the council’s own July 23 record.
The closest question was the vacant lots amendment. It passed by 6,205 votes, 54,388 to 48,183. The bond question drew 74,234 yes votes to 26,162 no.
Turnout
The county’s results file counts 115,149 ballots cast by St. Petersburg voters, out of 174,960 registered. That is about 66%.
Countywide, 406,622 of 613,797 registered voters cast a ballot, also about 66%. Before Election Day, 264,647 Pinellas voters had already voted early or by mail, as we reported Monday.
What it means for you
- A new mayor. Crist replaces Welch. The city has not yet announced the swearing-in date; we will add it when it does.
- The water bonds can go ahead. The bonds are backed by the city’s “full faith, credit and unlimited ad valorem taxing power,” the July 23 resolution says. That means they can be repaid from property taxes. See property taxes in St. Petersburg for how your bill is set.
- Unity Park stays protected. Only the nine vacant lots come off the Park and Waterfront Map. The ordinance treats land use changes and any sale as separate, later steps.
- Results are not final. Check the county’s results page for the certified count. Our voting page has the full list of what was on the ballot.
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