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City of St. Petersburg
Kenneth T. Welch
Mayor
Democrat
RESOLUTE Citizen Score
43
/ 100
F
Raw: 6 of 14 dynamic max
· 7 of 30 answered
Local tier30 of 50 rubric questions apply at this office level — federal-only questions are marked N/A and excluded from the dynamic max. How tier grading works →
Last verified: · scorecard-level timestamp
✝ God First
4/ 70
🏛️ Local First
2/ 30
National Rank
#4,740 of 8,966 · bottom 47.1% among candidates with at least one scored answer
See the full rankings →Contact This Official
Reach out directly. Your voice matters. Proverbs 29:2 — When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice.
Official Profile
Religion: Pentecostal Church of God in Christ (COGIC) family heritage — uncle Clarence pastored Prayer Tower COGIC in the Gas Plant District; father David sang in the choir and taught Sunday school there. Publicly cites 'pray, plan, prepare, perform' as his four guiding principles (prayer listed first).
Education: MBA, Florida A&M University; BA Accounting, University of South Florida
Birthplace: St. Petersburg, Florida
Background: 54th Mayor of St. Petersburg, first elected Nov 2021 (St. Pete's first Black mayor), sworn Jan 6, 2022; running for re-election in the Aug 18, 2026 primary (Nov 3, 2026 runoff if needed). Prior: Pinellas County Commissioner 2000-2022 (District 7). Accountant at Florida Power Corporation. Third-generation St. Pete native (b. Aug 15, 1964). Wife Donna, two daughters.
Previous Election Opponent: Robert Blackmon (R) in 2021 Mayor race
Next Election Year: 2025
X / Twitter: @MayorWelchSTP
[2026-06 RESOLUTE refinement] Roster verified: 54th Mayor of St. Petersburg, sworn Jan 6, 2022; declared candidate in Aug 18, 2026 primary (Wikipedia 2026 mayoral race page). March 2026 polling showed Welch (19%) trailing Charlie Crist (23%) in a 7-way race incl. Brandi Gabbard, Jim Large (R), Maria Scruggs, Kevin Batdorf, Paul Congemi. HIGH-VALUE DEVIATION: Welch openly identifies with his family's COGIC heritage and publicly cites 'pray, plan, prepare, perform' as his guiding principles (prayer first) — christian_liberty q0 TRUE (Tampa Magazines long-form interview). HARD evidence on LGBTQ+ cells: personally raises the Pride flag over City Hall every year (12th annual 2025); 2022 proclamation: 'We cannot and will not stand silent while our fundamental rights of freedom, choice and self-determination are stripped by anyone … including politicians in Washington and Tallahassee'; 2026 wrapped City Hall steps in Pride colors and pledged ~$300K-equivalent in-kind public-safety support to St. Pete Pride despite SB 1134 (St. Pete Catalyst, Florida Politics, CL Tampa) — biblical_marriage q0/q2/q4 FALSE. AFFIRMATIVE policing posture: $171M SPPD budget, body cams/tasers/drones, public partnership with Chief Holloway, publicly thanked Rep. Luna for $480K in federal cruiser funding ('This kind of support means a lot … setting a national standard') — public_justice q0 TRUE (St. Pete Catalyst, St Pete Rising). HIGH-VALUE DEVIATION: maintains SPPD's 287(g) ICE partnership and has REFUSED activist pressure to cancel it ('Mayor Ken Welch has the capacity to get rid of the 287(g) agreement, but he is actively choosing not to do so' — Florida Phoenix / WMNF); St. Pete is NOT a sanctuary city — border_immigration q2 TRUE. ECON: FY23 budget approved with ~13% effective property-tax increase (~$20.5M more revenue, St. Pete Catalyst); Welch publicly blasted Crist for proposing tax cuts — economic_stewardship q2 FALSE. ABORTION: administration raised 'process and precedent' concerns about the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund grant proposal (council killed 6-2); no affirmative pro-life position either — sanctity_of_life cells null. STATE PUSHBACK: led FL mayors against SB 1134 anti-DEI bill and defied it on Pride; this is local-control posture but directionally leftward (defending DEI/Pride), so refuse_state_overreach cells null under the conservative-rubric reading. NO direct evidence on schools (mayor lane), election administration, christian_liberty q2-q4, public_justice q1-q4, or self-defense (FL preemption blocks municipal gun regs) — those cells null.
Category Breakdown
Candidate affirms life begins at conception and personhood from conception
Not yet verified
Candidate (if District Attorney) has committed to prosecuting illegal abortion procedures; (if mayor/council) has supported pro-life city resolutions or refused to declare 'sanctuary city for abortion'
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes embryonic stem-cell research, IVF embryo discard, and chimeric experimentation
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes euthanasia, physician-assisted suicide, and quality-of-life rationing
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has never accepted Planned Parenthood, NARAL, EMILY's List, or abortion-industry PAC funding
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms marriage as exclusively the lifelong union of one man and one woman as instituted by God
FALSE (0)[1]
Candidate opposes all forms of same-sex marriage, civil unions, and domestic partnerships in law
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes city/county trans-affirming policies (bathroom mandates on private businesses, Pride flag raisings at city hall, pronouns-required HR rules)
FALSE (0)[2]
Candidate supports no-fault divorce reform and policies that strengthen the marriage covenant
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes city/county Pride proclamations, Pride flags at city facilities, drag programming in libraries, and LGBT-affirming K-12 curriculum (school-board-relevant)
FALSE (0)[1]
Candidate (school board) opts the district into school-choice transfers + protects homeschool freedom + opposes truancy-based criminal referrals
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) requires parental notification before any gender/sexuality counseling of minors; (mayor/council) opposes city programs facilitating minor medical procedures without parents
Not yet verified
Candidate (school board) has voted to remove CRT/SOGI/comprehensive-sex-ed/gender-ideology materials from district curriculum and library shelves
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council/library board) supports local enforcement of age-verification + removes sexualized content from library children's sections
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports faith-based adoption/foster agencies and opposes placement of children with same-sex couples
N/A · out of tier
Candidate affirms the right to publicly profess Christ in all spheres (workplace, military, public office, schools)
TRUE (+2)[3]
Candidate supports conscience exemptions for Christian medical professionals, business owners, adoption agencies, and educators
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city/county/school board) opposes mandatory pronoun policies for staff + employees + students
Not yet verified
Candidate (mayor/council) supports city/county Christian displays (Ten Commandments, Nativity scenes), invocation prayer at meetings, Sunday-closure where chosen by community
Not yet verified
Candidate opposes city-funded non-Christian religious displays/programming (Ramadan illumination, etc.) at city facilities
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) opposes city participation in CBDC pilot programs + supports cash-acceptance ordinances for local businesses
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports sound-money policies including gold/silver as constitutional money and audit/abolition of the Federal Reserve
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (mayor/council) has voted against deficit-bond issuances for non-capital city expenditures + supports balanced city budgets without service cuts via tax increases on residents
Candidate supports usury limits, anti-debt-slavery protections, and tithe-friendly tax structures
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city/county) has voted to remove city pension/treasury investment in ESG-aligned funds + opposes city participation in WEF-aligned sister-city programs
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city clerk/county election official) supports hand-counted paper ballots at local precincts where state law permits
Not yet verified
Candidate (city clerk/election official) enforces state photo voter ID + citizenship verification at local precincts
Not yet verified
Candidate supports single-day in-person voting with absentee only for verified medical/military exceptions
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes mass mail-in voting, drop boxes, and ballot harvesting
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (city clerk/council) refused acceptance of private election-administration grants ('Zuckerbucks')
Not yet verified
Candidate supports completed physical border barrier and active military border presence
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (DA/sheriff) cooperates with ICE detainers + transfers; (mayor/council) supports local cooperation with ICE rather than sanctuary policies
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/county) has voted against local sanctuary-city ordinances + supports city cooperation with federal immigration enforcement
Candidate supports mandatory E-Verify for all employment and benefit eligibility
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes birthright citizenship for children of illegal aliens, tourist births, and opposes foreign ownership of U.S. farmland
N/A · out of tier
Candidate (mayor/council) opposes local gun-registry ordinances + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate (city/council) opposes local-ordinance red-flag/magazine/AWB analogs + local gun-shop zoning restrictions
Not yet verified
Candidate supports repeal of the National Firearms Act (NFA), Gun Control Act (GCA), and other federal gun regulations
N/A · out of tier
Candidate supports castle doctrine and stand-your-ground laws with full civil immunity for lawful defense
N/A · out of tier
Candidate opposes ATF overreach, citizen disarmament initiatives, and U.N. small-arms treaty participation
N/A · out of tier
Candidate has publicly backed law enforcement and opposed defunding/dismantling police
Candidate opposes cashless-bail, soft-on-crime, and rogue-prosecutor (e.g. Soros-DA) policy
Not yet verified
Candidate supports victim restitution and proportional punishment of evildoers
Not yet verified
Candidate refuses to treat violent crime as a "public health" excuse to avoid punishment
Not yet verified
Candidate affirms the magistrate's God-ordained duty to bear the sword (Rom. 13:4)
Not yet verified
Official has asserted local control against unconstitutional state mandates
Not yet verified
Official has declined state strings that compel ungodly or unconstitutional local policy
Not yet verified
Official has protected local citizens from state overreach (lockdowns, mandates, ESG)
Not yet verified
Official affirms subsidiarity — decisions made at the lowest competent level
Not yet verified
Official has refused to enforce unconstitutional state directives
Not yet verified
Sources & Evidence
2 Center2 Official11 Other
Ballotpedia ProfileCenter
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_WelchEncyclopedia
X / TwitterUnclassified
www.wmnf.org/st-petersburg-ice-protest-287g/Unclassified
Bias ratings sourced from AllSides and Ad Fontes Media. Classifications for government, reference, and advocacy domains are maintained by U.S.M.C. Ministries; see source_bias.json.
References & footnotes
Every answer above with a [n] marker corresponds to one of the footnotes below. Wayback-archive links preserve the page as it read at our access date so a reader can verify the citation even if the original URL changes or disappears.
- [1]Annual Pride flag-raising over City Hall + 'committed to equity and diversity in all of our policies and decisions' proclamation; no affirmation of one-man/one-woman marriage in the public record. Unclassified
Annual Pride flag-raising over City Hall + 'committed to equity and diversity in all of our policies and decisions' proclamation; no affirmation of one-man/one-woman marriage in the public record.
- [2]In 2026 wrapped City Hall steps in Pride colors despite SB 1134; pledged ~$300K-equivalent in-kind city support to St. Pete Pride. Center
In 2026 wrapped City Hall steps in Pride colors despite SB 1134; pledged ~$300K-equivalent in-kind city support to St. Pete Pride.
- [3]Publicly cites 'pray, plan, prepare, perform' as his four guiding principles (prayer first) and openly references his family's COGIC church heritage (Prayer Tower COGIC, Gas Plant District) — affirmative public profession of Christian faith. Unclassified
Publicly cites 'pray, plan, prepare, perform' as his four guiding principles (prayer first) and openly references his family's COGIC church heritage (Prayer Tower COGIC, Gas Plant District) — affirmative public profession of Christian faith.
- [4]FY23 budget approved at a millage rate characterized as ~13% increase over rolled-back rate (~$20.5M additional revenue); Welch publicly blasted opponent Crist for proposing tax cuts. Unclassified
FY23 budget approved at a millage rate characterized as ~13% increase over rolled-back rate (~$20.5M additional revenue); Welch publicly blasted opponent Crist for proposing tax cuts.
- [5]FY23 budget approved at a millage rate characterized as ~13% increase over rolled-back rate (~$20.5M additional revenue); Welch publicly blasted opponent Crist for proposing tax cuts. Unclassified
FY23 budget approved at a millage rate characterized as ~13% increase over rolled-back rate (~$20.5M additional revenue); Welch publicly blasted opponent Crist for proposing tax cuts.
- [6]Maintains SPPD's 287(g) ICE partnership and has refused activist pressure to cancel it; St. Pete is not a sanctuary city — functional opposition to sanctuary policy. Unclassified
Maintains SPPD's 287(g) ICE partnership and has refused activist pressure to cancel it; St. Pete is not a sanctuary city — functional opposition to sanctuary policy.
- [7]Maintains SPPD's 287(g) ICE partnership and has refused activist pressure to cancel it; St. Pete is not a sanctuary city — functional opposition to sanctuary policy. Unclassified
Maintains SPPD's 287(g) ICE partnership and has refused activist pressure to cancel it; St. Pete is not a sanctuary city — functional opposition to sanctuary policy.
- [8]Affirmative SPPD partnership: $171M public-safety line; body cams/tasers/drones; publicly thanked Rep. Luna for $480K federal cruiser funding ('setting a national standard'); ongoing public partnership with Chief Holloway. Unclassified
Affirmative SPPD partnership: $171M public-safety line; body cams/tasers/drones; publicly thanked Rep. Luna for $480K federal cruiser funding ('setting a national standard'); ongoing public partnership with Chief Holloway.
- [9]Affirmative SPPD partnership: $171M public-safety line; body cams/tasers/drones; publicly thanked Rep. Luna for $480K federal cruiser funding ('setting a national standard'); ongoing public partnership with Chief Holloway. Unclassified
Affirmative SPPD partnership: $171M public-safety line; body cams/tasers/drones; publicly thanked Rep. Luna for $480K federal cruiser funding ('setting a national standard'); ongoing public partnership with Chief Holloway.
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