Charlie Crist Returns to St. Pete Mayoral Race

0:00It's April 29th. I'm Corey with The Story, and this is Tampa Bay News today. Local news powered by AI. Former Governor and Congressman Charlie Christ jumped back into the political ring this week, filing papers Monday at St. Petersburg City Hall, too. Challenging Cumbin Mayor Ken Welch, it's his seventh run for office, 34 years after first repping the city in the state senate. Christ, a lifelong local, says internal polls have him up by five points in this non-partisan race. Christ's career path is a wild loop from education commissioner and attorney general to governor, then congressman, and a narrow loss to Ron DeSantis. In his third gubernatorial bid back in 2022, now he's home focused, calling St. Pete his heart and criticizing the city's stall on big wins like the Tampa Bay Ray Stadium deal, which tanked after storms wrecked Tropicana Field and talks broke down. Those are buzzing as Chris paints Welch's two hands off on key fights from the Marina project to battling the state over public murals, which he ties the first amendment rights.

1:05He slams affordable housing efforts to, saying $800,000 units ain't cutting it for most folks, and wants a voter say on a six, $100 million dollar storm water bond. Christ's building steam was strong fundraising and a solid campaign team pledging property tax tweaks that even Tallahassee Republicans like. He's open to restarting race negotiations in the historic gas plant district, if Hills Burrill falls through, keeping affordability front and center. All eyes on whether this sets up a Welch Christ debate showdown, but one thing's clear. Christ's love for St. Pete's service is pulling him local, proving politics hits hardest at home.