The most crowded field of candidates is for District 6, which is being vacated by Gina Driscoll because of term limits.
Five of them gathered under a replica of the first commercial airplane service between St. Petersburg and Tampa, hanging in the rafters of the St. Petersburg Mueum of History. The debate was sponsored by the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club.
Linsey Grove runs the Hypatia Collaborative, a cooperative that gives support to a variety of non-profit groups in the city.
"Our city is at a crossroads," she said. "With rising costs, a changing downtown landscape, and increasingly extreme weather, folks are concerned about their place in the future of St. Pete."
Trevor Mallory is president of Neighborhood Home Solutions, a nonprofit community development organization .
He wants to see help for downtown's growing population of unhoused people.
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"I think we need to invest in our shelters," he said. " I think they need somewhere to go, somewhere that they can be safely treated, somewhere where they can have health care, dental care, good food, water and showers."
Doug Homeyer is a financial planner. He said he was homeless at one time, and can relate to their plight.
"I will work closely with the centers, the churches, and the city, to help the people and, and enhance the programs already put in place," he said. "Twenty years ago, I lost everything, and so I lived out of my car. So I really understand. I've been through it."
Terri Balliet is CEO of the Children’s Network of Hillsborough County.
"My priorities have remained the same from the beginning," she told the crowd, "supporting small businesses, investing in our infrastructure, as well as a clean and safe neighborhood, a clean and safe city where our residents can feel proud to call St. Pete home."
She said she worked with St. Petersburg's police chief to start a program where social workers can respond to non-threatening calls.
"We created an awesome program called the Community Assistance and Life Liaison Program," she said. "That program was in response to the horrific George Floyd situation that happened over five years ago. Terrible situation. And what we said here is in St. Pete, that's not happening here."
Jameka Williams is a community activist and is active with Faith in Florida, an advocacy group.
"I believe that government should be accountable and transparent and should be accessible to the people who are elected to be there," she said. "I want to continue funding projects that are going to work for everyone here in St. Pete, not just a few, and I want to continue to being a candidate where people know that their voice and their vote matters."
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Lindsey Grove also said she's concerned about rising prices, particularly the cost of housing. And she said there needs to be a way to protect the city's burgeoning arts scene.
"How can we give incentives to developers so that they can create more housing that provides housing for artists," she said, "because many of our artists are having to move out of St. Petersburg because they can't afford to live here."
COUNCIL DISTRICT 2
Only two candidates are running for District 2, in the city's northeast. They are Courtney Bermudez and Gabriel Hament.
Hament was the only candidate appearing at Tuesday night's debate. He is an assistant public defender and describes himself as an openly gay man. He says he hopes to protect the city's culture of inclusion.
"Our campaign will be focused on four major areas: storm preparedness, cost of living, strengthening the identity of District 2, and civil rights," he said.
"Looking at the dysfunction in Washington and Tallahassee, what I believe to be willful ignorance of the issues we're facing in our neighborhoods," he said of his reasons for running. "And the continuous and unabated attacks on civil rights of marginalized people, not just here in St. Pete, but in Florida and across the country. "
Bermudez is an EMT and property manager who told WUSF she's promoting storm preparedness, infrastructure improvements and affordability. She has received the endorsement of the Florida chapter of the National Organization for Women.
The August 18th ballot will also include primary elections for five candidates jousting to unseat Ken Welch as St. Petersburg Mayor.
