The candidates for the two open seats on the St. Petersburg City Council took part in a forum recently at the Barack Obama Library.
One race is for District 2, which includes the northernmost areas of the city.
The candidates are Courtney Bermudez, an EMT and property manager; and Gabriel Hament, an assistant public defender. They're vying to replace Brandi Gabbard, who is leaving because of term limits.
Hament is openly gay and says he would oppose the governor's recent moves to restrict lighting bridges in Pride colors and painting murals on public streets.
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"I am standing next to the most vulnerable members of our community, ensuring their constitutional rights are protected, their voices are heard," he said. "And power is held to account. I know how to advocate on behalf of others. I do it every day."
Bermudez says she knows what it takes to legislate.
"Symbols don't fix infrastructure, performative gestures don't solve the housing crisis, eliminate food deserts, or address healthcare shortages," she said. "To solve the problems, we need someone who understands how the city actually operates."
District 6 includes downtown and its surrounding neighborhoods.
The candidates are Trevor Mallory, president of a nonprofit community development organization; and Linsey Grove, who runs a cooperative that supports non-profit groups.
Mallory says he does not support the city leaving Duke Energy and operating its own electric utility.
"I don't trust them with my light bill. They can't get my water bill right," he said. "So I don't want them controlling my energy at this point in time, and I've met with some of the people that really want to dump Duke. My thing is, there needs to be more research."
The City Council approved a feasibility study to look at the costs and legal steps required to have its own utility. That is expected to be ready by early next year
Grove said St. Petersburg is seeing some of the highest electric bills in the state. She wants to see those bills lowered, and favors leaving Duke.
"I think about not just what residents certainly need today in terms of savings," she said. "but I think about everyone down the line."
Hament said the voters should be able to decide whether to leave Duke. He cited numbers from a similar study done by Clearwater, which recently decided to keep Duke Energy.
"We have to borrow $70 million for the transition costs, to run our own utility. That's concerning for me," he said. "As far as helping citizens lower the rates now, I think we can expand energy efficiency initiatives, and grants through the city."
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Bermudez said city residents are still paying Duke for expenses in closing the Crystal River nuclear generator.
"There's also a clause in their contract for guaranteed profits, which means whether or not they're responsible with our money and their investments, we get to pay for it," Bermudez said. "If we're going to spend $70 million, I'd rather spend $70 million getting our infrastructure together on a project that we own than a bunch of people in an office somewhere who are guaranteed a profit because they have a whole bunch of money.
"To me, it's the difference between paying rent every month and paying my mortgage," she said.
All four candidates agreed to support an amendment on the city ballot next month. It would levy an additional property tax to speed up improvements to the city’s water and sewage systems, which were impacted by the 2024 hurricanes.
They also all came out against the statewide Amendment 3, which would increase the non-school homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. St. Petersburg officials estimate it could reduce city property tax revenue by $33 million in 2028 and $54 million the following year.
And they all opposed the recent agreement between the city's police department and ICE, or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, to temporarily detain people known to be in the country illegally. And all want to keep zoning changes that don't allow data centers to be built in the city.
Still, they emphasized the differences they have.
“Experience matters and it’s there,” Mallory said. “I didn’t just wake up and decide to run for City Council. I’ve been building this pathway for the last 14 years.”
And Hament said he would focus on four major areas: storm preparedness, cost of living, strengthening the identity of District 2, and civil rights.
