Governor Ron DeSantis signed SB 1134 into law April 22, legislation championed by Florida’s Republican supermajority. It targets support for diversity, equity and inclusion across the state.
The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2027, when it will prohibit local governments “from funding or promoting or taking official action” related to what the state deems DEI. It will also restrict officials from “expending funds” for DEI “offices” or for DEI “officers” and prohibit them “from providing or authorizing funds to be used to promote” DEI.
Any local official “acting in an official capacity who violates certain provisions commits misfeasance or malfeasance in office,” it also warns. Residents will be able to challenge this in court, which “may enter a judgment awarding declaratory and injunctive relief, damages and costs.”
Marginalized Floridians have widely condemned the law. Among other concerns, they have warned it will threaten municipal support for events like Pride — including the state’s largest in St. Petersburg, which organizers say welcomed 350,000 people to the city last month.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch was among a coalition of elected officials to speak out against SB 1134 in March. He joined Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, Tallahassee Commissioner Dianne Williams-Cox, Fernandina Beach Commissioner Genece Minshew, Leon County Commissioner David O’Keefe and Equality Florida in urging lawmakers to reject it.
He called the law a “serious threat” challenging “the constitutional principal of home rule in Florida,” noting “we are committed to fighting this legislation.”
Except it may not be Welch who fights it.
The Aug. 18 primary election will include the city’s race for mayor, when he’ll face off against five challengers. They include Brandi Gabbard, current St. Petersburg City Councilmember and Charlie Crist, the former Florida governor and U.S. congressman.
Shore Acres Neighborhood Association President Kevin Batdorf, former St. Petersburg Fire Chief Jim Large and Jail Administrator Maria Scruggs are also running. If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will take place Nov. 3.
The victor will lead the city’s response to SB 1134, something officials and advocates across the state will be watching. Winter Pride will return in February, making St. Petersburg one of the first cities in Florida to host a major Pride celebration with SB 1134 in effect.
“This race is about more than one city,” says Equality Florida Action PAC Executive Director Joe Saunders. The group endorsed Welch July 16. “It’s about showing the state and our country that leaders who choose inclusion over division are the answer to what ails America.
“St. Petersburg has long been a beacon of hope,” he continues. “That didn’t happen by accident. It took leaders who understood the importance of protecting that culture, cultivating those values and demanding a city where everyone feels they belong.”
Watermark Out News reached out to each mayoral candidate to discuss SB 1134 and more.
While Batdorf, Large and Scruggs did not respond to our requests, we discussed this year’s race with Welch by phone, met Gabbard at a locally owned coffee shop and spoke with Crist in his St. Petersburg home. Here’s what they had to say.
THE INCUMBENT: MAYOR KEN WELCH
Welch, a Democrat and the city’s first Black mayor, was elected St. Petersburg’s 54th leader in 2021.
Under his tenure the city has retained its perfect score in the Human Rights Campaign’s annual Municipal Equality Index and he has continued to raise the Pride flag above City Hall each June. Welch also maintained the role of LGBTQ+ liaison, appointing the first transgender person to serve as such in St. Petersburg last December.
He announced his reelection bid in February, vowing to protect the LGBTQ+ community.
Welch said the city has “faced extraordinary challenges” over the last four years. He cited devastation from Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton and decisions “about our city’s future.”
Among other things, it was during his first term that the Florida Department of Transportation removed the city’s Progressive Pride and Black History Matters street murals. It’s something critics argue he didn’t do enough to prevent.
“I understand the passion about that,” the mayor says. “The way that was done by the state was based on falsehoods of making the road safer… what folks might not know is we were working on FDOT for months on that.”
St. Petersburg did ask for an exemption, he notes, which FDOT denied. The department’s call to remove “non-standard surface markings … that do not directly contribute to traffic safety” would stand, the city’s lawyers advised officials.
“They told us from day one that yes, the governor does have the jurisdiction to do this, so there was really no legal path,” Welch notes. While other cities challenged the state on the matter, none were successful in retaining LGBTQ+ or other inclusive displays.
“That’s why elections matter,” Welch says. “That’s why governors matter, that’s why legislatures matter… If there was a way to keep those murals, I would have executed it.”
The mayor points to his tenure as a Pinellas County commissioner, where he supported the region’s LGBTQ+ community over five terms. He backed the Human Rights Ordinance amendment banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in 2008 and led the charge to add gender identity protections in 2013.
“I’ve been a strong ally and done everything I can — even when it wasn’t popular — to do the right thing for the LGBTQ+ community, for our entire community,” he says. “I have a clear track record of being not only an ally but a leader in legislation that has made an impact on people’s lives.”
It’s what led the Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County to endorse Welch in June, when they addressed the removal of the city’s Pride mural. President Laura Gerken called it “painful” and noted “the grief and anger that followed are real and valid.”
“We ask that our community consider the full picture of Ken Welch’s record of support for the LGBTQIA+ community,” she said. “That record speaks clearly… Our endorsement is grounded in our mission to support candidates with a demonstrated commitment to defeating homophobia, transphobia and prejudice in all its forms… The Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County stand with him, and we invite our full community to do the same.”
The endorsement also followed Welch’s decision to declare June as both Pride Month and Inclusive Family and Faith Month.
Each proclamation was read during the St. Petersburg City Council meeting June 11, when Welch officially recognized the latter and officials reflected on the 10-year mark of the Pulse tragedy. He had previously recognized Pride Month June 1.
While groups petitioning governments to recognize Faith and Family Month do not explicitly advise they are designed to counter Pride Month, statements of faith advise that they affirm marriage between one man and one woman. They also state gender is “encoded at conception, and changeless.”
St. Petersburg officials sought to counter this message by adding Inclusive to the proclamation’s title. A second paragraph also recognized that “valued families come in a variety of forms,” including those headed by “same-sex couples” and more.
Welch addressed the proclamation after its presentation while attending St Pete Pride’s Stonewall Reception. “We made sure that it was the inclusive definition of families, and that was included in the proclamation,” he said. “… there are all kinds of families, and they are all worthy to be supported.”
Welch also reiterated his opposition to SB 1134. He promised to “fight it everywhere we can,” noting “we are not going to walk away from this battle.”
“My commitment is heartfelt and unwavering,” he adds now. “I have friends, family and neighbors who are in the LGBTQ+ community, and what is happening now in our state is outrageous.
“We’re preparing for this January implementation of the DEI bill, and it’s just so insidious the way that bill was crafted, and how it’s meant to demean individuals, groups and kind of unravel connections and bonds while stifling the expression of who we are, who we love and our bonds as a community.
“We’re committed to standing up for who we are, standing up for our community, and we’re looking at every option to do that and to try to unravel this legislation,” Welch stresses. “It just cannot stand the way it is… its impact on cities and counties is really going to be problematic for our state going forward, so we’re looking at all options.”
As for his message to LGBTQ+ residents and visitors, Welch expresses gratitude.
“I just want to thank the community for everything they bring to the city, for being who they are,” the mayor says. “When we say ‘We Are St. Pete,’ that means everybody, period … we’ll turn this thing around.”
THE COUNCILMEMBER: BRANDI GABBARD
Gabbard launched her campaign for mayor in April. The term-limited councilmember, Democrat and veteran real estate broker has represented District 2 since 2017.
While she supported Welch’s initial bid for mayor, she challenged his re-election “because she believes St. Petersburg has reached a critical turning point where reactive decision-making and missed opportunities can no longer be the status quo.”
Gabbard was quick to condemn SB 1134, both as a councilmember and candidate. She weighed in as the latter just weeks after declaring.
“St. Petersburg is a city defined by its people and its environment; as Mayor, I will never allow outside politics to dictate how we care for either,” she shared at the time. “While Tallahassee may ban words and target local government policies, they cannot change our commitment to ensuring every resident … has an equal seat at the table and a safe place to call home.”
She tells Watermark Out News now that whoever is mayor in January “is going to be challenged with this preemption on diversity, equity and inclusion — and the vagueness around how that is defined by Tallahassee with the punitive measures that go along with it.”
She believes she’s best equipped to lead that fight, as do a coalition of LGBTQ+ business leaders, housing advocates and residents. They endorsed her candidacy last month, saying the city “needs a leader whose support shows up in concrete policy, not just parade appearances.”
Largo Commissioner Michael Smith, an LGBTQ+ politician who served with her on the Forward Pinellas Transit Board, also backs her efforts. He called Gabbard “a proven leader who brings experience, integrity, and a genuine passion for public service to everything she does.”
Gabbard says that as mayor, she’ll make sure LGBTQ+ residents and visitors know St. Petersburg remains a welcoming place.
“We’re going to comply with [SB 1134] but we can continue to work with advocacy groups, nonprofits and business leaders to make sure that we are still sending the message that St. Pete is open to everyone … we will continue to fight for your rights,” she says. “I think that is the role of our mayor, and one that I would be very, very happy to carry forward.”
As for launching a legal challenge to SB 1134, Gabbard says if she was mayor “I would have already done it.”
“I have been incredibly vocal about the things that Tallahassee has done,” she says. Gabbard points toward her vocal opposition to FDOT’s removal of the Pride mural as one example.
“I wanted us to do more,” she says. “I wanted us to be more vocal. I wanted us to stand up and challenge that.”
Gabbard acknowledges that no Florida city did so successfully but sees merit in pushing back.
“It’s really about the message you’re sending from City Hall,” she says. “It’s the message that we’re not just going to roll over, we’re going to fight back, and we’re going to challenge where we can.”
Welch charges that the city “used every option we had within the process” to stop FDOT from removing St. Petersburg’s murals. He says his final direction to FDOT indicated they would have to use their own personnel to remove them rather than the city’s, which happened Sept. 2.
“I felt like the message we sent to FDOT was, ‘well, if you want them, come and get them,’” Gabbard says. “They did.”
Her message would have differed. She says it would “have been ‘hands off, and we’re going to challenge you.’
“Would we have won at the end of the day? History shows us, most likely not,” she adds. “But I’m never going to be one to just roll over … because right now, they just want all of us to fall in line. As soon as you give a crack to any sort of complacency in the face of what we are up against, it just gives that daylight for all of it to come in.”
That’s what happened with the Inclusive Faith and Family Month proclamation, she believes. Gabbard left the city council dais in protest as it was read.
“While I respect the faith leaders of our community and recognize the importance of families to the fabric of our city, I do not support the extreme alt-right agenda that has been pushing for these proclamations across the state and country,” she told Watermark Out News.
Gabbard says city leadership needs “to be able to very clearly look at these things and see them for what they are… division and hate clothed in faith and family.” She also believes that since the mayor signed the proclamation, he should have read it when it was presented. Instead, Councilmember Corey Givens Jr. did so, omitting the inclusive language added to the proclamation in the process.
Councilmember Deborah Figgs-Sanders rectified that situation, something Welch praised afterwards, but Gabbard believes Givens shouldn’t have had the opportunity to begin with.
“When this mayor made the decision to change the language, he should have taken ownership of actually reading it for the public to hear,” she says. “When he relinquished that and gave that back to the council member… he again left our community vulnerable to what ultimately ended up happening.”
As for what else sets her apart in the race, Gabbard says she’s “not your typical politician.”
“Yes, I’ve been in public office for nine years, and that by definition makes you a politician, but I’m just a real person,” she stresses. “I believe in transparency, I believe in accountability, I believe that people should have a seat at the table … I think we’re very isolated as a City Hall right now in the administration, in the mayor’s office, and I want to open that up. I want to make sure that people understand that their voice matters in everything that we do.
“As a city, we’re going to have a lot of challenging times ahead of us,” she continues. “We need to have a leader that is going to very clearly be able to listen, take in information and be able to produce the best policies and the best guidance to our community. I am that kind of leader.”
THE CONGRESSMAN: CHARLIE CRIST
Crist is no stranger to St. Petersburg or the state. He served as Florida’s 44th governor from 2007 to 2011, switching from Republican to Independent in 2010 before becoming a Democrat in 2012. He also served as a U.S. congressman from 2017 to 2022, where he was a vice chair of the Congressional LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus.
He resigned from the seat to run for governor against DeSantis in 2022, a race he lost. The victor has used his second term to champion anti-LGBTQ+ policies and laws, including SB 1134.
Crist expected he would, he says, which was “one of the reasons I decided to run.”
“I had great support in the community and I was very grateful for that all over the state,” he explains. “Going the way it did was depressing — losing is not fun— but I thought it was important to have somebody as an opponent to the incumbent governor, given his views and his lack of empathy. That somebody needed to stand up to the bully and stand up for all civil rights … that was a big part of the decision to run then, and I’m glad I did.”
Crist says he learned a lot from the experience and that he’s taken time to reflect on the matter.
“I’ve always learned more from losses than I have from wins,” he advises. “I felt compelled to do it, because it was never a right versus left issue. It was right versus wrong.”
After months of speculation, Crist officially joined the race for mayor in April, just weeks after Gabbard. While he also backed Welch’s original run for mayor, he says he felt compelled to challenge him this time.
“I started getting some calls last year asking me to consider doing it, and I must admit that I was disappointed in the current mayor, so it didn’t take a lot of persuasion,” he says. “I love St. Pete … I have great affection for this community.”
Among other concerns with Welch’s tenure, Crist says he should have done more to combat FDOT’s directive on the city’s murals.
“St. Petersburg is such an open, welcoming community,” he says. “The fact that we have a mayor that wouldn’t fight for the gay community in St. Petersburg is unconscionable to me. I mean, really, to just let them paint over beautiful art and rainbow colors on our streets? I don’t understand.”
Crist acknowledges no city successfully fought the directive. Still, he says, “you don’t give up.”
“You take them to court, you fight for freedom of speech, you say ‘we have constitutional rights that have to be appreciated and respected,’” he says. “To not continue to fight — that’s one of the reasons I’m running.
“If murals go up again in St. Petersburg, I’ll be the mayor who will stand and fight for them and sue people who do that to us, even if it’s the governor, I don’t care,” Crist continues. “Your rights are more important to me… St. Pete is an independent city with the right to our views, our freedom of speech, our freedom of expression, and I think it’s important we have a mayor who will do that.”
Along those lines, Crist says he’s ready to fight SB 1134.
“It’s unconstitutional,” he says. “You can’t keep telling people what they can say and what they can do… it’s almost fortuitous that this is not going into effect until 2027. This election will be over before 2026 is done, and if I happen to win — I hope, God willing — we’ll be prepared to fight on day one. I’m prepared right now.”
Crist isn’t without his own critics, among them voters who want to see a new generation of leadership. He says the incumbent isn’t that and if voters want someone with executive experience “who cares about the LGBTQ+ community and will fight,” they should look to his campaign.
Some local LGBTQ+ advocates have also expressed concern over at least one of Crist’s high-profile endorsers: former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker. The Republican led the city from 2001-2010, when St Pete Pride formed, and his detractors say he showcased little support for the region’s LGBTQ+ community.
“If I am elected, the LGBTQ community will not have to wonder where their mayor stands,” Crist responds to their concerns. “They will have an ally in City Hall, and they will have one on day one.
“On the endorsement, this is a nonpartisan race and I have said from the beginning that I am running to restart the progress that made St. Pete great, not to run a partisan campaign,” he continues. “Mayor Baker and I do not agree on everything. Support for the LGBTQ community is one of the places where we have differed, and I am not going to pretend otherwise.
“What his endorsement tells me is that people across the political spectrum see the same thing our neighbors see,” he adds. “The city has been on pause, and it needs a mayor who shows up, does the work and pushes St. Pete forward.”
As for what separates him from other LGBTQ+ allies in the race, Crist points to Welch specifically.
“I’ll fight for you and he didn’t,” he says. “End of story.”
St. Petersburg’s mayoral election will be held Aug. 18. For more information about the Welch, Gabbard or Crist campaigns, visit KenWelch.com, Brandi4StPete.com and CharlieCrist.com.
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