Smart economic development
Overview
The Mayor’s job is to plan long-term, look at the big picture, close deals that matter, and leave the city in a better position than the one inherited. By those standards, the current administration has fallen short again and again.
The Tampa Bay Rays gone. The Moffitt Cancer Center campus killed. The Municipal Service Center stalled until 2033. The Municipal Marina on its third failed attempt at redevelopment. The Mahaffey Theater contract terminated. The Science Center allowed to languish for years until bipartisan public pressure forced a reversal. Major employers like HSN sold off and the Jabil manufacturing facility lost to another state.
This is not bad luck. This is a pattern. And the pattern is costing St. Petersburg jobs, opportunities, and the long-term economic foundation that the next decade of growth needs.
I have spent my career landing economic development opportunities. As Florida’s Governor, I helped make Florida one of the nation’s fastest-growing biotech centers. Companies that joined Florida’s life sciences industry during my tenure include the Max Planck Institute of Bio-Imaging at Florida Atlantic University, VGTI Florida in Port St. Lucie, the Miami Institute of Human Genomics, Draper Laboratory in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Biopsy Sciences in Pinellas County, and Scripps Florida in Jupiter.
As Mayor, I will bring that record to City Hall. We will stop losing what we have. We will build what we need. We will protect and strengthen what makes St. Pete St. Pete. And we will invest in every neighborhood, not just downtown.
A. Stop Losing What We Have
For decades, St. Petersburg has had a clear pattern: residents, civic leaders, and developers identify opportunities, build coalitions, and put proposals on the table. The Mayor’s job is to close deals. Under the current administration, deal after deal has fallen apart. Some failed for legitimate reasons. Most failed because of executive paralysis, internal politics, or a leadership style that cannot say yes to opportunity.
The Moffitt Cancer Center campus. The single most consequential economic development loss of the current administration. The Moffitt campus would have brought a major health care employer to the Gas Plant District, infused the surrounding community with high-quality jobs, and given St. Pete residents battling cancer the option to receive treatment close to home. Health care is already the largest employer downtown, and a Moffitt campus would have anchored decades of growth. The current administration killed the deal, reportedly over a dispute about ten affordable housing units. The replacement project the Mayor approved on the same site contains zero affordable housing units. Ten was apparently too few. None was acceptable.
The Tampa Bay Rays. The collapse of the Gas Plant District deal is a story everyone in St. Petersburg knows. What residents may not know is that the Rays remain contractually obligated to play at Tropicana Field for at least three more seasons, and they currently do not have a finalized plan for a new stadium. As Mayor, I will work to keep the Rays in St. Petersburg, where they belong. They have been part of this city’s identity for nearly thirty years. We do not give up on what makes St. Pete St. Pete.
The Municipal Service Center. In 2021, after a competitive process, the city selected a development team that offered $12.2 million for the existing MSC site and proposed building a new MSC across from City Hall. The project would have delivered 31% affordable housing units along with new office and retail space along Central Avenue. Construction would have been complete by now. The current administration rejected that plan and is now planning to self-perform a 165,000-square-foot replacement. Design will not begin until mid-2028. The new MSC will not open until 2033. Twelve years of delay. Thirty-one percent affordable housing replaced with zero. And the existing aging building, which has millions of dollars in deferred maintenance, will continue costing taxpayers money in repairs every year until 2033.
The Municipal Marina. The downtown marina is on its third failed attempt at redevelopment in six years. The Kriseman administration’s plan in 2021 was rejected by Council over a 25-year lease term. The Welch administration’s 2023 selection of Safe Harbor Marinas collapsed in 2025 when Blackstone acquired the company and the deal could not be finalized. The city is now self-performing the project at a budget of $148 million, several times the original cost estimates, and construction will not begin until late 2026. Boaters who depend on the marina, which suffered serious damage during Hurricane Helene, have been left in limbo for years. As Mayor, I will move on this project with urgency.
The Science Center. This is one of the clearest illustrations of what the current administration has gotten wrong, and one of the clearest illustrations of how I would govern differently. In 2019, the Science Center had been closed for five years and the city was planning to demolish it. Then-Council Member Robert Blackmon, a Republican, took on the project as a community priority. He built a bipartisan coalition: Senator Darryl Rouson (a Democrat), State Representative Linda Chaney (a Republican), and me. As a member of Congress, I secured $3 million in federal HUD appropriations for the Science Center, on top of the $500,000 in state funds Senator Rouson and Representative Chaney secured. After the November 2021 Mayoral election in which Mayor Welch defeated Mr. Blackmon, the project stalled. For years. Despite a unanimous push from the City Council, despite community letters of support from USF professors and the Tampa Bay Rays and Pinellas County School Board members, the Mayor refused to move. In September 2025, the Council Chair was forced to publicly call on the Mayor to “reverse course without delay.” The Mayor finally relented in late 2025 and the Science Center broke ground in January 2026. It will reopen in summer 2027, six years after the federal funding was secured.
This is what happens when ego gets in the way of the people’s work.
As Mayor, I will not kill projects because of who originated them. I will not stall opportunities because of internal politics. I will not let opportunities like Moffitt walk away because of disputes over ten housing units when the alternative is zero. I will close deals. That is the job.
B. Build What We Need
Stopping the losses is necessary but not sufficient. St. Petersburg also needs an affirmative agenda for economic growth. As Mayor, I will pursue specific opportunities the current administration has either ignored or under-resourced.
Establish a kitchen-cabinet Economic Advisory Committee. I will assemble a working group of business leaders, economic development professionals, and community stakeholders to advise my office directly on growth opportunities. This is not a formal advisory body with appointments and a public charter. It is a kitchen cabinet of trusted advisors who can help my office identify, pursue, and close major economic development opportunities in real time. I will rely on these advisors to think long-term while my staff manages the day-to-day.
Treat major employers as the partners they are. The loss of Jabil’s manufacturing facility to another state, the sale of HSN, the departure of major employers downtown: these are not inevitable. They are the result of an administration that has not invested in relationships with the businesses that employ St. Pete residents. As Mayor, I will work directly with the Downtown Partnership, the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce, and major employers across the city to retain what we have and recruit new investment. I will show up. I will return calls. I will treat employers like the partners to a successful St. Petersburg that they are.
Position St. Petersburg as a leader in Advanced Air Mobility. In February 2026, the city’s Advanced Air Mobility Task Force, chaired by former Council member Ed Montanari, delivered final recommendations on positioning St. Pete for the eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) industry. The recommendations include developing vertiport capacity at Albert Whitted Airport, exploring standalone vertiports at sites like the Gas Plant District, Carillon, and Tyrone, and establishing a Jannus Center for Aviation and Innovation focused on workforce development, research, and industry partnerships. St. Petersburg launched the world’s first commercial airline flight in 1914. We have an opportunity to be the city that does it again with the next generation of aviation. As Mayor, I will move the AAM Task Force recommendations from report to action.
Pursue biotech and life sciences investment. During my time as Governor, Florida became one of the nation’s fastest-growing biotech hubs. I will bring the same focus to St. Petersburg, working with USF, Bayfront Health, and Orlando Health (which has just opened the new Institute Square campus in downtown St. Pete) to recruit life sciences companies, research facilities, and the high-skill jobs that come with them.
Complete the Science Center project on time. The Science Center groundbreaking happened. Construction is now underway. The project must reopen in summer 2027 as scheduled. As Mayor, I will personally support the St. Petersburg Foundation’s capital campaign and ensure city resources are aligned with the project’s success.
C. Smart Growth That Reflects Who We Are
St. Petersburg has a culture, a character, and a creative identity that is the foundation of why people want to live, work, and visit here. Downtown St. Pete is in the middle of a generational boom, and that is a credit to the residents, the small businesses, and the community partners who made it happen. The question is not whether to grow. It is how to grow in a way that keeps St. Pete feeling like St. Pete. Thoughtful planning, instead of reactive permitting, lets us welcome new development while protecting the local businesses and distinctive character that drew people here to begin with.
Keep downtown thriving. Downtown is the cultural and economic anchor of our city. It is home to the residents, small businesses, and community partners who have built one of the most active downtowns in Florida. From Beach Drive to Central Avenue, the mix of independent restaurants, locally owned shops, residential buildings, and cultural venues is the result of years of partnership between civic leaders and the people who put their faith in this city. As Mayor, I will protect that work. I will continue full support for the Clean and Safe Program, which keeps downtown welcoming for residents, visitors, and the businesses that depend on foot traffic. I will work as a serious partner on the revitalization of Williams Park, which has the potential to be another anchor for community events and a draw for surrounding businesses. The Downtown Partnership has done strong work on the Williams Park initiative, and I will treat them as the partner they deserve to be. Downtown’s continued success is essential to the city’s long-term fiscal health and to the quality of life for the thousands of residents who call it home.
Support locally-owned small businesses. Small businesses are the backbone of St. Pete’s economy, the first hires for many residents, and the texture of every neighborhood. As Mayor, I will work with the Chamber of Commerce, Main Street organizations, and the city’s economic development team to develop a small business support agenda that goes beyond grant applications: streamlined permitting for small business expansions, a single point of contact for small business issues, and targeted investments in commercial corridor improvements that benefit existing businesses, not just new development.
Equitable access to parks and culture. Parks, museums, and cultural institutions should be accessible to residents across the city, not concentrated in any single neighborhood. As Mayor, I will support strong programming and access at city-supported cultural venues across St. Pete, including in West and South St. Pete, so families everywhere in the city can benefit from the cultural assets their tax dollars support.
D. Beyond Downtown
For too long, the gravitational pull of downtown has dominated St. Petersburg’s growth conversation. Downtown’s success is real and worth protecting, but it cannot be the only story this city tells about itself. West St. Pete, South St. Pete, the Gandy area, and the neighborhoods along the city’s western and southern edges deserve the same level of investment, attention, and Mayoral focus.
As Mayor, I will deliver it. Specific commitments:
Expand the Complete Streets program to the corridors residents actually asked for. The Complete Streets program, which redesigns roadways to be safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, is a good program. The data from the corridors where it has been built, including the dramatic drop in collisions and traffic citations on 9th Street, shows it works. But there is a gap between which corridors the public asked for during the initial walking audits and which corridors have actually been built since 2019. The public input was heavy on south-side corridors including 18th Avenue South, 22nd Avenue South, 26th Avenue South, 54th Avenue South, and 62nd Avenue South. The Florida Consumer Action Network walking audits separately flagged 18th Avenue South, 34th Street South, and 4th Street North as having serious pedestrian safety issues. The corridors that have actually been built since 2019 are concentrated downtown and along Central Avenue. As Mayor, I will prioritize Complete Streets implementation on the corridors residents asked for, with focus on the south-side corridors that have been waiting too long.
Repaint every school crosswalk before the start of every school year. This is a small thing that means a lot. School crosswalks in many St. Pete neighborhoods are faded to the point of invisibility. Drivers do not know they are approaching a crosswalk. Students cross streets that are effectively unmarked. As Mayor, I will commit that every school crosswalk in the city will be repainted before the start of every school year. Every year. This is the kind of thing residents notice. It is the kind of thing that says: this Mayor cares whether your child can cross the street safely. It is also the kind of thing that helps make communities appealing to potential employers and new residents.
Invest in the Childs Park, Campbell Park, and West St. Pete corridors. The Science Center revival is one example of West St. Pete investment. It cannot be the only one. As Mayor, I will pursue specific projects in West and South St. Pete, including parks improvements, neighborhood retail support, and infrastructure investments that residents have been asking for and not receiving.
Bring the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area to its full potential. The South St. Pete CRA exists to direct investment toward neighborhoods that have been historically underserved. The CRA has done good work, including funding projects like Fairfield Avenue Apartments. But the pace of investment can be faster, and the connection between CRA-funded projects and surrounding neighborhood needs can be tighter. As Mayor, I will work directly with CRA stakeholders to accelerate progress and ensure the CRA’s investments connect to the broader neighborhood revitalization residents are asking for.
Support corridor revitalization in the Gandy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Street areas. These commercial corridors have potential that has been underutilized. As Mayor, I will work with property owners, small businesses, and community organizations to develop corridor-level economic development strategies that match the character and needs of each area.
Commit to neighborhood-level reporting on city investment. Residents in West and South St. Pete have a fair complaint that they cannot see whether the city is investing in their neighborhoods. As Mayor, I will publish neighborhood-level reports on city capital spending, so every St. Pete resident can see exactly how their tax dollars are being deployed in their part of the city.
My Record
Building, recruiting, and retaining major employers is what I do. As Florida’s Governor, I helped make Florida one of the nation’s fastest-growing biotech centers, working with companies including the Max Planck Institute of Bio-Imaging, VGTI Florida, the Miami Institute of Human Genomics, Draper Laboratory in Tampa and St. Petersburg, Biopsy Sciences in Pinellas County, and Scripps Florida in Jupiter. I worked across party lines to land major economic development opportunities for the state.
As a member of Congress, I delivered for St. Petersburg, including securing $3 million in federal HUD appropriations for the Science Center, a project the current administration would have allowed to be demolished. I worked with bipartisan Pinellas legislators, including Senator Rouson, Representative Chaney, and Representative Berny Jacques, to make the Science Center project happen. Through my role on Appropriations, I successfully fought for historic funding levels for Community Development Financial Institutions. CDFIs are lenders that make small business, personal, and home loans, with a particular focus on low- to moderate-income, minority, Native, and other underserved communities. One such CDFI, the Florida Community Loan Fund, has provided critical small business funding to local business owners Elihu and Carolyn Brayboy to sustainably develop the Deuces district and support Black-owned small businesses. I also secured $901,000 for Southside St. Petersburg Community Center upgrades to renovate the community center that serves as a vital location to connect residents to community services and programs.
I have a long record of treating economic development as a serious priority that requires sustained executive attention, relationships with the business community, and the willingness to make hard decisions and close deals. I will bring that record to City Hall.