Pictured Above: Michael Ingram hopes to inspire young people to engage in politics through his mayoral run; Ingram is only 20 years old, making him the youngest mayoral candidate in St. Petersburg history; Before his mayoral campaign, Ingram volunteered for Charlie Crist’s congressional reelection campaign
Courtesy of Michael Ingram
By Trevor Martindale
USF St. Petersburg political science major Michael Ingram has launched his campaign for the mayor of St. Petersburg.
Ingram is 20 years old, making him the youngest mayoral candidate in St. Petersburg history.
Aside from politics, Ingram’s personal hobbies range from music to gaming.
“I play almost the entire brass family,” Ingram said. “I jump around between what I am playing – except for the french horn, because that is a pain to play.”
His knack for music stems from his experience in the high school band and drum corp.
Ingram’s love for gaming revolves around his passion for technology.
“I have been into gaming and PC building and just tech in general,” Ingram said.
Although Ingram enjoys these hobbies, politics is his priority.
“I feel that a lot of representation has become older, with both houses of Congress being (on average) twice the minimum age to get into Congress,” Ingram said. “I would like to pursue (politics) in my younger years.”
The underrepresentation of young people in America was the primary factor in Ingram’s decision to run for mayor.
“Young people aren’t as involved in politics – in voting or in running – and so I am hoping that giving young people a candidate that they can see themselves in will get more people to turn out,” Ingram said. “The average age (of individuals living in) St. Petersburg is 43 and the amount of people who turned out (to vote) under the age of 45 was 18 percent in the last mayoral election.”
If elected, Ingram plans to create a “youth city council” and “youth mayoral position.” These positions, which would be elected by young people, would be created to “have a say in the governing that affects them.”
“[The youth government] would have legislative power that would be checked by the city council,” Ingram said. “They would act as their own government, but anything they passed… would be subject to oversight by the city council.”
Ingram was inspired to create this new governing body by his involvement in Teen Court, a juvenile judicial system where individuals charged with minor crimes are sentenced by a jury of peers.
“Why not have that as a local legislative and executive system as well,” Ingram said.
Ingram has pledged to allocate half of his salary in his first year as mayor to create these new positions and a quarter of his salary for the remainder of his term.
Ingram is also focused on tackling homelessness and the affordable housing crisis.
“The federal government has been trying for a long time to resolve the homelessness issue – and that in itself is a part of the problem,” Ingram said. “The city can address the issue on a more personal level.”
According to his campaign website, Ingram hopes to mitigate the affordable housing crisis through an “affordable housing refusal tax.” This would entail an increased property tax on property owners who do not provide a certain percentage of affordable units as outlined by the city.
Funds from this tax will go into a “permanent supportive housing fund” to combat homelessness.
Ingram is also centering his campaign around green energy and environmentally friendly practices.
He plans to maintain the city’s pledge of transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy by 2035. Other climate initiatives include investing in green public transportation and in an electric scooter program.
“From then on, I am potentially planning on going to law school, so I might pursue that path as well. I am waiting to decide where I am going with everything until after the race.”
On his campaign website, Ingram provides a Google Forms sheet for visitors to show their concerns and policy priorities.
Ingram will be running in the 2021 St. Petersburg municipal primary, which will be held on Aug. 24, 2021.
Thank you for your time and for the great article Trevor