Pictured above: Ken Welch (left) places his hand on the Bible, held by his daughter Kenya Welch, and is sworn in as the mayor of St. Petersburg.
Courtesy of the City of St. Petersburg
By Molly Ryan
Ken Welch was sworn in as the 54th mayor of St. Petersburg on Jan. 6 — becoming the first Black mayor in the city’s history.
The ceremony was held virtually since Welch tested positive for COVID-19 just days before despite being fully vaccinated and having received the booster.
“It is my distinct honor to address you today. Although under unique circumstances, as the 54th mayor of the City of St. Petersburg, I want to thank everyone who has reached out with words of support. I am recovering, and my symptoms remain mild,” Welch said during his speech.
Announced as mayor-elect on Nov. 2, Welch ran a campaign based on progress for all people and uplifting marginalized communities.
Welch described becoming St. Petersburg’s first Black mayor as a “significant moment for many reasons.”
“As a child of the civil rights era, I grew up in the areas of our city where my family lived not by choice, but by sanctioned discriminatory practices that defined where African Americans could live in our city,” Welch said. “I am a product of the last segregated schools in Pinellas and the first truly integrated schools.”
Welch also called this election “historic.”
“But our goal is not to simply make history,” Welch said. “Rather, we must work together to make a difference to make an impact for this generation and for generations to come.
Welch replaced outgoing mayor Rick Kriseman, who was sworn in 2014 and served two consecutive terms. During his speech, Welch thanked Kriseman for his “focus on equity, inclusion, community and economic development” and leadership through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our city has become an incubator for new business and technology startups, a pioneer in innovative problem solving, a leader in creativity and cultural growth, a hub for medical and marine science research and discovery, and a thriving example of the live work, play and retire lifestyle,” Welch said. “[Kriseman] positioned our city for even greater progress.”
Amid the city’s dramatic population growth and rising rent, Welch expressed his commitment to tackling housing affordability and embracing “the people’s desire for a community where every person is valued.”
Students such as digital communications and multimedia journalism sophomore Emerson Taylor believes Welch is a beacon of hope.
“I’m really happy that we have someone like [Welch] as our mayor because he has been heavily involved in the community and wants to help people instead of just talking about doing so,” Taylor said. “He is super engaging and plans to make a difference by solving issues such as rent prices and the future of Tropicana.”
During his time as mayor, Welch plans to emphasize expanding diversity at the USF St. Petersburg campus.
“[An issue] I speak with USF leadership about is diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as making sure USF St. Petersburg is an opportunity for the entire community,” Welch said in an interview with The Crow’s Nest.
“The leadership at USF continues to stay committed to addressing that and in recent conversations, they showed an increase in minority student enrollment,” Welch said. “Equity has to be intentional, and we need to keep our foot on the gas.”
Welch closed his speech by asking the citizens of St. Petersburg to look at the city’s diversity as “not something that divides us” but “our greatest strength.”
“When we do that, we can — and will — move past the silos, the prejudices, the petty politics, and we will be able to build an inclusive path forward,” Welch said. “The conversations may not be comfortable or easy. But… it can be done. In fact, it must be done.”
