04-08-2025
Maria Scruggs files to run for St. Petersburg mayor
Maria Scruggs, a former president of the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP and longtime community activist, has filed to run for St. Petersburg mayor in 2026.
Scruggs, 67, filed paperwork with the city clerk's office Friday, becoming the first mayoral candidate to do so. She will presumably challenge Mayor Ken Welch, who said last year he would seek reelection but has not filed to run yet.
'I believe that the city of St. Petersburg can be going in a different direction,' Scruggs told the Tampa Bay Times. 'While I think we have made some strides forward, our conversations throughout the community is an overall dissatisfaction with the way the city is going.'
Scruggs said she consistently hears concerns on five issues: The pros and cons that come with potentially losing the Tampa Bay Rays, cost of living, affordable housing, flooding and the handling of the aftermath of hurricanes.
'I certainly believe that the preparation through training, through certification, through education, has certainly prepared me to become the mayor of St. Petersburg,' she said. Scruggs entered the state's deferred retirement program after 19 years with Orange County Corrections Department.
This is Scruggs' sixth time seeking public office. She ran unsuccessfully for St. Petersburg City Council in 2017 and 2005 and for Pinellas County Commission in 2020 and 2004. She has run for St. Petersburg mayor once before in 2001. She supported Welch's bid for mayor in 2021.
Welch declined to comment through a city spokesperson. He opened a new political action committee in January after the state in November revoked his old one, Pelican PAC, for failing to file reports. The new Pelican Political Action Committee has raised $87,175 since April.
Scruggs' official campaign kickoff will take place Sept. 27 at Black Leaf Cigar and Wine Lounge downtown.
Four City Council seats are also on the ballot next year. Two candidates have filed for the downtown and southeast seat, District 6: Children's Network of Hillsborough CEO Terri Balliet and public health practitioner Linsey Grove.
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