Ben Diamond will not run for St. Petersburg Mayor, he announced Thursday evening.
The news comes after Diamond had, over the Summer, message-tested a possible bid against incumbent Mayor Ken Welch.
“As many of you know, I have spent the summer considering running for Mayor of St. Petersburg in 2026. I am grateful for the insights and encouragement I received from so many community leaders, friends and residents who love our City like I do. But after some reflection and private time with our family over the last couple of weeks, I have concluded now is not the right time for me to seek a return to public office,” the former state Representative told Florida Politics.
“Public service is a passion, and I care deeply about St. Petersburg’s future. But my family takes priority now. Our son and daughters are at those wonderful ages where they still like hanging out with Dad. As a candidate, you must be all in. Right now, I want to be all in for my family and cannot commit the time to a vigorous campaign.”
Diamond said that while he won’t run for Mayor, he is hopeful to identify other opportunities to serve the city.
“In the meantime, I will continue to be an engaged citizen. Even in these highly polarized times, I hope we can all keep working together to make St. Petersburg an even better place to build a business, engage in our community, and — most importantly — raise a family,” he said.
In June, Diamond had sent a survey to voters floating possible messaging strategies against an incumbent who serves as the city’s first African American Mayor.
If Diamond had run, it would have pit two Democrats against one another. Adding to that obvious sting — the party tries to avoid primarying one of its own — Diamond would have run as a White candidate against the city’s first Black Mayor. And the survey appeared to test whether that would have been a disqualifying issue.
The survey offered positives about both men. It described Diamond as “a White man … born and raised in Pinellas County, where he’s now raising his family.” It described his service as a state Representative and that he “worked across the aisle to find bipartisan solutions for working families,” adding that he “will work to combat local flooding, invest in infrastructure, and fight crime to make St. Petersburg safer.”
The statement seemed to position Diamond as a moderate candidate, a message to test whether the liberal city is looking for a centrist leader.
Meanwhile, another question described Welch as a “Black man” and “third-generation St. Petersburg resident” who “has worked to make the city a better place for everyone to live by delivering affordable housing for residents who make St. Pete work, backing public safety by investing in youth programs and resources for our police and fire departments, and by leading the city in recovery from last year’s storms.”
But another question on the survey tested possible attacks on Welch, including reports that he stayed at home when Hurricane Ian was threatening in 2022, while other elected officials slept at the emergency operations center, and debris piles that sat for weeks, sometimes months, after Hurricanes Helene and Milton last year, dubbed “Welch piles,” as the survey notes.
Survey results weren’t announced publicly, meaning it’s not clear whether any insights gleaned from it were a basis for Diamond’s decision not to run
As of Thursday, one candidate is running against Welch — Maria Scruggs. Scruggs has sought office before, as a nonpartisan candidate, but has never held elected office.
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