St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch’s reelection campaign says attorneys sent a letter to Spectrum’s advertising business demanding it stop airing what it called a misleading political advertisement from challenger Charlie Crist’s camp.
Hours later, St. Pete Shines, a political committee supporting the former Florida governor and congressman’s bid for mayor, made the advertisement in question, titled “Know,” private on YouTube. It uploaded a new 30-second video called “Knowing.”
The original claimed Welch sharply raised tax. The new one claims Welch has raised them, though not by as specific a margin, and wants to raise them more.
“Charlie Crist has been changing positions and stretching the truth for decades. This time he just got caught,” Welch’s campaign adviser, Adrienne Bogen, said in a statement. “He looked straight into the camera, read from a script, and every word was delivered with complete confidence. Confidence isn’t evidence. And apparently neither Charlie nor the political committee behind the ad could find any.”
Fingers continue to wag between the two former allies in a six-candidate mayor’s race that will come to a head Aug. 18. Welch and Crist have gone negative with advertising on TV, online and in mailers, though the attacks pale in comparison to state and national political vitriol.
Welch’s campaign announced Wednesday morning that the St. Pete Shines advertisement falsely claims that City Hall is raising property taxes. Welch cut the tax rate three years in a row, though property owners may have paid more due to rising property values.
The original ad also falsely claims that the city has tripled spending four years in a row. The city collected $148 million in property tax revenue in 2021 and budgeted $229 million in property tax revenue this year.
“If Charlie Crist and his allies believe these claims are true, they should show the evidence. They can’t, because it doesn’t exist,” Bogen said. “It’s time to take this dishonest ad off the air and stop misleading voters.”
In the new ad, “Knowing,” Crist says on camera that City Hall is “totally out of touch.” He follows that by saying, “They want to raise property taxes,” he said, adding that City Hall has increased spending three years in a row.
St. Petersburg is working to put a referendum on the November ballot to take out a new property tax to pay for upgrades to water and stormwater systems. The city’s budget is proposed by the mayor but ultimately approved by the eight-member City Council.
In a text message, St. Pete Shines chairperson Michelle Todd Schorsch said she did not receive a demand letter. “Did I revise the ad to sharpen our message and increase our buy, yes,” she texted.
Todd Schorsch said Spectrum did not tell her they would not air the first advertisement.
A spokesperson for Welch said Spectrum confirmed to his campaign that the ad from St. Pete Shines was being updated. Welch’s campaign did not provide the Tampa Bay Times with a copy of the demand letter.
Andrew Russell, a Spectrum spokesperson, told the Times he was checking on the matter.
Welch’s campaign confirmed it sent the early morning news release drawing attention to its demand letter to Florida Politics. Todd Schorsch’s husband is Peter Schorsch, who runs the website. She said she is not privy to any news releases sent to Florida Politics.
St. Pete Shines and Florida Politics share the same address, a mailbox at a UPS store. Todd Schorsch said they use that address to protect their daughter by avoiding using their home address.
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