St. Pete City Council chair Charlie Gerdes has sent out his first campaign mailer asking voters to re-elect him as the District 1 representative for West St. Pete. The mailer announces to voters, “Putting you first. Moving us forward.”
The mailer, sent to more than 13,000 city voters Monday, lists some of Gerdes’ accomplishments as council chair.
Gerdes wrote the board put $2 million back into the city’s coffers “so that we can manage our growth smartly,” funded a new police headquarters “so that our officers have the best tools to keep us safe” and approved and funded the Southside Community Redevelopment Area, “ensuring that all parts of St. Pete can grow and prosper.”
“St. Petersburg is a city on the rise. Over the last four years we have seen tremendous progress on critical issues facing our city from economic growth to urban development to becoming a destination for the arts. I am proud to be a part of shaping our city’s future,” the flier read. “We can’t afford to go back”
The back of the flier lists Gerdes’ endorsements including several local unions like the AFL-CIO, SEIU, Police Benevolent Association and the Association of Firefighters. It also lists endorsements from the Pinellas Realtor Organization and the Stonewall Democrats.
Not listed in his endorsements are The Tampa Tribune and the Tampa Bay Times. Both papers endorsed Gerdes this week.
Gerdes has raised less than $5,000 for his campaign while his opponent, Monica Abbott, self-funded her campaign with $11,000.
Gerdes said he’s not a big fan of spending copious amounts of money on local elections when there are so many worthy causes where money could be better spent. With that in mind, he’s trying to get through a campaign with as little funding as possible.
He said he will be opening up his website soon, asking for small contributions from supporters to help fund the remainder of the campaign.
Gerdes faces Abbott at the ballot box on November 3 for a citywide election.
