For one, the makeup of the council can determine whether they pass policies that are in harmony with the mayor's initiatives or in conflict with them.
And, in their own rite, council can pass some groundbreaking policies like the Defend our Democracy ordinance they recently passed, or there could be enough people on council to block such ordinances.
Tuesday's election shook out in favor of the council's progressive wing, with Council Chair Darden Rice easily winning 72.64 percent percent of the vote in her bid to hang onto her District 4 seat against a challenge from newcomer Jerick Johnston, who won 27.36 percent. (Though she has said she never took her likely reelection for granted.)
Gina Driscoll, an ally to Rice, Mayor Rick Kriseman and other progressives, won against Justin Bean 55.07 to 44.93 percent for the District 6 seat, which means she'll replace Councilman Karl Nurse, who is terming out.
As for the District 2 seat, Brandi Gabbard bested opponent Barclay Harless with 61.11 percent to Harless's 38.89 percent. With endorsements from the likes of Kriseman, some saw Harless as a progressive favorite, it's unclear whether she'll be as much of as swing vote as her predecessor, outgoing Councilman Jim Kennedy, who is terming out.
This article appears in Nov 2-9, 2017.