Richie Floyd, a teacher, community activist and political organizer has won the race for St. Pete’s City Council District 8.
In a race where every vote counted, Floyd pulled in 51% of the vote, with his opponent, former District 8 City Councilman Jeff Danner taking 49%. As Florida Politics points out, Floyd's margin of victory is just outside recount territory. With all precincts reporting, Bay News 9 says Floyd's margin of victory was just 833 votes.
Floyd is a Democratic Socialists of America member who led a grassroots campaign, relying on small donations from working class people and volunteer power. He prioritized working families and increasing political engagement in the community. Floyd aims to work with city officials and the community more broadly to bolster the city’s public transit system, expand affordable housing, improve support systems for the city’s houseless population, and uplift movements for environmental justice and fair wages for workers.
Floyd gained endorsements from unions, progressive organizations and city council members. Amy Foster, who currently represents District 8, also endorsed Floyd. Brazilian Twitter supported him, too.
After the August primary, City Council candidates Richie Floyd and Danner became the top two contenders for District 8, advancing to the general election.
Floyd showed his political strength in the August primary, earning 51.81% of the total vote in District 8, equivalent to 3,087 votes. Danner took second place with about 27% of the vote, or 1,605 votes.
Danner is a former City Council member in District 8 (2005-2014) whose campaign focused on addressing houselessness, along with investing in the arts. Danner also wanted to get more participation from local businesses in city matters.
Danner was endorsed by the Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg Council Chair Ed Montanari, a Republican, as well as two former city council members.
Floyd’s campaign had canvassers hitting the streets for months knocking on doors to earn votes. Even though he collected mostly small donations, Florida Politics reported that Floyd outraised Danner by a significant amount, collecting $109,000 for his campaign while Danner had raised around $39,000 as of earlier this month.
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