Ken Welch will not be swayed by lawmakers’ ‘threats and attempts to intimidate’ on abortion issue

Responding to a letter from Reps. Mike Beltran and Berny Jacques, neither of whom represent the city of St. Petersburg, St. Pete Mayor Ken Welch tweeted last week that his administration would “embrace our responsibilities to our great community.”

The three-part tweet was in response to a letter from the two Republican lawmakers threatening to withhold state funding if the city moves forward with plans to provide $50,000 to the Tampa Bay Abortion Fund to help cover residents’ out-of-state travel expenses to obtain abortion care. 

It’s the first time under Welch’s administration the city has found itself facing new preemption. 

– Peter Schorsch, Florida Politics