The Black Vote
Quick Facts: City Councilmembers with the Most & Fewest Black Voters in Their Districts
St. Petersburg had 36,803 Black registered voters on the rolls by the 2020 General Election; about 25,700 of them cast their ballot in the presidential contest last year.
Councilmembers with Most & Fewest Black Voters
Lisa Wheeler-Bowman in District 7 has the most eligible African American voters by far (over one-third of all eligible Black voters in the city). This district encompasses Childs Park and portions of the Midtown area.
Ed Montanari in District 3 has the fewest African American voters. Only 2% of registered Black voters live in the district he represents, which covers the Vinoy area, Shore Acres, Bayou Grande and other northeast neighborhoods.
Second and third in the number of Black voters they represent are Deborah Figgs-Sanders, whose district is home to one-quarter of African American voters in St. Petersburg; and Gina Driscoll who represents more than one in five Black voters citywide.
Figgs-Sanders’ district encompasses Lakewood Estates, Pinellas Point and Maximo, while Driscoll’s district spans the city’s eastern coastline including portions of Midtown and the Bahama Shores, Tropical Shores and Old Southeast neighborhoods as well as downtown.
Click here for a pie chart of Black voters by district.
Council Districts with the Highest & Lowest Black Voter Turnout
Deborah Figgs-Sanders’ district had the highest Black voter turnout rate in the 2020 General Election (76%).
Second and third were Brandi Gabbard’s District 2 and Amy Foster’s District 4. It is noteworthy that though Lisa Wheeler-Bowman’s District 7 and Gina Driscoll’s District 6 rank 1st and 3rd respectively for largest number of Black voters, their two districts rank second to last and last in Black voter turnout.
