Darden Rice apologizes for footage on Ken Welch senders, responds to criticism

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Darden Rice, a member of the St. Petersburg City Council, responds to recent review of letters sent by his Affiliate Political Committee (Friends of Darden Rice) that connect fellow mayoral candidate Ken Welch with supporters of Donald Trump.

After distributing the letters, Rice was quickly criticized by Welsh supporters for her hypocrisy, as well as for using stock images of black individuals, an aspect for which Rice apologized in her statement.

However, Rice stands firm on the claims, saying in her statement that Welch touted the endorsement of conservative Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, who she says “backed Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis and led regressive policies that hurt our community. “

The senders cite a March 19 Tampa Bay Times article titled Ken Welch supporters in St. Pete’s mayoral race include prominent Republicans in support of their demands.

“Over the past week, I have spoken to a lot of people, including friends and supporters, who have contacted me disappointed with letters sent from my affiliate political committee,” Rice said in her statement. “I wanted to raise the real concern that my opponent Ken Welch has touted the approval of a sheriff who has backed Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis and pursued regressive policies that have harmed our community.”

Rice also appeared to hit back at the hypocrisy claims.

In the days following the first mail, several Welsh supporters publicly denounced the content as hypocritical. While it’s true that Welch’s list of donors and endorsers includes Republicans, Rice also has many contributions from local Republicans, to the tune of thousands of dollars. Many of them are within the sphere of influence of former Republican Mayor Rick Bakers.

This is the height of hypocrisy after Darden Rice spent the past week dropping patently bogus bogus mail to mislead voters, she doubled down during last night’s Black Caucus forum, Welch previously told Florida Politics.

Here are the Facts Darden has more Trump donors than anyone else in the race; she voted to help big developers, then asked them for big donations right after she voted to limit campaign donations. Some people are ready to say and do anything to get elected, I won’t.

In her statement, Rice appears to push back, arguing that while the shippers may have missed the mark, she remains the most progressive option in the race.

“I have the most progressive voting record of any candidate in this race for equality and fairness. These are core values ​​for me and I feel lucky to have people around me who will hold me up to this standard, ”she said in her statement. “As mayor, I will always listen, of course, when I miss the mark, and I will seek to make Saint-Pierre a warm and welcoming place where everyone, no matter who you are, from where you are. come, who you love, can find a place here to thrive.

Rice also discussed the use of stock images of black people. The first post showed a black woman with her arms folded and looking annoyed, alongside a claim that Ken Welch is linked to Trump supporters.

The second shows an older black man sitting with his arms crossed next to a similar claim.

The truth about Ken Welch is that he’s endorsed by Trump supporters and funded by Trump supporters, the mailer reads.

Rice apologized for the use of such images in the mailers.

“But I obscured this message by using stock images instead of featuring supporters of the black community. It was a mistake for which I apologize, ”she said in her statement. “I want to thank everyone who contacted me, and I take these lessons with me throughout the campaign and as your next mayor.”

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