St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch Sues Florida Politics Publisher Peter Schorsch for Defamation Days Before Runoff With Charlie Crist

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch has sued political operative and Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch for defamation over a since-deleted Facebook post from July, filing the case in Pinellas County Circuit Court on Thursday, Oct. 29, just days before Welch faces former Gov. Charlie Crist in Tuesday's mayoral runoff. Schorsch, who volunteers and does paid work for Crist's campaign, called the suit an attempt to intimidate him and said his lawyers are weighing Florida's anti-SLAPP law.

The lawsuit, first reported by the Tampa Bay Times, adds a courtroom fight to one of the most bitter local races in Florida this fall a contest between two former political allies.

What the lawsuit says

The 14-page complaint accuses Schorsch of defamation and seeks a jury trial and damages of more than $50,000, according to the Times. It centers on a July 23 post on Schorsch's personal Facebook page titled with the name of Stephanie Owens, who ran Welch's 2021 mayoral campaign and later became his deputy mayor. According to screenshots included in the lawsuit, Schorsch wrote in a comment beneath the post that Welch had been unfaithful to his wife with Owens, and challenged Welch to take him to court.

Welch has denied any inappropriate relationship. The complaint also argues that Schorsch stood "to benefit, personally, financially, and politically, from damaging Mayor Welch's candidacy," the Times reported.

The lawsuit says that four days after the original post, Schorsch wrote a comment on a public Facebook post by Creative Loafing Tampa saying more than two sources had contacted him about the alleged relationship. "I stand by what I was alluding to: that Welch is a compromised politician who ... has a blind spot in his personal relations," Schorsch wrote, according to the suit.

Court filings show Welch's attorney, Robert Persante, sent Schorsch a letter on Sept. 21 demanding a retraction. Schorsch told the Times he responded by asking what a retraction would look like and had not heard back. He said he has not been served with the lawsuit and learned about it when another attorney alerted him.

Owens did not respond to two calls and a text message seeking comment, the Times reported.

Welch: "This is personal"

Welch told the Times that the timing of the filing had nothing to do with the election. "This is personal. It's my reputation. It's my family," Welch said. "Regardless of the election, we're moving forward with this."

Asked whether Schorsch's post had hurt his reelection campaign, Welch said, "It impacted my family, first and foremost, from the night it was written. I'm sure there were other impacts as well." He added: "Bottom line, it was a lie, it was harmful and we're seeking justice through the courts like we said we would."

Persante said the case stands on solid ground and also rejected the idea that it was timed for the campaign. "Mayor Welch felt very strongly that filing this lawsuit was the right thing to do," Persante said. "I think this was filed purposely to bring the truth out."

Schorsch's response

Schorsch rejected the lawsuit in a phone interview with the Times on Friday. "Lawsuits in the last days of the campaign are a tradition. It's usually by someone like the mayor who can see where the race is headed," he said. "I feel like this is an effort to blame me for his own failings. I do think this is an effort to intimidate me as a journalist."

He said he deleted the original post about an hour after publishing it, at the request of a supporter of both Welch and Crist, and argued that taking it down shows he had no actual malice. That legal standard, which a public official must meet to win a defamation case, requires proof that the defendant published a false statement knowing it was false or with reckless disregard for whether it was true. "If he really believed there was actual malice, he would've sued a long time ago about any number of stories," Schorsch said.

Schorsch said his attorneys are reviewing Florida's anti-SLAPP law, which is meant to stop people from using lawsuits to punish speech on public issues, and that it would allow him to recover legal fees. He also disputed the complaint's claim that he profits from hurting Welch. "That is not accurate to say that I benefit in any way by Charlie Crist or any candidate running against Ken Welch," he said, adding that he may countersue over that claim. He said volunteering for Crist has cost him work he could be doing for other candidates.

Schorsch also blamed Welch for amplifying the allegation. After the post, Welch released a video denying it and later raised it at a public candidate forum, where he called on Crist to "condemn the lie." "Ken weaponized it. It would've died that night," Schorsch told the Times. "Ken, down in the polls, wanted to make himself a victim and turned it into a campaign weapon."

Schorsch told the Times he did not report the rumors in 2021 because he supported Welch for mayor at the time.

The Crist campaign connection

The suit's argument that Schorsch has a stake in the race rests on his family's ties to the Crist effort. Schorsch's wife, Michelle Todd Schorsch, chairs St. Pete Shines, the political committee raising money for Crist. According to expenditures reported to the state, St. Pete Shines has paid close to $1 million to businesses owned by the Schorsches for campaign work, the Times reported. Schorsch said that money goes to vendors for services.

Florida Politics, which Schorsch publishes, discloses that relationship in its coverage of the race. In a report on campaign spending published Friday, the site noted that St. Pete Shines had spent more than $40,000 on mailers through Extensive Enterprises; Florida Politics' content is owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Crist has previously told the Times that he has nothing to do with the dispute and that it is between the two men. Crist has said he hired Schorsch's wife, not Schorsch, and that he is not associated with him.

Where the race stands

Welch enters the final weekend trailing on both votes and money. Crist finished first in the August six-way primary with about 35% of the vote, while Welch took about 20%, sending the two to a runoff. The Times described the gap Welch must overcome as 14 percentage points.

Campaign finance reports show a wide spending gap as well. Crist's campaign and political committee have raised nearly $2.8 million and spent almost $2.5 million, while Welch's operation has raised about $610,000 and spent roughly $579,000, Florida Politics reported, based on filings available through late October. Crist had about $272,000 left between his two accounts; Welch was down to just over $30,000.

St. Pete Shines spent more than $123,000 in a single day, Oct. 26, more than five times what Welch's committee, St. Petersburg Progress, had spent since Oct. 17, according to the same report.

What's next

St. Petersburg voters choose between Welch and Crist on Tuesday, Nov. 3. The lawsuit will move forward regardless of the outcome: Welch said he intends to pursue it after the election, and Schorsch has said he has not yet been served. Once he is, Schorsch's attorneys could seek dismissal under the anti-SLAPP statute, and either side's next filings in Pinellas County Circuit Court will show whether the case heads toward discovery or an early ruling. None of the allegations in the post or the complaint have been tested in court.