Crist Withdraws from St. Pete Mayoral Forum Citing Affordability Amid Criticism

St. Petersburg mayoral candidate Charlie Crist announced his withdrawal from the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club candidate forum, citing the event's $35 non-member ticket price as an accessibility issue. This decision, made on the evening the forum was scheduled, followed criticism Crist received the previous day related to a deleted social media post by a prominent supporter, cltampa.com reported.

Crist directly claimed the $35 cost made the forum inaccessible to many, according to his statement reported by cltampa.com. The non-member admission fee for the Suncoast Tiger Bay Club forum was $35, as detailed by cltampa.com.

The prior day's criticism focused on a social media post authored by Peter Schorsch, who cltampa.com identified as a supporter of Crist and the publisher of Florida Politics. That specific post had been removed from social media, cltampa.com reported.

The Suncoast Tiger Bay Club, established in 1978, is recognized for hosting political figures and engaging them with challenging questions during its forums, according to background information. The deleted post by Schorsch had accused St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch of infidelity, information from related events indicates. Mayor Welch publicly denied these accusations and called on Crist to condemn what he described as a "lie," also stating he was considering legal action, according to details from related events.

Despite Crist's stated concerns about the $35 fee for the Tiger Bay event, the mayoral candidate is still slated to attend another "meet the candidates" event hosted by the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. Non-members for this upcoming event face a $40 entrance fee, according to event statistics.