Linsey Grove is running against Trevor Mallory for the St. Pete City Council District 6 seat in the Nov. 3 general election. (Patch Graphics)
ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Voters in the Nov. 3 general election will decide between Linsey Grove and Trevor Mallory in the race for the St. Pete City Council District 6 seat.
District 6 represents downtown St. Petersburg, the Edge and Innovation Districts, and neighborhoods like Coquina Key and Colony Point.
Grove and Mallory were the top two vote-getters in the Aug. 18 primary, which sent them to the Nov. 3 runoff.
Patch sent a questionnaire to both candidates. Below are Grove's unedited responses.
Name: Linsey Grove
Office Sought: St. Petersburg City Council District 6
Political Party Affiliation: Nonpartisan Race
Age: 39
City or Town of Residence: St. Petersburg, FL
Education: Doctorate of Public Health
Occupation: CEO of The Hypatia Collaborative
Family Background: I grew up in southern Michigan in a rural community. Both of my parents were civil servants and actively involved in community service.
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? Both of my parents are retired but they were civil servants. My father was a corrections officer, volunteer firefighter, and farmer. My mother was a rural postal letter carrier. Both were union members.
Previous public office, appointive or elective: This is my first time running for office, but I have served as an appointee to the Pinellas County Council for Persons with Disabilities (appointed by Commissioner Charlie Justice) and vice chair of the Pinellas County Charter Review Commission in 2023.
Why are you seeking this office? I believe that the most diverse district in St. Pete deserves a city councilmember with a diverse professional background to not only navigate the different communities that make up our district but bring folks together to solve systemic issues in our city. I plan to not only be a hard-working representative, but a tireless partner for our residents, organizations, and small businesses.
What sets you apart from the other candidates seeking this post? As a former League of Women Voters president, small business owner, and public health practitioner, I have cultivated relationships with political leaders, community stakeholders, and diverse organizations over the past decade. I bring a diverse set of skills, experience, and knowledge that make me uniquely qualified to partner with our community on critical policy and advocacy issues.
What issues do you intend to address during your campaign? Over the past 15 months, I have been addressing issues of affordability, infrastructure, and creating a better-connected city. We are facing many issues that require thoughtful leadership and innovative policy-making to increase affordable housing, reduce the cost of living, update our infrastructure for coming storms, and create more opportunities for connection between residents and the government.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job? Some of my accomplishments in the past that show I will be successful in this position are that I have managed multi-million-dollar budgets in partnership with the City of St. Petersburg and local philanthropy to implement complex community projects like our Shared Services Organization. In my work with the League of Women Voters, I led the organization through COVID-19 and managed a project that increased voter turnout in the lowest voter turnout precincts in St. Petersburg by partnering with a diverse coalition of partners across the city. I have worked at the federal, state, and local level to advocate for legislation that would improve reproductive health, affordable housing availability, and health education. I co-led the effort to pass a Resolution to Declare Racism a Public Health Crisis in 2021, making St. Petersburg the first city in Florida to pass this kind of resolution.
What is the best advice anyone ever gave you? The best advice anyone ever gave me was: never settle.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about yourself and your positions? I plan to be an accessible city councilmember and work diligently to be in the community as much as possible. I am the only candidate to qualify by petition and have the most community organization endorsements in my race.