On Thursday, St. Petersburg City Council not only voted down a motion that could've inched the city closer to putting rent control on the November ballot, but also failed to pass a different motion that asked city legal to draft an ordinance for rent stabilization for the 2023 special primary election.
That's despite an hours-long debate where two-thirds of public comment featured speakers in favor of letting the people vote on rent control, including Beverly Brannon, a legally blind woman who cares for her two blind children and three grandchildren, spoke about her rent going up from $1,700 to $2,400.
