- November 2, 2024
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The June 15 resignation of Vanessa Baugh due to family concerns brings up the question of whether the time for three-term Manatee County commissioners has passed.
Baugh still had 1.5 years remaining in her third term and thus had served 10.5 years.
Whether that length of service is valuable in terms of getting things done, or leads to an imbalance of power, has been debated both at the local and state levels.
Manatee County Commissioners Mike Rahn and George Kruse pointed to Baugh’s “institutional knowledge” as a huge asset to the board.
Baugh, though, said she believes in term limits and never would have run for a third term if she didn't believe the county would have been taken in an unfavorable direction if one of those running for her seat in 2020 was elected.
That being said, she also acknowledged she gained valuable knowledge over time about how to get things accomplished.
Kruse was adamant he will not run for a third term because he made a campaign promise not to do so. His first term is up in 2024.
“I don’t believe anyone should be in any government position for more than two terms,” Kruse said. “I tried to get Tallahassee to institute term limits on us.”
Rep. Tommy Gregory, Republican, 72nd District, said those in office for more than eight years begin to become "professional politicians" instead of citizens who want to become involved to help the community.
House Bill 477, effective July 1, shortens terms for school board members from 12 years down to eight, but a similar Senate bill that would have limited county commissioners to two four-year terms died before reaching a vote.
Former Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore was running for a fifth term when she was defeated in 2022.
The argument against term limits is that the citizens wanted Whitmore to be in office for 16 years and Baugh for more than a decade.
“Sarasota has term limits after eight years,” Rahn said. “The days of somebody sitting up there for 16 or 20 years are pretty much gone because I think the citizenry likes to see change and new ideas.”
While Manatee County doesn’t impose limits on commissioners, Sarasota is one of 11 counties in Florida that does.
The issue won't come up soon as Baugh, elected in 2012, was the only long-term commissioner left on the board. James Satcher, Kevin Van Ostenbridge and Kruse were elected in 2020. Rahn, Jason Bearden and Amanda Ballard are the newest members of the board, elected in 2022.
They are all waiting to see who will replace Baugh, a task to be performed by Gov. Ron DeSantis when Baugh's resignation takes place on July 31.
There’s no set timeline on the appointment, but Sarasota County recently dealt with a similar situation when Commissioner Nancy Detert died in April. It took just over two months for the Governor to appoint Neil Rainford.
Interested parties can apply for Baugh’s job online through the governor’s appointment office. There are 1.5 years left in her term. Baugh was a Republican, as are the remaining six commissioners.
“We all supported each other during our previous campaigns, so we had a cordial relationship with a similar enough view on many issues, certainly not all,” Kruse said. “If DeSantis puts somebody in who completely deviates from the ideology or from the personalities of the current board, then it could make things a little more contentious. But even then, when somebody’s brand new, they typically don’t try to rock the boat.”
Kruse would like to see an independent thinker join the board, someone who won’t tow any particular line but will look at things individually and do what’s best for the county in each case.
Rahn’s said his ideal candidate will have a business mindset.
“I look at the county like a business. It’s one of the largest businesses you can be a part of,” Rahn said. “I’d like to see a like-minded person that would come in and understand growth and comprehensive plans.”
The commissioners agree that Baugh set the tone in terms of being fiscally conservative.
“Commissioner Baugh’s departure is a loss for our Board of County Commissioners. Her fiscally conservative mindset, as well as her wealth of knowledge of county government will be missed,” Ballard said. “The next District Five commissioner will have big shoes to fill.”
Rahn said Baugh was passionate in pushing her beliefs.
“I think her heart was really in it, being a public servant and serving the citizens of Manatee County. There will be a leadership void that the rest of us will have to pick up, and continue on,” Rahn said. “Vanessa helped usher in this new generation of leaders you see.”
Commissioners agreed that one of Baugh’s strengths was her tenure. She spent 11 years building relationships the others haven’t had time to foster yet. With those connections, she championed road projects across Manatee County and the state as a whole.
She’s the current chair of the Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council and has been a member of the Sarasota Manatee MPO since 2015. The MPOAC website describes itself as “a statewide transportation planning and policy organization.”
Baugh pushed to get the diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 75 and University Parkway to be built sooner. She supported smaller projects, too, like speed bumps and a four-way stop to calm traffic on Tara Boulevard.
“Vanessa was the biggest help. She walked the streets. She rode (her bicycle) with me,” Tara Preserve Board Chairman Darby Connor said. “There’s no question that what the county has done for us over the past few years has made our section of Tara Boulevard much safer. We have not had an accident or property damage in a year. That’s a record.”
Van Ostenbridge and Rahn also serve on the board of the Sarasota Manatee MPO, but there are three seats. As chair, Van Ostenbridge will have to appoint another commissioner to take Baugh’s place.
“Vanessa was instrumental in the MPOAC. That gave us a lot of influence and contacts and the ability to reach out to people for needs we have, so it certainly doesn’t help us to have lost that,” Kruse said. “That said, Kevin has been on the MPO since he got on the board, so I think we’re going to have to lean a little bit more on him in the near term to make up for some of the slack, just the relationships and goodwill that Vanessa brought for Manatee County on the MPO all these years.”
Like any politician, Vanessa Baugh has had her fair share of ups and downs over the years. Here’s a look back on her 11 years serving Manatee County.
2012: Elected to represent District 5 on the Manatee Board of County Commissioners.
2013: Elected First Vice Chairman of the Civic Center Authority.
2014: Elected chairman of the Tourist Development Council, the same year that the Mall at UTC opened with estimates of 100,000 visitors each day.
2015: Announced her reelection campaign with a focus on smart spending, strategic development and road repairs funded by impact fees.
2016: Elected chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, a role she’d fill again in 2021, 2022 and for less than two days in 2023.
2017: Elected chairman of the Manatee Port Authority, a role she served through 2019.
2018: Entered and dropped out of the race for Florida House District 73 seat, held by Joe Gruters at the time and currently held by Fiona McFarland.
2019: Selected as one of 37 county commissioners to serve on the Florida Association of Counties’ Water Policy Committee.
2020: Elected to serve District 5 for a third time after promising to fight tax hikes and to improve infrastructure and the quality of life for residents.
2021: Scrutinized for selecting two Lakewood Ranch ZIP codes to selectively receive COVID-19 vaccines at a pop-up distribution site. Baugh later admitted wrongdoing to the Florida Commission on Ethics and agreed to pay an $8,000 fine.
2022: Reelected chairman of the Sarasota Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization for the second time. She was first elected to the position in 2018.
2023: Resigned from her role as District 5 Commissioner due to family concerns.
