Angry Manatee taxpayers release their wrath by voting

It was the last straw for Manatee County voters.

In October, five of the seven Manatee County Commissioners (George Kruse opposed and Ray Turner was out of the country) voted to cut wetland protections despite overwhelming protests from the public.

Manatee County voters filled the commissioners' voicemails with their objections and stuffed the Commission chambers to lodge protests. No one, other than Kruse and Turner, seemed to care. It was pure arrogance.

The issue, indeed, was big. Environmental issues are paramount throughout our country, and not just in this Florida county. Red tide, pollution, out-of-control growth, have most of us scared about what we are leaving to our future generations.

That aside, though, the cut of wetland protections showed obvious contempt for the voters themselves. One commissioner called protestors the "silent minority," despite the huge numbers who responded. The commissioners stopped representing the people they represented.

And it was all so unnecessary.

District 3 Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge, who switched districts and lost to Kruse in District 7, and James Satcher, who lost to Scott Farrington in his bid to be supervisor of elections after switching jobs from District 1, bore the brunt of the blowback. They didn't lose the election by votes. They lost it by the approximately 10 yards that would have protected wetlands.

One NFL first down.

If they had rallied to keep that 10 yards of wetland protections in place, it is unlikely the current election would have come out the way it did.

In March, I wrote a column about Satcher's upcoming decision to give up his District 1 Commission seat to take a higher-paying job as supervisor of elections, even though his ability to run such an office was being questioned. It smelled of political wrangling and it seemed Satcher was caught up in his party's juggling act. I said it was likely to leave Satcher without any position by the time the Primary was over. Here we are.

Would Satcher have beaten Carol Felts in the Primary Aug. 20 if he stayed in District 1? As a sitting commissioner, he certainly would have had a good chance. In the supervisor of elections race, though, It seemed unlikely he could gain the public's favor in an office that had a longtime No. 2 man in Farrington also seeking the job.

Hopefully, Gov, Ron DeSantis has learned a lesson about appointing people without doing his due diligence. I understand that politicians have to give a little gravy to those who support him, but in this case, DeSantis had received a letter from longtime Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett, who had informed him of all of Farrington's qualifications. DeSantis ignored it.

Here we are.

I hope Farrington is so well liked in his office that anyone who was dismissed or driven away by Satcher returns in a hurry. Farrington, hopefully, will give back the $841,340 of our tax money that was requested, and granted, by commissioners, to expand the SOE budget. Bennett and Farrington were running things quite nicely without that increase, thank you.

I also would imagine that the dismissal of SOE employees might lead to lawsuits, which also is likely to cost us, the taxpayers, if Farrington doesn't smooth it over.

The bottom line of the commission part of the election is that after the new commissioners take their seats, Amanda Ballard, Mike Rahn, and Jason Bearden, all will be back, along with Kruse. The District 1 seat, whether or not Carol Felts wins again in November or NPA Jen Hamey or Democrat Glenn Pearson prevails, is likely to be a more environmentally friendly seat. Tal Siddique in District 3, and District 5 primary winner Robert McCann also say they will be more environmentally friendly. Siddique is scheduled to face a write-in candidate in Jeffrey Gray and Democrat Diana Shoemaker in the general election while McCann will face NPA Joseph Di Bartolomeo. 

Let's try to remember that Felts, McCann and Siddique are all Republicans, so the notion they will stop growth doesn't make any sense. That's OK. Anyone living here knows that growth is going to come and we have to be prepared for it.

We also need to allow our quality builders and developers to do their job, as they always have.

The difference should be that projects that don't make sense should be red-flagged. We all can live together into this world of growth.

While property rights are of the utmost importance, we have to embrace smart growth. Property rights do not mean the owner can do whatever he or she wants. That's why we have zoning and growth plans.

Growth rights should not allow landowners to kill this wonderful place we call home.

It was an idea voiced by current District 5 Commissioner Ray Turner, who might have been too honest in saying we need to accommodate future growth. The fact is that he was absolutely right, but most people who live here don't want anyone to say it out loud.

Turner also wanted the county to be more transparent. The last five years has seen Manatee County develop into a secretive entity where information trickles out, and county representatives are often in a defensive stance when questioned by the media, if the media has access to those who are making the decisions.

It is time for the county to voice its ideas early about projects so the public can offer input. It's time to allow the public more access to commission meetings and county social media sites, and it's time that the agenda has only the rare last-minute agenda additions.

The election was a statement that the taxpayers are, indeed, paying attention, and they want to be heard and informed. If the commissioners don't embrace smarter growth plans and more transparency, there might be other changes in two years when Ballard, Rahn, and Bearden need to run for reelection.

The taxpayers have offered their warning. They are paying attention.