Former Manatee County Planning Commission member seeks state office

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As a member of the Manatee County Planning Commission, Bill Conerly made recommendations based on whether or not a project fit the rules and regulations already in place. 

Now, the Lakewood Ranch resident wants to set the rules from a legislative seat. 

Conerly is running for the District 72 seat in the Florida House of Representatives. Tommy Gregory is vacating the seat to take on the role of president at the State College of Florida. 

“I kind of view the Planning Commission very similar to why I filed for state office. It’s also the same reason I joined the military,” Conerly said. “I want to be active. I want to influence the process. One of the things that I think is common with engineers is we’re problem solvers. We look for solutions.”

Conerly spent just under six years in the Navy. When his obligation was through, he left as an Electrician’s Mate 2nd Class and held an Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualification. 

He’s since become the vice president of Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc. The engineering and design firm is currently working with Manatee County on its Comprehensive Plan. The large-scale conflict of interest is the reason why Conerly stepped down from the Planning Commission in 2023 after serving for 12 years.

“There’s an opportunity (on the Planning Commission or Board of County Commissioners) where you can make a decision that influences or benefits one party, so you have to recuse yourself,” he said. “At the legislative level, it’s rulemaking, so the rules apply to everybody.” 

Conerly is currently serving on Manatee County’s Affordable Housing Committee. Every public role he’s held up to now, he’s been appointed to. This is the first time Conerly will have to rely on the public’s votes to be seated. 

He hired Anthony Pedicini as his political consultant. Outside of Commissioner Ray Turner, who was appointed to the commission after Vanessa Baugh retired, Pedicini helped the entire commission get elected. Turner has since hired him, too. 

One thing Conerly sees as a misconception about himself after sitting on the Planning Commission for so many years is that he’s pro-development all the time. 

“That goes back to the idea that if it meets the rules and regulations and is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code, then it should be approved,” he said. “But I would like to find a way where the agricultural families who want to maintain their heritage have the opportunity to do that.” 

Conerly is a fifth generation Floridian, who’s own heritage is in agriculture. One side of his family grew tomatoes and the other side raised cattle. As a teenager, he lived on a farm in Arcadia. 

Conerly sees promise in density transfers as a way to preserve agricultural lands. He said Collier County and Sarasota County offer this option. Agriculture is zoned for one dwelling unit per acre, so the landowner of 10 acres could sell the development rights for 10 homes to the municipality instead of a developer. 

On a state level, if elected, Conerly’s No. 1 priority will be infrastructure. 

When he returned to Arcadia after the Navy, he worked as an electrician at a transformer plant for a year and a half. At the time, Southwest Florida College (now Florida SouthWestern State College) offered night classes in Arcadia. 

A professor suggested Conerly move to an area where he could be a full-time student, so he headed to Orlando and then onto Gainesville to finish his Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida. 

“There’s a tie between infrastructure and the cost of housing,” he said. “The cost of housing in this area could break down into a couple different categories. You have rent, but also the purchase price of a home and insurance and taxes. All of this contributes to a very unaffordable situation.”

Conerly said his mortgage costs less than what some of his young analysts pay for rent. He worries that his own children will be faced with the opposite situation he was in when he left the Navy. Everything they need is close to home, except an affordable place to live. 

He’s against using government dollars for affordable housing but wants to see more incentives offered to the private sector to get costs down.

As for roads, Conerly plans to push funding for his own district but also Southwest Florida as a whole. He used the Interstate 75 at Fruitville Road Interchange as an example of a project that will also benefit District 72.

“My strategy is to partner with the folks in the (other) districts,” he said. “My skill set could benefit the entire region. I may be one of a very few of the legislators who are in the Florida House right now who have designed, permitted and been a party to construction of roadways, utilities and lift stations.”

Age: 59

Current occupation: Civil engineer

How long have you lived in the district? We have lived in the now District 72 for 24 years.

Why are you running for office?

To serve in the Legislature is very similar to the reason I joined the military. I have a spirit of service and want to give back to the community I love. I want to use my skills, knowledge and experience to make Southwest Florida a better place. 

As an engineer, I will bring a unique skillset and problem-solving perspective to Tallahassee.

What makes you more qualified for this House seat than your opponents?

While my opponents all seem to be conservative Republicans, the thing that makes me more qualified is my education, my experiences and my skillset.

Two very significant issues facing our district and all of Florida are insufficient infrastructure and housing affordability. As a civil engineer with 27 years of professional experience, these are two things I have significant experience with and deal with almost daily. Unlike my opponents, I have actually designed, permitted and constructed such projects.

If elected, what three legislative initiatives would you champion?

Three legislative initiatives I would like to champion are infrastructure, housing affordability and water policy (quantity and quality).

What do you see as the some of the biggest public policy challenges facing Florida?

Affordable housing, infrastructure (roadway, water, sewer and electrical), insurance, healthcare and education.

What is your position on Amendment 3, which would legalize recreational marijuana?

As this is an amendment on the ballot and will be decided by the people, if passed, it will be my obligation to work diligently to create legislation reflecting the will of the citizens of Florida. 

Personally, I am not in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana for adults. There is not sufficient information related to the use of cannabis and the reported links to mental health issues, including psychosis, as well as other physical health problems.

What is your position on Amendment 4 — “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider”?  

Again, this is an amendment on the ballot and will be decided by the people. 

Personally, I do not support this amendment. I believe in a culture of life and feel Amendment 4 is poorly written and intentionally misleading.

The cost of home insurance has transformed Florida into no longer being a low-cost state in which to live. What can the Legislature do to help make home insurance more affordable?

While the recent legislative actions on Assignment of Benefit (AOB) and tort reform have provided some pricing benefit for home insurance policies, and indications are this will continue, there are still concerns related to increased cost of a hurricane event. 

The best solution for this is to increase the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and gradually adjust the level of coverage to mitigate the risk for insurance companies.

What can the Legislature do to help increase the supply of work-force housing?

If elected, one of my priorities will be work-force housing. I think the Legislature could create incentives for private industry to build work-force housing, in partnership with local government, with a focus on the 80% to 100% of the Annual Mean Income (AMI). These incentives could include density bonuses and tax incentives.

The Legislature consistently has passed legislation in recent years to give “sales tax holidays” for a variety of special categories. In the 2024 session is approved sales tax holidays for disaster preparedness; back-to-school supplies; power tools; and summer-fun items and admission to museums. Do you agree or disagree with giving sales tax breaks to special categories as opposed to lower the sales tax rate for everyone?

Florida traditionally has one of the lowest sales taxes. The ability of the state to give “sales tax holidays” is a result of how dynamic and robust our economy is. I would support an across-the-board sales tax holidays for everyone for a limited period. 

The concern with a permanent, lower sales tax rate would be if there were a negative change in your economy that would create a possible budget shortfall.

Gov. DeSantis is committing at least $227 million of taxpayer dollars over the next five years to transform New College of Florida into a conservative, Hillsdale College-like liberal arts college. Is that a good use of taxpayer money, and if so, why or why not?

As an engineer, I try to remove emotion from my analysis and rely of logic. The scenario as presented does not make sense when subjected to a very rudimentary cost-benefit analysis. Nor did the funding of New College prior to it becoming a political football justify the tax dollars spent if subjected to a similar analysis.

I have read that USF’s operating budget in 2020 was $2 billion, but they had an economic impact for the community of over $6 billion. This is a very good example of public funds providing broader community benefit, even when spent on an educational institution.   

I would not be opposed to investing tax dollars in New College but require quantifiable and measurable benefit in return.

What taxes or tax rates should be changed in Florida?

I think the reduction of some of the taxes associated with active agricultural, such as tangible personal property taxes on very expensive and specialized equipment, such as a potato harvester,  would have a positive effect on the state’s economy. 

Is health care for all a right?

While there is not a constitutional right for healthcare, there is a Patient’s Bill of Rights and Responsibilities in Florida Statutes. Regardless of rule or regulations, as a Christian, I think we have the moral obligation to help and comfort the sick.

Lawmakers must make choices. Which would you rank a higher priority — expanding Medicaid or increasing the funding for Florida’s transportation needs?

I would argue that both Florida’s transportation infrastructure cost and the cost of Medicaid have been adversely impacted by elements outside the State’s control. 

For the transportation, the cost of projects seeking funding has escalated due to increases in material cost, supply chain issues and skilled labor constraints. While the increased cost for Florida’s Medicaid seems tied in part to an influx of illegal and undocumented migrants.  

While as a civil engineer I am more comfortable speaking to the issues related to transportation infrastructure and need for transportation funding, I do fully understand and acknowledge the need to provide Medicaid for those in need. 

The difficulty of prioritizing one over the other, is the general transportation funding is already based on the prioritization of projects years in advance. If the funding is not available, the project is pushed to another year. While Medicaid spending, from what I can find, goes through a typical budgeting process. 

What is your philosophy on taxation?

As a conservative, my philosophy on taxation is to raise only the money necessary to fund limited and legitimate functions of government, without having a negative impact on the people or economy of the state.

What is your philosophy on the role of government?

As stated above, I think government’s role should be limited. A state government’s primary function is to provide services for a high quality of life and create conditions were all citizen and businesses of Floridia flourish.