Former commission candidate finds new way to be involved in Manatee County

While Joe Di Bartolomeo lost his 2024 bid to represent District 5 on the Manatee County Commission, he's embarking on a new way to advocate for his neighbors. 

Di Bartolomeo is starting a resident volunteer group to help citizens in District 5 better navigate any “opportunities or threats” that arise within individual communities or the district as a whole. 

“It’s a nonpartisan, non-political organization,” Di Bartolomeo said. “We’re just advocating whatever the community wants to do, and then we can figure out what the mechanisms are to bring it to the county commission or whichever administrative branch of the county government.”

Di Bartolomeo lives in Tara Preserve, where there are three governing bodies — the Master Association, the Community Development District and the Homeowners Association. 

“Whenever there’s an issue, I would say the majority of residents don’t know which one of those bodies to go to,” Di Bartolomeo said. 

Through campaigning, Di Bartolomeo found that about 70% of the residents he spoke with didn’t know which district they live in, so he figures citizens feel the same way as Tara residents when wanting to approach Manatee County officials. 

The idea behind the group is to give citizens a more organized and thoughtful response as issues arise. In the case of a threat, the group will also present potential solutions. 

Di Bartolomeo's vision for the group is to have one to two members represent each community in District 5 with members meeting quarterly. 

So far, he’s got about a dozen people on-board and is looking to hold the first meeting by the end of February. The details of where and when the group will meet haven’t been decided yet.

Richard Tatem, who lost his bid for State Representative, District 72 and was reappointed to the Manatee County School Board by Gov. Ron DeSantis, lives in Riverwalk Ridge. Being that it’s a citizens group versus a political group, Tatem agreed to join the board.

“It’s good to hear from citizens who are concerned,” Tatem said. “Elected officials should be well informed about what’s going on within their district and the county.” 

However, all citizens living in the district are eligible to join. The point of the group is to get citizens working together. 

“There’s safety in numbers, and there’s power in numbers,” Di Bartolomeo said. “I want to work with the county government and board of commissioners, but I want the residents to be on an even keel with the county as far as understanding.” 

The group will be a way to both pool and disseminate information easily. Di Bartolomeo wants “a collective presence to assist everyone.” 

“Typically in organizations like this, there’s a handful of people who do everything,” he said. “It becomes overwhelming and people lose interest. The more folks that we have involved in this, we can capitalize off other community’s experiences.” 

With District 5’s rapid growth, Di Bartolomeo said communities need to connect because what happens to one community can happen to another. As residents start talking to one another about their needs and wants, that input will drive the process. 

He used the proposal for a Home Depot on Lorraine Road as an example of how the resident board can be utilized. In that case, several communities came together to protest a potential big box store coming in their neighborhood. 

When something like that comes up, the group can hop on a Zoom call to kick off a collective effort and quickly formulate a plan of action. 

Group members can also act as eyes and ears for one another. Many District 5 residents spend their summers outside of Manatee County. 

“In the past, the commission would sneak things on the agenda during the summer when no one’s paying attention,” Di Bartolomeo said. “I want to be very proactive.” 

However, being proactive doesn’t mean running for elected office again. Di Bartolomeo has no aspirations to run for state or federal office. 

The next county office he could run for would be Commissioner Jason Bearden’s at-large seat in 2026. The District 5 seat, currently occupied by Commissioner Robert McCann will come up for re-election in 2028. 

“Four years from now, I will be 68 years old,” Di Bartolomeo said. “Not that I’m incapable of being a commissioner at 68, it’s just that I don’t know if I want to do it until I’m 72, rather than fishing, golfing and enjoying what I’ve built up for my entire life.”