BRADENTON BEACH – Voters have re-elected John Chappie as the city’s mayor. Chappie will serve a third consecutive term as mayor and his sixth overall.
Running unopposed, incumbent city commissioners Jake Spooner and Jan Vosburgh also claimed additional two-year terms in office.
Chappie, Spooner and Vosburgh will be sworn into their next terms in office on Monday, Nov. 15.
Bradenton Beach voters also voted in favor of maintaining the existing term-limits for the mayor and city commissioners that limit an elected official to serving three consecutive two-year terms in that particular office.
According to the unofficial election results posted at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website as of 8 p.m. this evening, Chappie received 241 votes (69.45%) and Galuszka received 106 votes (30.55%). According to these results, a total of 347 votes were cast in the mayor’s race.
When asked about the election results soon after they were known, Chappie said, “I thank the voters for all their support over the years. It’s an honor. I’m happy and I’m humbled. I love serving and that’s what I’ve done pretty much all of my adult life, trying to make Bradenton Beach an even better community than it is; and this is paradise. We’ve got a lot of great city projects going on right now, including the undergrounding of utility lines, our stormwater and drainage improvements, and the dock expansion project. And the city’s getting a lot of financial support for these projects from the county and the state.
“I had an extremely good opponent. He’s fair and level-headed and ran a really good campaign. He’s a good guy. I give him credit for wanting to be involved in the community and I hope he continues that,” Chappie said.
When asked about the results, Galuszka said, “The results are disappointing, of course, but the support I received from the community was above and beyond my expectations. We both ran a good campaign and in the end people did speak on the issues I presented. I’m hoping my opponent will take that into account. I would like to stay involved in local politics and this has given me the drive to stay involved. The people spoke to me and our voices were heard as a result of this election.”
When asked about potentially running again in 2023, Galuszka said, “I definitely will consider running again in 2023.”
According to City Attorney Ricinda Perry, the voters’ decision to maintain the existing term limits means Chappie cannot run for mayor again in 2023, Spooner cannot run for a commission seat in 2023 and Commissioner Marilyn Maro cannot seek an additional term when her current term expires in 2022.
Anna Maria race
Running unopposed, Anna Maria commissioners Carol Carter and Jon Crane claimed additional two-year terms in office The remaining vacant commission seat will be filled by commission appointment later this month.
Term limits
The term limit-related charter amendment question appeared on the ballot as follows: “The current city charter provides that no person may hold the same elected office for more than three consecutive terms or portions thereof, with each term lasting two years. Should the city amend its charter removing term limits, while maintaining the requirement that each term shall last for two years?”
According to the unofficial results as of 8 p.m. this evening, 177 votes (51.91%) were cast in opposition to eliminating term limits and 164 votes (48.09%) were cast in support of eliminating the term limits.
All the unofficial Manatee County election results can be viewed at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website.
