ANNA MARIA – City Commissioner Deanie Sebring has vacated her city commission seat.
Sebring participated in her final commission meeting on Sept. 21. In October, she and her husband, Tripp, are moving to France. The remaining months of Sebring’s two-year term will be filled by a commission appointment to be made in January. Her term expires in December 2024.
Thursday evening’s regular city commission meeting was preceded by a budget adoption hearing. Before the budget meeting began, Sebring shared some thoughts on her departure and her next adventure.
“I am following my intuition. I am moving to Biron, France. I looked at a map and something made me say I was moving to France, and that was it. That day, we started putting the wheels in motion,” she said.
In the small commune/domicile of Biron, Sebring will pursue artistic interests that include working with
Angélique de Labarre and creating paintings of the late American-born French entertainer Josephine Baker. She will also continue her efforts to expand universalism.
Sebring moved from Tampa to Anna Maria in 2017. In December 2020, she was appointed to fill the city commission seat vacated by Amy Tripp. Running unopposed in 2022, Sebring was elected to serve another two-year term.
When asked what she learned as a commissioner, Sebring noted a commissioner doesn’t always get what they want because commission decisions are made by consensus. Sebring was alone in her past support for the elimination of the parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue as part of the pending Reimagining Pine Avenue safety improvement project. She believes eliminating those streetside parking spaces would make Pine Avenue safer for pedestrians.
Referring to the potential consolidation of the three Anna Maria Island cities, Sebring said, “I think more people need to put their name in the hat to become a commissioner, especially if they want Anna Maria to continue to be a city.”
Regarding the commission as a whole, Sebring said, “I love the fact that it’s people who truly care about the community. I think this commission does a wonderful job. We have people with different backgrounds and it’s nice that we all have different ideas about different things. Dan Murphy is an incredible mayor and I very much respect him.”
When the budget meeting began, Murphy presented Sebring with a plaque containing a ceremonial key to the city. He described Sebring as “a bundle of energy” who got involved with the Anna Maria Island Garden Club, the Anna Maria Island Historical Society, the city commission and the community.
“You’ve left your imprint here in the city of Anna Maria and we are so appreciative to have had you as a citizen of our city. It’s going to be difficult to replace you and we’re going to miss you. Thank you for everything you’ve done for the city,” Murphy said.
Sebring then said, “I will definitely miss everyone here. I’ve never felt I would have so many friends and meet so many people. It’s actually been the most incredible experience of my entire life. This little town was a safe haven for me and my husband for many different reasons. Anna Maria’s probably the most spectacular city I’ve ever had the pleasure of being a part of.”
Sebring’s last action as a city commissioner was to join the rest of the commission in approving the interlocal agreement that allows the county to use the City Pier as a Gulf Island Ferry stop. She then departed the regular commission meeting still in progress to attend a previously planned social gathering.
Appointment timeline
After Sebring departed, the mayor and remaining commissioners discussed the process and timeline that would be used to appoint someone to serve the remainder of Sebring’s term. At the same time, the commission will appoint someone to fill the two-year vacancy created when Commissioner Robert Kingan’s two-year term expires in December because he decided not to seek reelection.
In November, the city clerk’s office will begin accepting applications from Anna Maria residents interested in serving on the commission. The commission appointments will be made in early January, with each sitting commissioner numerically ranking the applicants in order of their personal preference. One applicant will be selected to serve the remaining months of Sebring’s current term and one applicant will be selected to serve the two-year term as Kingan’s successor. Applicants can state their preference for a one or two-year appointment.
A week before appointments are made, the applicants will participate in a public question and answer session at city hall answering questions posed by the sitting commissioners, the public and the media.
