HOLMES BEACH – Mike Roth may be a political newcomer on Anna Maria Island, but he has plans for what he’d like to see in the community if residents vote him in as mayor in November.
“I’ve been on-Island for over 20 years,” Roth said, noting that he and his family visited almost every weekend from their primary residence in Tampa. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he said their Holmes Beach house became their primary residence and it’s a move that neither he nor his wife have regretted. Roth made his career in the U.S. Army as a Green Beret before making the move to the Army Reserves and switching careers to banking. He said he still works as a banker with an office in Tampa though he enjoys working from home most of the time and says that his work and his training with the Reserves will not impact his ability to serve as the city’s mayor.
In fact, he said his retirement from an active military life is what enabled him to be able to run for mayor. “I’ve had people say you should run for mayor, but I couldn’t. Now I can.”
Once he retired from the military, Roth said he began attending city commission meetings and was happy giving suggestions during public comment until the parking garage at Manatee Beach discussion came up.
“It doesn’t even make sense to me why we don’t have someone outside of the Island agreeing with us that it’s a waste of money, it’s going to environmentally impact a great location and it’s going to be a real pain in the butt for Manatee County residents who normally park in that lot to not be able to use it for a couple of years while the construction is going on.”
When Mayor Judy Titsworth went to Tallahassee to speak with lawmakers before the bill was passed and didn’t sway any votes, Roth said he felt the city was facing a serious issue.
“That’s when I was like there’s something wrong,” he said. “I’ve got to figure out what it is and I’ve got to do something about it because I’m that person.”
Roth said a new injection of ideas and solutions could be what the community needs.
“No one comes here to start their political career,” he said, adding that, after speaking to some community members and Manatee County leaders, he feels that he can help to mend relationships with other political leaders.
“They made it very clear to me that it’s one individual,” he said, noting that while he doesn’t have an issue with any elected officials in Holmes Beach, some local politicians do, something that he would hope would change if he was elected as mayor.
“You can find creative solutions to bring both parties closer together or you can just ignore it,” Roth said. “From an outsider’s perspective, they believe that we’re not willing to compromise, we’re not willing to do anything to help Manatee County.”
One of his primary goals would be to create a better relationship among the city, the county and the state.
“We are their largest capital contribution but we have the smallest voice,” he said, noting that there are so few voters on the Island that without some give and take with Manatee County leaders, consolidation of the three Island cities would happen.
Roth said county leaders would like to have an Island-wide planner or manager, one person who would oversee planning and building to help bring agreements among the three cities to handle Island-wide ordinances. He said environmental impact would be another item that could be handled by the Island manager.
Over the next few years, Roth said it’s imperative for the three Island cities to work together and see what services can be consolidated and where resources can be shared, another goal of county commissioners.
“Manatee County is telling us they want us to do that,” Roth said. “The fact that we don’t want to do it doesn’t mean we just ignore that. And that’s going to be our problem. We have to have some level of compliance with the state of Florida and with Manatee County. We have to be able to communicate with them and keep them updated on what we’re trying to do because otherwise they can do something drastic like what they’re trying to do right now. I do believe both of those (consolidation and the parking garage) can go away. The biggest concern I have is, and I’ve asked the outside parties if they can wait until after the fifth (Nov. 5) because I really am just offering my capability, because if I don’t get elected, that’s fine. The powers that be have already told me what they plan on doing if I don’t win and I’m like okay, well the Island will be very different. May be good, may be bad, but most likely bad, in my opinion. And that’s what worries me. It’s not about me. It’s not about I’m so much better, so much smarter, so much faster. I’ve got a lot of experience in leadership and in business. I think both of them will apply here very rapidly. I do believe we have a good city government in general, I just think it needs a more professional way of handling things outside the Island and better communication with the county and the state of Florida.”
Other goals, he said, would be to incentivize owners to give city center businesses a facelift to make the area more appealing, work to conserve the environment and create better solutions to stormwater and tidal flooding.
Submit your questions to Roth for The Sun’s candidate forum at news@amisun.com.
