ANNA MARIA – Brian Seymour and Mark Short both want to succeed Dan Murphy as Anna Maria’s next mayor, with the winner to be determined in the upcoming election. On Sept. 12, they participated in a candidate forum hosted by The Anna Maria Island Sun at city hall.
Opening remarks
Seymour thanked Murphy for his 10-year tenure as mayor, including during the three years Seymour served as a commissioner. Seymour spent the first 38 years of his life in the Washinton D.C. area and 20 years working for Marriott hotels and resorts at many levels, from banquets to general manager.
“I decided after 20 years in the corporate world I was going to go find a new life. I couldn’t have been luckier to find this little city of Anna Maria. I own three businesses (City Pier Grill, Anna Maria General Store and Pine Avenue Bait and Tackle) and I’m eager to get back involved in city government and help the city continue to move forward,” Seymour said.
Short and his wife, Pat, bought their Anna Maria home almost 13 years ago. They’ve been married 40 years and have three daughters and four granddaughters. In 2017, Short retired as a partner and CPA after 38 years with the Ernst & Young accounting and consultancy firm. Three months later, he joined The Center of Anna Maria Island’s finance committee. In 2019, he was appointed to the city’s Charter Review Committee and then to the city’s Planning and Zoning Board.
“I served on that (the planning board) for several months until I was appointed to the city commission. I actually replaced you, Brian, when you resigned,” Short said, noting he’s been a commissioner for five years and commission chair and vice-mayor for two years.
When asked why he wants to serve as mayor, Short said, “I’ve been actively involved in the city and I’m vested in the city. I know it’s a thankless job and it is certainly not for the money. The city has come a long way. We have a long way to go and some things the city needs to focus on are things I can help with,” Short said.
“It’s definitely not for the $19,000 and change,” Seymour said of the mayor’s salary. “When I was a commissioner, it was $4,800 a year. It’s about having a place in this city and wanting to help the city continue to grow. I’m a good leader. I have good relationships with city staff and the different departments within the city.”
The candidates agree the mayor’s job is a full-time job.
“The residents have come to expect the mayor to be here,” Short said. “I am viewing this as a full-time job. If I’m elected mayor, you’ll see me here.”
“It’s about balance,” Seymour said. “I would be in and out of city hall every day. I have good leadership at my two bigger businesses and the ability to extract myself from those two businesses and implement myself here at city hall.”
The issues
A recent independent investigation of the city workplace cited a “pervasive lack of trust and collegiality amongst co-workers.”
Short said he was required to participate in annual workplace training during his career and he’d require the same of city staff. He’d also consider outsourcing the city’s human resource needs to outside specialists so city employees can express their concerns to unbiased, non-city personnel.
“With regards to managing the staff, it’s the mayor’s job and you have to be hands-on with everybody,” Short said.
“I’ve had a lot of dealings with staff issues and different personalities that maybe don’t work well together,” Seymour said. “It comes down to consistent training. There needs to be accountability and a review of the entire city staff, from the top down, to make sure people are in the right positions, given the tools they need and have proper working relationships.”
Seymour and Short disagree on hiring a full-time city administrator or city manager to assist the mayor.
“I’m very much in favor of a city administrator-type position to help oversee the city,” Seymour said, noting he’d like the administrator to have human resources experience. “It has become such a large city with so many departments and so many employees. I really believe that would be beneficial.”
“I do not believe the city needs a city manager or a city administrator,” Short countered. “If you read the city charter, that is the job of the mayor. You’re electing someone to do exactly what a city administrator or manager would do.”
Both candidates adamantly oppose the consolidation of the three Island cities or annexing them into Manatee County or Bradenton.
Both candidates strongly support the commission’s recent decision to reduce the property tax millage rate from 2.05 to 1.65 mills and maintaining or lowering that rate in the future.
Short and Seymour agree that improving the city’s drainage system to reduce flooding is a top priority and they support Murphy’ pursuit of a resiliency grant to fund a study for the future installation of drainage pumps and pipes.
Both candidates agree the city should use Facebook and other social media platforms to communicate more immediately with residents and business owners, especially regarding weather events and other emergencies.
The candidates agree the $1.3 million budgeted for law enforcement services by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office is a wise and prudent expenditure. They both believe the code enforcement department should focus on a wider range of enforcement issues beyond writing parking tickets.
Both candidates would continue Murphy’s use of a lobbyist and the Home Rule Florida website to help preserve Anna Maria’s home rule rights and the city’s ability to regulate vacation rentals.
Seymour and Short support the Reimagining Pine Avenue project and oppose eliminating the existing parallel parking spaces along Pine Avenue. They both oppose making Pine Avenue a one-way street and Seymour opposes making Spring or Magnolia a one-way street. Short said he’d at least look at making Spring or Magnolia a one-way street to create space for a bike path.
Seymour and his business partners operate the City Pier Grill in space leased from the city. The initial five-year pier lease expires on Dec. 31, 2025, and Seymour’s group has the option to renew the lease for five more years.
When asked if this could create a potential conflict of interest, Short noted the mayor’s duties include negotiating the city contracts that require the city commission’s final approval.
“I would be concerned if that contract came up and it was effectively the mayor negotiating with himself,” Short said.
“I have partners in the business,” Seymour said. “That negotiation would need to be pushed out of my hands to the vice-mayor and maybe to the city attorney and then let the city commission decide. I would not be involved with those negotiations.”
Regarding the quality of the natural waters surrounding the city, Seymour said, “It’s a shame what’s happening around us. Yes, we’ve had some significant rainfalls but for Bradenton to still be discharging (sewage) is just uncalled for. I’m tired of seeing Bayfront Park end up on the no-swim advisory. I’m not going to throw a fellow business under the bus at this moment, but there’s one that’s constantly putting sewage into the Bayfront Park area. It’s not acceptable and it needs to be fixed.”
“Water quality starts with us,” Short said. “We need to make sure our infrastructure can handle these 4-, 5-, 6-inch rains we get with minimal impact on the environment. I think we, the Island, need to collectively have our voice heard in Bradenton, in Manatee County, at the DEP and in Tallahassee about our concerns about what’s happening on the mainland. At the end of the day, that water ends up out here.”
Both candidates would support the city regulating and enforcing mangrove protections at the local level.
Closing statements
“I feel confident my friend Mark Short or I would both make excellent mayors,” Seymour said. “I am also a resident here, not just a business owner, and there are times when I do believe enough is enough. I hope you all vote for me. I look forward to potentially serving the residents.”
Short said, “I feel like I have a pretty good pulse as to what is going on with the city, the people working for the city and the concerns of you, the residents. I’ve been committed on this commission and I believe I would be just as committed should you elect me mayor.”
Learn more at the Elect Brian Seymour for City of Anna Maria Mayor Facebook page and Instagram account.
Learn more at MarkShortForMayor.com and the Facebook and Instagram accounts sharing the same name.
The forum video is archived at the Anna Maria Island Sun Facebook page.
