HOLMES BEACH – Mayor Judy Titsworth will stay in office for two more years by the thinnest of margins. Only 13 votes separated her from challenger Mike Roth.
Titsworth eeked out a victory against Roth in the Nov. 4 election with 963 votes to 950. This will be the Holmes Beach native’s third term in office as mayor.
Joining Titsworth in celebrating a victory on election night are former Manatee County commissioner Carol Whitmore, who brought in 1,087 votes in the race for city commissioner, and incumbent Commissioner Dan Diggins, who received 822 votes. Diggins was re-elected to a second term in office with Whitmore being re-elected to the city commission after serving as a city commissioner, mayor and county commissioner.
Titsworth, Diggins and Whitmore will all be sworn in on Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
At 9:07 p.m. on election night, the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections website said there are 3,040 ballots uncounted county-wide.
Per Holmes Beach city charter, an election result within a half a percentage point or less is subject to a recount unless the challenging candidate requests that a recount not be made in writing to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections office.
With only 13 votes separating the two, Titsworth’s win comes in at 0.0068% with a total of 1,913 votes submitted in the mayoral race.
BRADENTON BEACH – Voter approval of two conflicting parking garage amendments in the Nov. 3 election means that a prohibition of parking garages will not be added to the city charter.
Running unopposed in this year’s election, incumbent Bradenton Beach City Commissioners Ralph Cole and Marilyn Maro won additional two-year terms in office.
Running unopposed in Anna Maria, incumbent Mayor Dan Murphy and incumbent City Commissioner Mark Short won additional two-year terms in office.
Bradenton Beach resident Steve Leister was among those who voted in person Tuesday at the Bradenton Beach Fire Hall. – Joe Hendricks | Sun
Once the final Manatee County election results are certified, the Anna Maria City Commission will appoint someone to fill the commission term recently vacated by former commissioner Amy Tripp, who is moving out of state.
Anna Maria Island voters joined Manatee County voters in deciding several county, state and national races – including the District 3 Manatee County Commission race in which Kevin Van Ostenbridge held a significant lead as of 9 p.m. tonight.
County voters also supported a proposed bond referendum that will provide additional water quality protections and wildlife habitat preservation.
Parking garage status quo remains
Bradenton Beach voter support for two conflicting parking garage charter amendments means the city charter will remain as is, minus the inclusion of a new parking garage prohibition.
The city’s comprehensive plan and land development code already prohibit the construction of a multi-level or stand-alone parking garage, but the existing comp plan and land development code prohibitions could be reversed by a future city commission.
Voter adoption of proposed charter amendment 1 combined with voter rejection of proposed charter amendment 2 would have prevented a future city commission from reversing or amending the existing parking garage prohibitions.
There are currently no plans or proposals to build a multi-level parking garage in Bradenton Beach and the current city commission does not support the construction of a parking garage.
Bradenton Beach Charter Amendment Question 1 was placed on the ballot at the request of the Keep Our Residential Neighborhoods (KORN) political action committee formed in 2018 by Reed Mapes and John Metz.
The ballot language for charter amendment question 1 read as follows:
“Should the charter of Bradenton Beach be amended to prohibit the building of any multi-level parking garages within the city of Bradenton Beach? All other parking garages, facilities and structures are allowed as permitted by local law.”
In response to question 1, 410 votes (71.8%) were cast in favor of the proposed charter amendment 1 and 161 votes (28.2%) were cast in opposition of the proposed amendment.
Suggested by City Attorney Ricinda Perry and supported by the city commission in response to the proposed KORN amendment, charter amendment question 2 read as follows:
“Should the city amend its charter to: (1) Prohibit the approval, development and building of any stand-alone parking garage structures in all residential zoning districts; (2) Prohibit any multi-level parking garage, structure, or facility exceeding a total density of one multi-level parking garage within the entire municipal limits; and (3) Establish a mandatory citywide voter referendum to increase the multi-level parking garage density?
In response to question 2, 378 votes (67.02%) were cast in support of the proposed charter amendment that would allow one multi-level parking garage and 186 votes (32.98%) were cast in opposition to the proposed amendment.
As of 9 p.m., all of Bradenton Beach’s Election Day and early voting results had been tallied, but it was possible there could still be some remaining vote-by-mail ballots to be added to the reported totals.
County Commission races
As of 9 p.m., all Election Day and early voting ballots in each of Manatee County’s 70 voting precincts had been counted and reported, with some vote-by-mail ballots still not yet reported.
When contacted at that time and asked about the remaining mail ballots and their potential impact on any of the final results, Supervisor of Elections Mike Bennett said, “Pretty much what you see is what you get.”
Bennett said he did not anticipate the outstanding mail ballots to alter the outcome of any county races.
In the County Commission District 3 race, Van Ostenbridge, a Republican, had received 22,897 votes (58.53%) and Bower, a non-party-affiliated candidate, had received 16,222 votes (41.47%). Van Ostenbridge will fill the commission seat vacated by one-term commissioner Steve Jonsson, who did not seek reelection.
In the County Commission District 1 race decided by District 1 voters only, Republican James Satcher is the winner. As of 9 p.m., Satcher had received 35,452, (65.6%). Democrat Dominique Brown received 18,593 votes (34.4%). Satcher will fill the commission seat being vacated by longtime Commissioner Priscilla Trace.
Running unopposed, incumbent Republican Commissioner Vanessa Baugh has claimed the County Commission District 5 race. As of 9 p.m., Baugh received 45,529 votes (87.82%) of the general election votes, with 6,314 votes (12.18%) cast for write-in candidates whose names did not appear on the ballot.
Running unopposed after defeating former County Administrator Ed Hunzeker in the Republican primary, George Kruse officially claimed the County Commission District 7 at-large race. As of 9 p.m., Kruse had received 157,382 votes (93.3%) and he will fill the seat being vacated by longtime Commissioner Betsy Benac.
Additional races
Running as the incumbent, Bennett, a Republican, won his reelection bid and he will remain Manatee County Supervisor of Elections. Bennett received 136,656 votes (65.65%) and his Democratic challenger, Charles Williams, received 71,516 votes (34.35%).
In the Manatee County School Board District 3 race won by Mary Foreman, Foreman received 110,746 votes (58.8 %). Incumbent school board member Dave “Watchdog” Miner received 77,593 votes (41.2%).
In the non-party-affiliated County Judge Group 4 race, race winner Melissa Gould received 113,511 votes (60,97%) and Kristy Zinna had received 72,676 votes (39.03%).
In the Mosquito Control District Group 2 race, incumbent Michael Daugherty has retained his seat having received 106,884 votes (61.49%). His challenger, Rodney O’Quinn, had received 66,944 votes (38.51%)
Manatee County bond referendum
Manatee County voters supported a proposed a millage increase and bond referendum question pertaining to water quality protection, fish and wildlife habitat preservation.
As of 9 p.m., the vote total for this referendum was 139,717 votes (71.27%) cast in favor of the millage increase and 56,323 votes (28.73%) cast in opposition.
The referendum ballot question read as follows: “To finance the acquisition, improvement and management of land to protect drinking water sources and water quality, preserve fish and wildlife habitat, prevent stormwater runoff pollution and provide parks, shall Manatee County levy an additional 0.15 mill ad valorem tax and issue general obligation bonds in a total principal amount not exceeding $50 million, maturing within 20 years, bearing interest not exceeding the legal rate, payable from such ad valorem taxes, with annual public audits?”
State seats
In a race decided by voters in Manatee County and a portion of Hillsborough County, Republican Jim Boyd has apparently won the State Senate District 21 race. In Manatee County, Boyd received 128,614 votes (61.78%) and Democrat Anthony “Tony” Eldon had received 79,583 votes (38.22%). Boyd also held a significant lead in Hillsborough County.
Decided by Manatee and Sarasota county voters, Republican incumbent William Robinson Jr. is winning the State Representative District 71 race. In Manatee County, Robinson has received 43.072 votes (59.98%). His Democratic challenger, Andy Mele, had received 28,742 votes (40.02%). Robinson also held a 2 percentage point lead in Sarasota County.
Presidential race
And in the much-anticipated presidential race, incumbent Republican President Donald Trump has apparently carried Manatee County. As of 9 p.m., Trump received 123,316 votes (57.67 %) in Manatee County and Democratic challenger Joe Biden received 88,275 votes (41.28%).
The full unofficial and updated Manatee County elections results can be viewed at www.votemanatee.com.
BRADENTON – The West Manatee Fire Rescue District has a new commissioner who will take the dais later this month.
Joining Commissioner Larry Jennis, who had no challengers for his seat, will be Robert Bennett, taking the place of Commissioner Randy Cooper. After 12 years on the dais, Cooper decided not to run for re-election this year.
With no challengers, Jennis was automatically re-elected for an additional four-year term on the fire district’s board of commissioners. He currently serves as the board’s vice-chair.
Three candidates qualified to fill Cooper’s vacant seat – Bennett, Steven Pontious and Derrick Warner. Bennett received the most votes and won the seat in a landslide with 9,689 ballots cast in his favor across 11 precincts, or 64.47% of the total number of votes. Pontious came in second with 2,681 votes, or 17.84%, with Warner ending the night with 2,659 votes, 17.69% of the total votes cast.
Pending election certification, Bennett will be sworn in along with Jennis during the Nov. 17 commission meeting planned to be held at the district’s temporary administration offices at Palma Sola Presbyterian Church, 6510 Third Ave. W. in Bradenton. The meeting also will be available to attend via Zoom.
WMFR commissioners serve four-year terms and work with the fire chief to help create policy and manage the fire district. The West Manatee district includes all of Anna Maria Island, Cortez and unincorporated Manatee County on the west side of the county.
HOLMES BEACH – The results are in and the voters have spoken. Holmes Beach has three commissioners elect and all eight charter amendments passed.
About 30% of the city’s 2,751 active voters showed up either at St. Bernard Catholic Church to vote in person or by mail to help choose among four commission candidates vying for three seats on the dais and determine what changes to make to the city’s charter.
Commission incumbents Rick Hurst, Jim Kihm and Carol Soustek all petitioned voters for another two years on the dais while newcomer Terry Schaefer hoped for his first term as commissioner. Kihm and Soustek succeeded, each winning another two years on the dais. Schaefer will join them as a commissioner, meaning that Hurst’s time on the dais has come to an end.
Kihm received the top votes at 658, with Schaefer coming in second with 606 votes. The third and final commission seat goes to Soustek who received 546 votes. Shut out of the top three spots was Hurst who received 471 votes.
The three commission-elect candidates will be sworn into office for two-year terms during the city’s organizational meeting on Monday, Nov. 18 at 9 a.m.
There were eight questions posed to the city’s voters, answered with a simple yes or no, to amend the Holmes Beach charter. The questions were devised by the charter review commission whose members were voted into office in November 2018 by the city’s residents. Voters passed all eight charter amendments.
Question 1, a revision of the city’s legal description, bringing the description of the city’s boundaries in line with the description in other city documents, passed with 767 votes in favor of the amendment and 90 votes against it.
Question 2, governing how city leaders can transfer ownership of or long-term lease city-owned property, passed with 704 votes in favor of the amendment and 152 votes against it.
Question 3, changing how budget amendments of less than $100,000 are adopted by commissioners, passed with 638 votes in favor of the amendment and 218 votes against it.
Question 4, amending how department heads are fired, by the concurrence of city commissioners, not just by the mayor, passed with 616 votes in favor of the amendment and 224 votes against its adoption.
Question 5, changing the job description of the city treasurer to allow for the city’s annual financial statements to be audited by an independent accountant, passed with 790 votes for the measure and 119 against its adoption.
Question 6, removing the building and public works department as a charter department, passed with 493 votes for and 345 votes against the measure.
Question 7, removing human resources as a charter department, passed with 557 votes in favor of and 282 votes against the amendment.
Question 8, transferring the filing of written notices of candidacy from the city clerk’s office to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office, passed with 627 votes for and 228 votes against the amendment.
HOLMES BEACH – Election Day is coming to a close and a new mayor and new commissioners will take the dais at the city’s organizational meeting Nov. 19.
Holmes Beach mayoral candidate Judy Titsworth answers a question while fellow candidate Joshua Linney looks on during The Sun’s candidate forum held at city hall. – Gail Swain | Sun
Former commissioner and newly-elected Mayor Judy Titsworth took home 79.3 percent of the vote with political newcomer Joshua Linney bringing in 20.7 percent. Though he’s never served on the dais, Linney was previously a member of the city’s parks and beautification committee.
In the commission race, Commissioner Pat Morton was re-elected, bringing in 36 percent of the votes. Morton was first elected to the commission in 2003. This will be his eighth term.
Holmes Beach commission candidate Kim Rash greets voters outside of Gloria Dei Lutheran Church along with his daughter Melissa Rash and granddog Bella. – Kristin Swain | Sun
The new commissioner on the dais will be Kim Rash who ended election night with 36 percent of the vote. Though Rash is no stranger to local politics, this will be his first term as commissioner.
Landing in the third spot is political newcomer and local real estate agent Don Purvis, who ended the night with 28 percent of the vote, just shutting him out of claiming one of the two available commission seats.
In the race for one of five positions on the newly-formed charter review board, eight candidates threw their hats in the ring – Jay Calhoun, Claudia Carlson, Nancy Deal, Major Leckie, Sean Murphy, Johnny Rigney, Edward Upshaw and David Zaccagnino. The five who will be reviewing the city’s charter and determining what issues to place in front of voters in November 2019 as charter amendments are Claudia Carlson, Nancy Deal, Sean Murphy, Edward Upshaw and David Zaccagnino, the five candidates who brought in the majority of resident votes.
According to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office, there are 2,810 registered voters across two precincts in Holmes Beach. Out of that number, 1003 voted either in person or by mail, representing 35.7 percent of eligible voters.
