Manatee County voters turn against development

Primary voters oust pro-development candidates

Evan Axelbank reports

BRADENTON, Fla. - Primary voters in Manatee County have sent a clear message. Almost every candidate seen as "pro-development" lost their race, including some incumbents on the county commission.

"Voters have started to pay attention to what's going on in Manatee County," said Scott Farrington, the new Republican nominee for elections supervisor. "They've started to get informed. They've started to do research."

Farrington said that means voters turned away from candidates who were seen as "for" more development, or who received developers' money. He defeated the current elections' supervisor, James Satcher, who had been appointed by Governor Ron DeSantis in April.

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"I think in Manatee County, the developers no longer have the hold that they once had," said Farrington.

In fact, seven out of the eight candidates labeled by one political action committee as being "pro-development" lost. The one candidate of the eight who did win, Bill Conerly, said he hears the voters as he heads into a general election race for state house.

"I wouldn't call it a warning, but I would call it a clear indication of the representation that's necessary for this district," he said.

The races in Manatee County also come with the statewide picture of DeSantis seeing 11 of his 23 chosen candidates lose their races outright. The question is whether his influence is waning?

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"I don't think it is," said Conerly. "When you have a group that maybe is more likely to vote in a certain direction, and they're compelled to come out, you're going to have results like this."

The races also brought criticism of outside consultants, including Tampa-based "SIMWINS," who saw most of their candidates lose.

"You can’t stand at the craps table forever without rolling a seven," said Anthony Pedicini, the firm's head. "We had a good run in Manatee. The voters want to stop all development, and I think they’re going to be surprised when that doesn’t happen. But, as in every election, you trust the electorate."

Farrington is fine with that.

"I think it's going to change the way elections happen in Manatee County, how campaigns are run," said Farrington. "They've been very nasty recently."

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