Planning Commissioner Matt Bower to Enter County Commission Race

MANATEE COUNTY – Long Bar Pointe activist turned Manatee Planning Commissioner Matt Bower filed to run as an independent in the Manatee County Commission District 3 race this week. Bower will take on incumbent Republican John Chappie who went uncontested in 2012 for the West Bradenton district that includes both Cortez and the islands.

Bower, 41, is a lifelong west Manatee resident who currently works as a financial adviser with Edward Jones. He is an Army veteran who served for seven years after graduating from Bayshore High School. His Army career includes 15 honors and recognitions. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in business administration and is a graduate of the 2014-2015 Leadership Manatee class.

A licensed fishing captain, Bower first caught people's attention after giving an articulate, informed and impassioned plea to reject key aspects of the Long Bar Pointe coastal development, including dredging for a marina. He is in his third year as a Manatee County Planning Commissioner, an appointment he sought after taking a lead role in the Long Bar opposition.

He is currently the only non-developer on the planning commission, which serves as an advisory board to the county commission on land use issues, and has provided a perspective that many citizens have found sorely lacking on a board that has a reputation of rubber stamping developer requests.

"My belief is, if you’re going to be a leader, then be a leader," said Bower. "Reach out, and speak up. I don’t think we have had that in the District 3 seat. I want our Commission to be more of an interactive, two-way street.“

Bower says his greatest inspiration is preserving Manatee County’s "unique small-town ambiance by protecting its coastline from over-development." He says he wants to slow the increasing reliance on "mitigation,“ which allows developers to destroy mangroves in one area if they preserve them elsewhere.

"If we continue the way we’re going now, Manatee County will no longer have a unique coastline,“ Bower said. "It will be like every other over-developed coastline. Let’s preserve what is perhaps our greatest natural resource.“


Bower also says he wants to help the county commission become more open to citizen input.

"We have a tradition in this county of many county leaders simply being Ôplaceholders’ to reinforce the status quo,“ Bower said. "We have leaders trying to tell people what they should think, instead of engaging in conversation with them to learn. I want to change that.“