BRADENTON – First-time political candidate Bill Sanders is throwing his hat into the ring and hoping to win a seat on the Bradenton City Council. The Indiana native will challenge longtime incumbent Bemis Smith in the nonpartisan Ward 4 race.
Sanders says he started coming to Bradenton in 2011 for extended visits with his sister, who’d relocated here. There was enough quality of life to make his decision to retire here an easy one, but Sanders says he sees many things the city can be doing better and wants to use his retirement years to work to make the sort of changes that would see Bradenton’s growth go in a positive direction.
"There are a lot of issues facing this city,“ says Sanders. "Homelessness, a drug crisis, a lack of affordable housing, traffic congestion; I just don’t think we’re doing enough to solve those challenges, and I want to be part of the conversation.“
Sanders points to a recent decision not to do a second affordable housing project downtown and the city’s continued failure to deliver on a long-promised grocery store to service a giant food oasis in its central corridor as reasons it’s time for a change at city hall.
"We’ve got to do more than just focus on the riverfront and projects that are important to politically-connected developers,“ said Sanders. "We’ve got to work with businesses that can come to the city and create living wage jobs, and then have adequate workforce housing in place. I don’t think we’re doing enough to solve those challenges.“
Sanders says that the growth will happen regardless, but how we plan for it will be key.
"The people are coming, they’re gonna keep moving here,“ said Sanders.“ But what that growth looks like will depend on the decisions we make.“
Sanders wants to see a more forward-thinking local government that is actively engaging with the business community to create a diverse economy and more economic opportunity.
"We can’t just rely on building new houses for people who retire here.“
Sanders admits that there would be a learning curve and that there are many areas of local government that he’d have to master in replacing an experienced public official, but says that it would be his willingness and ability to listen that would make him a good fit for the seat.
"I may not know everything there is to know about being a commissioner, but I listen, I ask questions, and I learn what I need to know,“ said Sanders. "I think that’s what’s going to be important to voters, having someone who’s listening to them and isn’t afraid to ask hard questions and challenge the status quo.“
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