Hunzeker Switches Races to Make Countywide Bid

LAKEWOOD RANCH – Former Manatee County administrator Ed Hunzeker announced this week that he would be dropping out of his district 5 primary race with incumbent Vanessa Baugh in order to instead pursue the countywide seat being vacated by commission chair Betsy Benac, who announced she'd be leaving the race.

"I’m terribly sorry to hear that Commissioner Benac has decided against seeking re-election this year,“ said Hunzeker in a press release. "My experience, especially during these unprecedented times, is best suited to represent the entire county. I served Manatee County for over 10 years and helped lead us through the Great Recession. We can and will get through this together."

Hunzeker served as the Manatee County Administrator from 2007 until 2019. He lives in Lakewood Ranch with his wife Sharon. They have three adult sons and five grandchildren.

Hunzeker was hired as Manatee County Administrator in 2007, just months after he had been abruptly fired as Osceola County's administrator. He served until 2019, after numerous, costly extensions.

As county administrator, Hunzeker was credited with successfully leading the county through the Great Recession without raising taxes. However, he eliminated 300 positions and, in doing so, managed to vastly change the administration's culture, adopting a very pro-developer ethos.

Hunzeker was also mired in controversies, including the failed 2013 "indigent healthcare sales tax" boondoggle that he disingenuously marketed as a property tax cut, putting it on a spring, off-year ballot that cost taxpayers $260,000, even though it could have been conducted for free just months before. Voters turned the referendum away by a near 2-1 margin.

Hunzeker also championed the $120 million-plus 44th Avenue West extension sought by east county developers, pushing it to the forefront of priorities, even as the county's central corridor traffic problems continued to get worse while going largely unaddressed.

Hunzeker was set to retire in 2012 when a split board controversially approved a new 5-year contract that cost taxpayers over $300,000 additional dollars, largely because he'd been enrolled in the state's Deferred Retirement Option Program (DROP).

Despite having had an icy relationship with Hunzeker herself, former Manatee County Commissioner Robin DiSabatino came to his rescue in 2017, swinging from a 4-3 vote to look for a new county administrator when that contract expired in order to extend his contract another year.

The warmth between the two was short-lived, however, and DiSabatino soon joined with Baugh in calling for change. Hunzeker again ran afoul of commissioners in 2018 when he ignored their direction regarding the placement of a controversial radio tower near Kinnan Elementary and they voted to reduce his spending authority, officially reprimanding him for the incident, citing a "failure to exercise professional judgment."

Having largely lost the faith of the board, it was announced in December of that year that Hunzeker would be leaving "sooner rather than later," and he officially retired at the end of February.

"I’ve been committed to reducing taxes, streamlining county services, protecting our precious environment, and improving the quality of life in Manatee County since I first moved to this special place with my family in 2007," said Hunzeker in his original announcement release. "I’ll bring these same priorities and principles to the commission."

In both announcements, Hunzeker emphasized that he was a "conservative Republican" and a "strong supporter of President Trump."

Republican George Kruse, who had previously filed to challenge incumbent District 1 Republican Priscilla Trace in the primary, also jumped to the District 7 race this week.