Rahn's Announcement Gives Glimpse into Campaign Against Servia
Posted
Dawn Kitterman
BRADENTON – This week, Manatee Planning Commissioner and mortgage broker Mike Rahn announced his candidacy for the District 4 seat on the Manatee Commission. The official press release provided by the campaign contained a summary of the hopeful candidate's resume. The press release also contained statements from the candidate about his opponent which appeared to be in conflict with the facts.
The newly announced candidate declared his bid after Manatee County adopted its latest redistricting map, which moved Mike Rahn into District 4 (a seat currently held by incumbent Republican Misty Servia) from his former District 5, held by Republican Commissioner Vanessa Baugh. Rahn is the first Republican challenger to enter the race against Servia for the party's primary. The only other declared candidate for District seat 4 is NPA candidate Tim Norwood, who made failed runs for the GOP nomination in 2010 and 2014.
"I am pro-life. I am pro-Trump. I am pro-DeSantis. I am pro-freedom," Rahn’s official campaign press release stated, as it set the foundation of his campaign platform.
Rahn is a lifelong resident of Manatee and Sarasota Counties who has years-long ties to the building industry, real estate, and local politics. The official campaign announcement was delivered to TBT by Tampa-based political consultant Anthony Pedicini–an individual of note in recent TBT reporting and the campaign consultant of four current county commissioners.TBT was unable to confirm whether Pedicini’s firm, Strategic Image Management, had been contracted to advise the campaign.
Rahn has worked for nearly 30 years in the residential mortgage industry as a mortgage broker and is the former President of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, former second Vice President of the Florida Home Builders Association (FHBA), and a current board member of the National Association of Home Builders, as well as a current member of the Manatee Planning Commission. He also serves as Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors for the Safe Children Coalition.
During his time on the Manatee Planning Commission, Rahn has been an affirmative vote for some of the county’s more high-profile development requests. As reported by the Herald-Tribune, Rahn was one of three members who cast a vote in support of the 2017 Aqua by the Bay development, as well as a vote in favor of the 2019 proposal of Gamble Creek Village development and comp plan amendment–support which he maintained through the 4-1 vote in 2021 by the planning commission for a recommendation of the proposed development's transmittal.
The Gamble Creek Village development received heightened attention by many in the community due to its conflict with the comprehensive plan’s urban boundary line, a line intended to protect against urban sprawl. The transmittal was approved by the board of county commissioners in a 6-1 vote last September and an amendment to the plan was likewise approved by the board in December. Commissioner Servia was the lone "nay" vote from the commission in both instances.
In an article dated November of 2005 in theJacksonville Daily Record,the publication announced Rahn’s appointment as Vice President of the FHBA–the Tallahassee-based trade association of corporate members involved in Florida's homebuilding industry. It reported that Rahn said of his then-new role with the association, "My job is to serve builders and help them fight for what’s best for our industry. Whether that involves fighting impact fees or inclusionary zoning or working to make housing more affordable, I want the builders to know that the associate members are on the front lines with them."
Rahn is also a veteran, having served 13 years both active and reserve duty in the United States Marine Corps, including active service during Operation Desert Storm.
"As a Veteran, I was trained to always be ready for the fight; As a businessman, I learned you have to be ready for the unknown; Today, I’m a candidate pledging to give Republicans a real conservative they can vote for in District 4," Rahn said in his campaign announcement.
Rahn also took multiple swipes at his opponent–incumbent Commissioner Misty Servia–including an allegation that she "called Governor Ron Desantis a racist"– a disingenuous allegation that readers might recognize as one they have heard somewhere before. The narrative was first circulated in an unsolicited, politically-charged mass emailer sent out by a mystery group titledManatee County Concerned Citizensearly last year.
The allegation stems from comments that Servia made in a since heavily reported commission meeting where it was first brought to light that current commissioner, and then commission chair, Vanessa Baugh had worked to organize a state-run vaccine pop-up center without the inclusion of–or knowledge of–her colleagues.
In reporting on the tense meeting last February,FOX 13quoted Servia as saying, "We ask why we think there is a racism problem perceived in Manatee County? This adds to that argument. You’re taking the whitest and richest demographic in Manatee County and putting them ahead of everyone else."
Servia’s comments would later be twisted by some in the media and the Manatee Concerned Citizens group, to portray her statements as having been directed to–or about–Governor Ron Desantis. Though Servia publicly pronounced her gratitude to the governor on multiple occasions for his effort to bring more vaccines to Manatee–and although she never called anyone a "racist," not even Commissioner Baugh–some of her criticisms of Baugh’s actions were misrepresented as having been criticisms of Governor Desantis himself. By all accounts, DeSantis was not aware of Baugh's decision to limit the pool to two zip codes within her district, in conflict with the board's approved policy of a random lottery.
Rahn also alleged in his campaign announcement that his opponent had declared herself "pro-choice," though the issue of abortion is one the incumbent commissioner has repeatedly refused to declare any official position on.
When the board voted 4-3 in a September 2021 meeting to send a letter to Attorney General Ashley Moody requesting her office’s opinion on the commission potentially considering an ordinance to ban abortion providers from operating in Manatee–a county that has no abortion providers–Servia expressed a refusal to declare a position on the issue, only offering that her personal opinion was one in which she does not agree with abortion, but also did not agree with the county considering such an initiative.
As reported by the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, during the September meeting, At-Large Commissioner Carol Whitmore announced her "pro-choice" position, while Servia stated her belief that there might be some political motivation behind the letter–a move she said she suspected was intended to undercut her and Whitmore’s upcoming elections by forcing them to publicly take a stance on the issue. "I am a Christian, I am a mother, I am a Republican, I am somebody who values life," Servia said. "So please don't try to say that those are not my qualities because they are," the Herald quoted the commissioner as saying.
For months, Servia stressed her conservative values, saying that such an ordinance, if taken up by the board, would be challenged in the courts–where it was almost certain to fail–passing expensive legal costs to the taxpayers without notable benefit for the county. Servia’s stated position was that such an ordinance would not be fiscally conservative or responsible.
Servia’s opponent also labeled her as someone who "wants a career on the commission" despite the commissioner’s candidacy only vying for her second term. Commissioner Vanessa Baugh–who serves on the Supervisor of Election canvassing board–was elected in 2012 and is currently serving her third term. Based on social media posts, Rahn and Baugh are quite close as Baugh refers to Rahn as her "brother" in a Facebook post. Baugh shared a photo including her and Rahn on December 16, 2021–two days after the board voted to adopt the county’s 2022 redistricting map. The same photo is used as Commissioner Baugh’s cover photo on her official county Facebook page.
A 2021 Facebook post by Commissioner Vanessa Baugh
There were additional criticisms and allegations Rahn said of Servia, including the accusation that his opponent, "locked down the economy." The statement presumably referred to Servia being one of four votes which enacted a temporary curfew during the early days of the pandemic, on April 2, 2020. The curfew enacted by the previous commission was an effort put in place by the board to encourage citizen compliance with the "stay at home" order enacted by the governor the week prior, on March 28, 2020.
By March 3, 2020, when Governor Desantis lifted the "stay at home" order while retaining restrictions on such things as restaurants, churches, and business capacities, the Manatee Commission had already voted to rescind their curfew more than a week prior, on April 21, 2020. Commissioners Trace, Baugh, Jonsson, and Benac voted for the rescission, stating their belief that Manatee County residents would continue to heed DeSantis' Executive Order that limited non-essential trips around the community. Servia was one of three commissioners, however, who was concerned that lifting the curfew prematurely would lead to residents not adhering to the governor’s orders and potentially putting the community at risk of further spreading an unknown–and not yet understood–novel virus.
"She is not conservative. She isn’t even a true Republican. That’s the choice in the Republican Primary for District 4," Rahn included in statements on his campaign announcement. Yet in a Facebook post from 2018, Rahn displayed a much different opinion of Commissioner Servia. "Please vote for Misty Servia for County Commissioner. She is the best and most well-qualified candidate," his late post read.
A 2018 Facebook post by District 4 candidate, Mike Rahn.
TBT attempted to arrange an interview with the newly declared candidate but was informed he was unable to participate outside of emailed questions and answers due to his schedule.
With primary elections just seven months away, Manatee voters may have just been given their first glimpse of what they should expect on glossy direct mail pieces in the months ahead, as well as in campaign speeches or debates. It remains to be seen whether voters are readily swayed–as they were in 2020–by negative political attacks and half-truths, ideological rhetoric, and how important it remains to Manatee County Republicans as to whether a candidate has declared their unwavering loyalty to the former President.
Dawn Kitterman is a staff reporter for The Bradenton Times. She covers local government and entertainment news. She can be reached at dawn.kitterman@thebradentontimes.com.
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