I changed my affiliation. But the person trying to "rig" this election is Pedicini. By using the write-in loophole which closed the republican primary for SOE for half the voters in the county from voting in what is essentially a one party race and making it go to the general when you know the write-in never wins. That's "rigging". They used the write-in for District 3 and District 7 which was unnecessary because of a Democrat candidate, it closed the primary automatically. In my 30 years in Manatee County I never stressed over a primary as much as this one. Of course, I couldn't vote in the others because a Democrat. That is why I changed. We need better representatives that are independent of the developers.
Satcher is violating regulations as a candidate. You can't solicit within a certain distance from the polling place which sounds like he did by handing out a campaign letter and talking to voters inside this distance. He also is campaigning on topics that should not apply to the SOE who is supposed to be non-partisan. As a candidate he should only be inside the precinct to vote as a candidate, even though the SOE. This is one big cluster.
Thank you for your insight on our local government. This is an important conversation that the public should listen to, thankfully no one lost their life. This is the state of Manatee County Government. When was the last time that conditions of the dam even came up at a meeting? How is something as critical at the conditions of the dam not being discussed in front of the public? Sadly, we are no longer having any important conversations at BOCC meetings and haven’t in almost 2 years. There are NO presentations. There are NO real conversations. Almost EVERYTHING is on the consent agenda. Any commissioner (only Kruse) who wants to have dialog concerning issues important to citizens is immediately shut down.
People espouse the importance of home rule, but then destroy it in ways like this. These people are not able to decide how they live. Citizens united screwed us over and made it so a small percentage of the population can make decisions for the rest of us. That is not democracy.
But, I don't understand why the reduction in outflow before the storm. Isn't that the opposite of what is supposed to happen?
And the sad fact is that part of me knows that there are going to be developers looking at those people's properties with dollar signs in their eyes. In some crowds, no crisis goes to waste.
Well stated. Character, truth and integrity are critical when we choose our leaders. This is true for national, state and local offices. We MUST vote wisely. Ruth Lawler
Rick Scott is not a friend to Seniors and it boggles my mind how any senior could vote for him. However, the reality is that there is a simple answer to the Medicare medication cost issue. A little known fact is that the US government already has negotiated extremely low medication costs for the VA, Critical access hospitals, and the Federally Qualified Health Centers. This program is the 340B medication program. Florida Medicaid had mandated that pharmacies dispensing 340B medications could only charge the cost of the drug plus a regulated dispensing fee. The cost of these medications are far below the free market costs for consumers. Congress could enact legislation to allow Medicare recipients to access 340B medications if they were being genuine about helping Medicare recipients access affordable medications. In many cases these meds cost less than the Canadian meds, that many Medicare recipients have started to access. One current solution for Medicare recipients on expensive medications is to become a primary care patient of a Federally Qualified Health Center and access the pharmacy run by the Center. Manatee County currently has a Federally Qualified Health Center (Manatee County Rural Health Services, Inc.) with many locations in the County,
Yet sadly there are still Manatee County citizens who are unaware of what exactly is going on here. Leaders in the community are directing others to vote in all those developer people. Unfortunately, we will all suffer for this should they win.
I watched this meeting. It was heartbreaking. Did county action cause the flooding? We need the citizens to come to public comment and put it on the record for the rest of the citizens of Manatee County.
As a citizen that believes in public service and good government, I am grateful for the Bradenton Times and the light they shine to expose what has become a corrupt County government and the greedy individuals that are pulling the strings so they continue to get wealthy at the expense of our environment and quality of life. The role of journalism and dogged reporting of facts can't be understated. Thank you!
This is the state of Manatee County and the results when they refuse to engage with the citizens who live here by cutting off public comments and questions. If citizens were allowed to comment and post questions to the website, someone in charge could have been able to clear up the confusion. Clearly, 311 is not the number to call since they sent valuable resources away from those in need and instead sent them to citizens who did not need assistance. This debacle is a direct result of those in charge starting at the commissioner level. No one cares and no one wants to engage. ONLY Kruse will interact with the public. Take Back Manatee County on August 20.
All things considered Heather Felton is clearly the best candidate. Voters would do well to stay far far away from SIMWINS candidates for any office!!!
Thank you for being such an informed, articulate advocate for responsible local government. VanOStenbridge, Turner and the Commissioner (other than Kruse) are prioritizing short term greed over the long term best interest of a healthy environment. The picture of the dead sea turtle is heartbreaking. Consider too, how many gopher tortoises have been crushed and buried by bulldozers.
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