As the Publisher of The Bradenton Times, I wanted to thank all those who participated in voting during our August 20th Primary. It was a remarkable outcome that could only have been achieved by an informed voter with the assistance of a free press environment. I am proud to be part of such a talented team of people and have the benefit of living in a community that, as they say, gets it!
At The Bradenton Times, we deliver fact-based news with a no-tolerance policy to produce any click-baiting or fake news. What if we get our facts wrong? Our policy is that if we are notified of anything we publish that is not factual, we will correct the reporting or opinion with just as much exposure as the original publication. This is really important not only for our readers to trust what we publish but also to educate our community so elected officials are held accountable. This is an important foundation not only for our publication but for democracy and the privilege of having a free press.
Please take into consideration what we publish you may not agree with, however, we take great efforts to research and do the best we can at being factual. This is the difference between our publication and social media news sites publishing without facts to get clicks for revenue.
The Bradenton Times strives to be the pulse of our community, as any legitimate news organization should. Our news and opinions, along with our reader comments, do reflect the pulse of our community. With the help of so many others who reinforce this pulse, we see that positive change is possible and, in fact, has been achieved. On August 20, the voters sent a strong message that was heard loud and clear.
This Primary Election was so important for our community. We have seen the worst of local government, elected officials stripping away citizens' rights to participate in our decision-making and selling out our government to a handful of developers who have reaped almost a billion dollars of value in these four short years.
We have seen wetland policies so critical to our quality of life stripped away and what I can only describe as a dictatorship type of government. No matter how much the public outcry was, we were ignored, bullied, and disrespected.
The other horrible outcome led by the vindictive (soon-to-be former) Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge was the loss of so much institutional knowledge: over 600 talented county employees, employees like Cheri Coreya, our first female County administrator. She had so much talent, passion, and caring that it will never be replaced. KVO forced her out.
That started the loss of others with 20 years or more of experience. They forced out Mike Gore, our Utilities Director. I would have to say the chaos from the Lake Manatee Dam releases would not have happened with someone like Mike, who lived and breathed utilities his whole career in Manatee County.
Also, we lost institutional knowledge in the public safety department, which provides critical decision-making during storms like Hurricane Debbie. As a County Commissioner for 22 years, I had confidence that we had a focus on preparation for disasters. So much so that the county took almost 100 people to Maryland for a FEMA course to ensure we were ready to respond to a disaster.
This year, the county failed to hold the necessary before the Hurricane Season preparedness meeting. We were so fortunate no one died from the County’s irresponsible action of texting people to leave their homes only to find the roads were flooded and placed into harm's way. This should never have happened.
Because of this and other mistakes people feel they can't trust their Government during a crisis. All this was because a few developers wanted to install some puppets that did not have the people’s best interest as a priority. The county was once a leader in handling storm events; it is a level of competency we need to return to.
Fortunately, elections do have consequences, and for Manatee County, this time, it is positive. We have already seen the votes to restore public comments, restore our wetland protections, and a vote to respect the home rule of a city by ending the Holmes Beach Parking Garage fiasco.
KVO started this fiasco because the mayor did not endorse him when he first ran for election. We witnessed Commissioner Jason Beardon apologize and make motions that are in the community's best interest. How refreshing is that to witness?
Your vote is a powerful tool that made this change. This community that has suffered so much now sees hope. I have seen people with tears of joy, tears of exhaustion, so many positive comments, and words of thanks for what we do at The Bradenton Times.
We as a community have won a war of hateful, fraudulent mailers mainly stemming from the political hack Anthony Pedicini’s coordinated attacks. So many texts and mailers are designed to brainwash the voters for one reason: to benefit a handful of developers. Our Democracy in Manatee County stands tall today, protected from those who want to control our County for greed, because our voters took the time to educate themselves on the issues and vote.
We are also so fortunate to have talented candidates volunteer to step up and run for office. They run the equivalent of a marathon. For some, it's not over yet. What should shock us all is that this year, the political hacks took aim at candidates' spouses and families. These desperate attempts were shameful and unprecedented. Any political attack on a candidate's spouse and or family should be off-limits. If we are going to get candidates to run, we cannot tolerate the uncalled-for abuses. They need to be held accountable!
Understanding that the shining light of our freedoms can not continue without an educated citizen is critical. The Bradenton Times shares in the vital role of educating our community. Our role is not over on election day, but continues every day.
If you are reading this and have not signed up for one of our paid subscriptions, please consider clicking on this link and becoming one of the many paid subscribers. Our continued goal is to serve our community with free news without a paywall. However, producing the news costs money, and we can only continue with this community's support.
Joe McClash
Publisher
The Bradenton Times
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kmskepton
Thank you for your excellent publication.
More than happy to have a paid subscription. In fact, after that wretched endorsement of KVO that the Herald-Tribune had in their paper just prior to the primary,I canceled that subscription and increased what I pay for yours.
Keep up the great work, please. We desperately need it.
5 days ago Report this
mcems1986
Joe, well said. Each paragraph in your column is spot on. I too, believe if Mike Gore was on duty along with several key Public Safety staff members (with historical knowledge) who are no longer there our Aug 2nd thru 5th event would have been much different.
I have enjoyed reading and listening to Mitch, Dawn and yourself on TBT that I have become a paid subscriber. Was a Bradenton Herald subscriber for decades and never the HT. I felt neither reported well of our local issues. TBT has done exactly what your tag is: Fair, Balanced without an agenda. To the team, keep up the great work.
5 days ago Report this
tjgachter
Very honored to support with my subscription The Bradenton Times publication…worth every penny. Excellent article as always, this time with such positive news!
4 days ago Report this
Cat L
Very much appreciated, and I do wish Sarasota had an equivalent.
4 days ago Report this
Charles
- I make an annual donation to TBT instead of a subscription, others can too—give what you are able to. It is an investment that provides sound dividends: concern for the community expressed in facts, truth, ethics, researched advise. Let's hope the pendulum continues to swing away from the corruption that has overtaken what should have been leadership — Thanks to TBT for its constant dedication to informing readers and encouraging voters to overcome the manipulation.
4 days ago Report this
David Daniels
The primary election results confirm the value of journalism shining a light on local government. Democracy works when voters are informed. Thank you.
4 days ago Report this
rjckeuka4
Joe, You're "spot on" about the success of the grass roots effort to jettison the clown act that took over in 2020. And your 5-page letter told the story as well as it could be told. I had previously written a similar one pager and distributed it throughout my condo community. When I got yours, I distributed it to those folks again and as many as 500 in 2 other communities where I have previously lived. Many folks recruited by George and Scott pitched in to spread the word as well. And, TBT has made a difference! The community owes much to you for taking the initiative to produce it...as well as having the courage to "expose" the developers, and their hacks. What occurred in our County is a miniature of what occurred nationally from 2016-2020. Five Secretaries of Defense...someone fired every month...a pandemic denied and bungled...impeachments...allies deserted...dictators embraced...a Republican Party in shambles just like here in our County. It's time for responsible Republicans to regain the grand old party. Thanks for leading that initiative in Manatee County!
4 days ago Report this
Spk1963
3 days ago Report this