This year’s Florida House races are among the most important in recent history. For the past five years, Republicans in Tallahassee have been on a mission to eviscerate home rule, passing an onslaught of preemption bills that defy the conservative principle of small government, while consolidating power at the top. That is what makes this endorsement so easy to issue.
Incumbent Republican William “Bill” Conerly has been one of the most reliable votes for such legislation. Conerly had the full support of Big Development when he won the seat in 2024, as several promising grassroots candidates split the rest of the vote. In his two years in office, Conerly has consistently represented the interests of developers over those of his community and its constituents.
Conerly voted in favor of the disastrous SB 180 legislation that has prevented our local government from reinstituting vital wetland protections that were stripped by a previous board, reinstituting sensible impact fees, or reversing a policy that has allowed for rampant development east of the future development area boundary.
Before returning to Tallahassee for this year’s session, Conerly repeatedly acknowledged what he called unintended consequences of the legislation when pressed by Manatee County citizens who were angry that, despite voting out the majority of county commissioners who voted to remove wetland protections, the preemption bill he voted for was preventing them from being restored.
A Pinellas County Senator filed legislation to cure most of the woes caused by SB 180. Rather than file a companion bill in the House, which would have made it much more likely the legislation would pass, Conerly not only sat on his hands but also voted for even more legislation to preempt home rule, including the sprawl-inducing SB 399.
Conerly, who works for Kimley-Horn and Associates—a planning, surveying, engineering, and design consulting firm—is clearly in Tallahassee to represent the interests of his industry and the special interests within it that supported his campaign.
District 72 desperately needs a representative who will go to Tallahassee and fight for the interests of this community and its residents. We believe that person is John "Captain" Phillips. Phillips is a retired U.S. Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer 4 with over 30 years of service. Since declaring his candidacy, Phillips has conducted an impressive shoeleather, grassroots campaign, tirelessly engaging voters at every opportunity.
Phillips’ campaign is focused on reversing the loss of home rule that Conerly has consistently facilitated. He speaks of protecting rural Florida and our natural resources from the ravages of unsustainable development practices, in which growth has outpaced infrastructure.
Phillips' platform, record of service, and campaign work ethic suggest he is a principled man of integrity who says what he means and means what he says. We are confident that he is the best choice for District 72 Republican voters who want a representative who will fight for them in Tallahassee even when it means going up against party bosses and the powerful special interests who support them.
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kmskepton
Thank you.
Saturday, June 13 Report this
Manatee Watch
so you delete and censor comments you dont like? sweet. you're your own little dictatorship to spread your opinions and remove the ones you dont like. classic. Mister Journalist.
Sunday, June 14 Report this
JoeMcClashPublisher
The Bradenton Times has not removed any comments for this article.
Sunday, June 14 Report this
N_Alice_Newlon
Make up your own mind! League of Women Voters District 72 Republican Candidate Forum, Thursday, July 2, at 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm, Candidates: Bill Conerly, John Phillips, III. To see the full list of forums and register, go to https://lwvmanatee.org/voting-videos/
This Friday forums start with Congressional District 16 Democrats. Hear directly from the Candidates running for state, county and federal office before you cast your vote in the August 18th primary.
Sunday, June 14 Report this
teamj1009
Cronyism at its finest. Just remember everyone 87.7% of US wealth is owned by the top 10%. This means we are now slaves to them. Everything we do now is working for them. The sad issue for me is these cronies bought and paid for are in the end elected by the people. So who is to blame. The power is at the poles and if the voter is not educated or used for its intended purpose then we are the ones to blame.
Look at Sacher who was blackballed by the voters but still comes back and wants to be elected to another bought position. So everyone smarten up before it is really too late to fix all of the damage and control being done.
Sunday, June 14 Report this