The Florida House of Representatives District 72 Republican primary features four candidates: Richard Green, Alyssa Gay, Richard Tatem, and Bill Conerly. The winner will take on unopposed Democrat Lesa Miller in November's general election.
When Rep. Tommy Gregory (R) announced that he would step down from the seat after being selected as the next President of State College of Florida, a crowded primary field quickly emerged. We find Green to be the best choice in this field for voters who want a responsive representative in Tallahassee.
Green is a Senior Attorney at Lewis, Longman & Walker, where he specializes in real estate, land use development, and environmental matters. This background could potentially allow him to be an advocate for a district that has suffered from heavy-handed state legislation that has failed to respect the conservative principle of home rule, particularly when it comes to the ability of individual communities to decide what policies would best serve their specific needs.
Green has displayed a thoughtful and measured temperament. He is well-spoken but, more importantly, has shown an ability and willingness to listen and engage, which has regretfully become a somewhat uncommon attribute among elected officials. These qualities, combined with his legal experience, suggest that he would be the most effective legislator in the field.
Republican dominance in Tallahassee has given the Republican Party of Florida and the special interests that have funded its success in the post-Citizens United era immense influence over the party platform. We have been supremely disappointed by the party's divergence from core conservative values like small government, home rule, free speech, and good stewardship of natural resources.
The party has cloaked itself in conservative rhetoric, mostly via culture war issues, but has departed from the principles of the ideology as espoused by its early leaders, such as William F. Buckley. It will take serious elected officials to right the ship, and we found Green to have the best chance of being effective in such a landscape.
Alyssa Gay is an interesting candidate who brings a fresh perspective to the field. As a young female, she would broaden the perspective of a body that has long been dominated by older males. She has a solid command of the issues and seems to be in touch with conservatives of her generation who are beginning to get a foothold in the party. While we believe Green is a more seasoned and well-rounded candidate, we found her to be the only other acceptable candidate among the four.
Bill Conerly is an engineer who served on the Manatee County Planning Commission for 12 years. He is the vice president of Kimley-Horn and Associates, the engineering and design firm currently working with Manatee County on an overhaul of its Comprehensive Land Use Plan.
Conerly was a reliable voter for developers while on the planning commission, and they are eager to send him to Tallahassee. He has raised nearly twice as much money as all three of his opponents combined, mostly from businesses and individuals tied to development, including Carlos Beruff and his various entities. In addition to this war chest, there are also dark money PACs aiding his campaign. Conerly also chose to employ SIMWINS, the political consulting firm of Anthony Pedecini, known for employing unscrupulous tactics on behalf of its clients. We believe that engaging a firm so notorious for its dishonesty and lack of moral scruples raises even more questions about Conerly's character.
If elected, we do not feel Conerly would represent the people of the district over the special interests that are bankrolling his campaign. This position is anchored by his embarrassing performance when the plan to eviscerate the county's wetland protections came before the planning commission. We have enough Bill Conerly types in Tallahassee.
Richard Tatem is resigning his school board seat to run in this race despite having served less than two years in that post. The retired Air Force officer did little to distinguish himself on a minor board, and we find the fact that he's abandoning his responsibilities so early to seek a higher office that he is a long shot to win indicative of someone who puts personal ambition above public service.
Tatem speaks of an urgency to go to Tallahassee and represent "conservative values," but there is nothing in his platform that distinguishes him from every other generic conservative already there claiming to do the same thing. What's more, the party has a strong majority in both chambers. The governor and his entire cabinet are Republicans. In short, there is no one of consequence for ideologues like Tatem to defend conservative values against.
Most of all, we find Tatem's strategic exit from his nonpartisan school board seat so that it would be filled by a DeSantis appointment (read: by local developers) rather than on this year's ballot to be severely anti-democratic. Candidates who choose party loyalty over the voters' right to choose their elected officials show a willingness to subvert democracy that we find troubling, to say the very least.
All four candidates participated in a Tiger Bay debate. Click here to watch.
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sandy
Out of all of the mailers I have received to date, Conerly has been the most prolific. To date, I have received 11 in the mail and one e-mail. I was not crazy about him because of his record on the Planning Commission but his very first mailer sealed it for me, sent before Biden dropped out of the race. It claims "the ONE Conservative that can give Sleepy Joe Biden nightmares." I don't think a single state representative even comes up on the radar of the President. State and local candidates should be more concerned with issues that affect the citizens of the state and county as they have no real impact on federal issues.
Saturday, August 3 Report this
justin
Greetings Fellow Citizens of Manatee County
First, let me congratulate Mr. Green on his endorsement from TBT.
I am disappointed that no one from TBT reached out to me to discuss the information about me in this article. So, let’s quickly and succinctly set the record straight.
1. “The retired Air Force officer did little to distinguish himself on a minor board.”
• I invite my fellow citizens to read this article from Chris Anderson at the Sarasota Herald Tribune: “Opinion: The Manatee County School Board Actually Governs. Where is the fun in that?” This local journalist praises the board as a whole for being “a bunch of boring members…all they do is what they were elected to do.” In particular, of me, Mr. Anderson praises me for attending a meeting with him and other parents concerning arts funding cuts. Mr. Anderson said, “Tatem attended the meeting and did something quite shocking: He actually listened to everyone's concerns and took notes. He did exactly what an elected official is supposed to do: He was present for the people he represents…he couldn’t have been more genuine.” In fact, I worked with the superintendent to restore a significant amount of funding to the arts programs in Manatee County Schools – and not just in my district.
• “A minor board.” Apparently, TBT maybe forgot that the Manatee County School System is by far the largest employer in Manatee County with approximately 6,250 employees, almost three times more employees than Manatee County Government. The school system budget for FY 2024-2025 is $1.5 billion. The school system has over 50 facilities that it operates and runs a transportation operation with approximately 100 daily bus routes during the school year (and a lesser amount during the summer). The Manatee County School Board also oversees Manatee Technical College and its approximately 1,200 annual enrolled students.
• “There is nothing in his platform that distinguishes him from every other generic conservative already there claiming to do the same thing.” Apparently, whoever wrote this article did not watch the Tiger Bay debate, the link to watch is at the bottom of the article. In that debate, I made two specific and important proposals that none of my competitors – or anyone in the state house – is making. First, I stated that the skyrocketing cost of building schools must be stopped – and my proposal to do that is by reforming the SREF (state requirements for educational facilities) building code, which builders and architects tell me is too restrictive and drives up building costs. Charter schools are not bound by the SREF – and cost about half as much to build. Second, I stated that unfunded/partially funded mandates from the state on local governments must be stopped, especially on school systems. Last fiscal year, the Manatee School System had over $55 million in unfunded/partially funded mandates from the state. Paying for all of these extra building costs and inadequately funded state mandates have to come from the local tax base.
• “Candidates who choose party loyalty over the voters' right to choose their elected officials show a willingness to subvert democracy that we find troubling, to say the very least.” This statement is laced with innuendos of malfeasance that are not worthy of good journalists. First, as I said, no one from TBT spoke to me at all about this issue. Second, if I had resigned early, I would have left my constituents without representation for six months during the important budget development season. And third, the article insinuates that I did not resign so the local developers could get their person appointed. In fact, the developers are working hard to defeat me, as they see me as their primary threat; their political consultant told me I was “out of the family” because I am not aligned with him and the developers.
• The article states that I am a “longshot to win.” Well, based on the doors I am knocking on and the many people who have already voted for me – we’ll see. I am the only candidate in this race endorsed by a local elected official (Sheriff Wells), and I have other endorsements around the state, including the influential Florida Family Action organization.
I invite my fellow citizens to read the article I mention above and to learn more about me at my campaign website, richtatem.com. Thank you for taking the time to read my comments. Aim High Florida!
Sunday, August 4 Report this