The Manatee County Commission District 7 Republican primary will feature two incumbents, D-7’s George Kruse and D-3’s Kevin Van Ostenbridge, the latter of whom dropped out of his district to seek the countywide “at-large” seat.
Like the Supervisor of Elections contest we recently weighed in on, this is a very easy race for which to issue a recommendation. It features one highly qualified candidate going up against an opponent who has been nothing short of a disgrace in his first four years as a commissioner.
George Kruse was elected in 2020 as part of a new majority that, somewhat ironically, included both Van Ostenbridge and interim SOE James Satcher. All three candidates received strong support from politically connected developer Carlos Beruff. To his credit, Kruse maintained from the beginning that while Beruff had been generous to his campaign (mostly out of disdain for his primary opponent, former Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker), he had made it clear that he would not be beholden to the developer’s wishes.
His independence was tested early when he resisted the new majority’s initial attempt to remove then-county administrator Cheri Coryea and when he opposed the proposed weakening of the “perils of flood” policy. However, Kruse soon discovered that Beruff and his allies did not tolerate dissent, leading to his isolation from the majority and their supporters in the development community.
In contrast, Van Ostenbridge has shown a strong alignment with Beruff and his associates. He wasted no time in making the motion to dismiss Coryea, a highly qualified administrator, immediately after taking office. He has consistently advocated for pro-development policies, from weakening wetland protection measures to granting developers significant concessions on impact fees, both of which Kruse opposed. Van Ostenbridge has also consistently disregarded the conservative principle of small government/home rule like the parking war with Holmes Beach.
As Kruse pointed out in these instances and many others, such policies will force existing residents to continue subsidizing the profits of already uber-rich developers through higher taxes and/or decreased services and quality of life. Through his advocacy at meetings and the regular town halls he hosts, Kruse has consistently given voice to a frustrated majority of engaged citizens who have been blatantly ignored by their so-called elected officials. This includes Van Ostenbridge, whose reputation in his own district was so poor that he was forced to try his hand in a much larger race, where he hopes to spend his mountain of developer cash (nearly five times what Kruse has raised) convincing low-information voters via red-meat national issues.
Kruse has had two very public controversies during his term: an extramarital affair and allegations of driving under the influence when he crashed his pickup truck. He has addressed both issues candidly in a column you can read here. Van Ostenbridge has had even more public controversies, including serving time on criminal probation during his first term for property theft from one of his own constituents. There is also significant evidence that he has used the county’s code enforcement department as a political weapon while routinely exceeding his power as a commissioner to direct county staff to do his bidding. He also attempted to use taxpayer money to purchase highly detailed voter data, causing very personal information about thousands of Manatee County residents to become public.
In addition to the public foibles Commissioner Van Ostenbridge has openly displayed during his first term, he has also been dogged by incessant rumors and accusations of salacious behavior unbefitting a public official. Given the lack of character he has so consistently demonstrated, we find this difficult to dismiss. While the commissioner has never served his country, he is quite fond of using military jargon when addressing the public. In the spirit of such parlance, we believe that he is unfit to serve at any level.
Commissioner George Kruse may have made some mistakes in his personal life during his first term. That said, he has consistently been the only commissioner of seven who has demonstrated a willingness to engage the public, hear constituents of all political stripes, and give voice to the people he is charged with representing. Moreover, he has been the only commissioner on an all-Republican board who has consistently demonstrated a consistent commitment to conservative principles, not just rhetoric.
Meanwhile, Commissioner Van Ostenbridge has made countless missteps in both his professional and personal life during his first term. While he has proven himself quite adept at draping himself in conservative rhetoric, he has supported policies that spend money like a drunken sailor, advocated for ceding home rule to big government, and sent a clear message to any citizen who disagrees with him that they are not his real constituents.
We believe that if given another four years, Commissioner Van Ostenbridge would be willing and capable of doing irreparable damage to this community. The Bradenton Times not only recommends Republican George Kruse for this race, but because there is only one Democrat who qualified for the ballot and, therefore, no need for a primary in that party, we urge non-Republicans to consider changing their registration ahead of the July 22 deadline in order to have a voice in a crucial primary that is all but certain to decide the future direction of this board and our county.
