The Manatee County Commission District 1 Republican primary will feature Carol Ann Felts and Steve Metallo. The winner will face NPA Jen Hamey and Democrat Glenn Pearson in November’s general election.
Felts is a dedicated citizen activist who has served her community well as a local government watchdog. She has tirelessly traveled from Myakka City to downtown Bradenton to attend nearly every county meeting, consistently arriving prepared to ask meaningful questions of board members.
Felts, who unsuccessfully sought the countywide District 6 seat in 2022, has advocated for planned growth policies that respect compatibility within an existing community. She has advocated for making developers pay their fair share via impact fees and was roundly critical of the board’s most hamfisted decisions, such as eviscerating wetland protections and the future development area boundary (FDAB).
Like many of the other candidates we have recommended this cycle, Felts has lamented the current board’s clear disinterest in engaging the members of the public it is supposed to represent. If elected, she hopes to provide citizens with resources to better understand the process by which critical local decisions are made and encourage their participation in the governance process. We find her commitment to being a true voice of the community beyond reproach.
Steve Metallo is a local teacher and longtime Parrish resident. Not much is known about his positions on these matters because his campaign has not focused on the issues that are most important to Manatee County residents and instead sought to associate his candidacy with popular right-wing figures like Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis.
As of his most recent filing, Metallo had raised nearly $100,000, much of it coming from the development community and, specifically, entities related to Carlos Beruff. He has the same political consulting firm and treasurer as most of the other developer-controlled commissioners, all of which are major red flags in our opinion.
Metallo’s press release announcing his candidacy read, “First and foremost, we need to get local government working on issues that affect affordability. Any regulations, fees or taxes that raise the cost of goods or services need to be suspended to give relief to residents, even if it is just temporarily.” This sounds a lot like cover for supporting reduced impact fee policies that benefit developer profits at the expense of much-needed infrastructure, which is exactly what the board’s other developer-sponsored commissioners—Kevin Van Ostenbridge, Ray Turner, Amanda Ballard, Mike Rahn, and James Satcher (now SOE) have voted for.
Developers already have far too much influence on this board and over Manatee County Government at large. Furthermore, we fear irreversible damage will be done to our community if that dynamic is not corrected in this year’s election cycle. We have full confidence that Carol Ann Felts has the courage and fortitude to stand up to developer puppets and be a true voice for the people on the Manatee County Commission.
