Formal Opposition to Naming a Manatee County Road After Charlie Kirk

I am writing as a longtime Manatee County resident who is deeply concerned about the proposal to use taxpayer funds to name — or rename — any county roadway, street, park, or public facility after Charlie Kirk. While there has been discussion of an extension of 51st Street West and other possible locations, the exact site is irrelevant to my opposition. No matter where this designation is planned, my concerns remain the same and are widely shared by residents across Manatee County.

Bradenton proudly calls itself “The Friendly City.” This is how we present ourselves to visitors, businesses, and families choosing to move here — as a welcoming, respectful, community-minded place. It stands in complete contradiction to that identity to consider honoring a national figure whose public statements display hostility, contempt, and division toward women, racial minorities, religious minorities.

As Charlie Kirk once declared, “I can’t stand the word empathy. … I think empathy is a made-up, New Age term that … does a lot of damage.” A city cannot call itself friendly while elevating someone whose rhetoric denies empathy, grace, and dignity for so many hardworking residents of our community.

This is not a partisan matter. It is about the values our county chooses to elevate with taxpayer dollars, and what those values say about who we are as a community.

Because this issue affects the entire county, I will be CC’ing this email to the Bradenton Herald, The Bradenton Times, and local television outlets so that my concerns are a matter of public record and community awareness.

Charlie Kirk’s public statements include racism, misogyny, religious intolerance, and extremist claims that run counter to American constitutional principles. These are not opinions suitable for taxpayer-funded honor, nor do they reflect the character or diversity of Manatee County.

Below are direct quotes that make this clear:

On race:

“The great replacement strategy… is a strategy to replace white rural America.”
This promotes a white-supremacist conspiracy theory and is fundamentally anti-American. We are a nation of blended people — built on immigration, strengthened by diversity, and united by shared values, not racial fear.

On Black professionals:

“If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to think, ‘Boy, I hope he’s qualified.’”
This implies that Black professionals are inherently less competent solely because of race.

On Islam:

“Islam is the sword the left is using to slit the throat of America.”

On women and bodily autonomy:

“Abortion is the American Holocaust.”
This comparison is deeply offensive to women, doctors, and Jewish communities.
Women who make medical decisions about their own bodies, health, and future are not comparable to perpetrators of genocide.

On the Constitution and religion:

“There is no separation of church and state — it’s a fabrication.”
“America cannot have liberty without a Christian population.”

Why this is false:
• The Constitution does not mention Christianity.
• The First Amendment prohibits establishing any religion.
• The founders intentionally structured the U.S. as a secular republic, not a Christian theocracy.
• Jefferson and Madison explicitly defended separation of church and state to protect religious liberty for everyone.

On Martin Luther King Jr.:

“MLK was awful. He’s not a good person.”
He also stated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a “huge mistake.”

These positions are in direct opposition to mainstream American values and to the civil rights legacy our country depends on.

On gun violence involving children:

“Some gun deaths every single year” are a cost that is “worth it so that we can have the Second Amendment.”
This includes the deaths of children — an appalling stance for anyone being considered for public honor.

If you choose to ignore public opposition, then be willing to defend these statements publicly.

If the Commission truly believes Charlie Kirk represents the values of Manatee County, then each commissioner should be willing to say his quotes out loud, clearly and directly, to the people you represent:
• that Martin Luther King Jr. was “awful.”
• that women making medical decisions about their own bodies are participating in a “Holocaust.”
• that Black pilots should be viewed with suspicion “because of race.”
• that the United States should be a “Christian nation,” and that separation of church and state is “a fabrication.”
• that Muslim neighbors are a “sword” used to “slit the throat of America.”
• and that the deaths of children from gun violence are “worth it.”

If these are the values you are elevating with public funds, then you should be willing to declare them publicly — so the people of Manatee County understand exactly who is making decisions on our behalf and who we are voting for in the future.

Anything less is hiding behind a vote without owning the values that vote represents.

Additionally, I am happy to provide a list of Manatee County residents who have made meaningful, positive contributions to our community — individuals whose service, character, and impact genuinely reflect the values our county should be proud to honor.

It is truly baffling — and frankly disrespectful — that our own local community leaders and heroes would be ignored or passed over for such recognition, only to instead elevate a national political figure who has brought so much division and who has likely never even set foot in Manatee County.

Since this measure passed with a unanimous vote, I am respectfully requesting a response from each of you. I believe the residents of Manatee County deserve to hear directly from all seven commissioners about why this decision was made and how it reflects the values of the community you represent. I hope you will take this opportunity to explain your reasoning, listen to the widespread concerns being raised, and seriously consider reversing or amending this measure in a way that better reflects the character and unity of our county. I look forward to your thoughtful responses.