Hopefuls line up for commission, School Board seats

BRADENTON – The 2010 elections may be a referendum on the current president as the U.S. House goes up for re-election, but there are plenty of local races to watch.

In Manatee County, three County Commission seats and two School Board seats are at stake.

County Commission

The District 4 seat is up for grabs since its current holder, Ron Getman, is not running for another term. This has opened things up in the race that has three Republicans and one Democrat in the running so far.

On the GOP side, Realtor Robin DiSabatino has the big money behind her, with $100,110 in monetary contributions so far, according to the Web site Voterfocus.com. (You can see the names of the candidates and how much money they've raised and spent here.

Former Manatee County Planning Department staffer Norm Luppino is also pursuing the nomination, with $4,660 raised so far. Timothy Norwood is the third Republican in the race, with $175 raised.

On the Democratic side, Roger C. Galle is running, and has raised $460.

In District 2, incumbent Gwendolyn Y. Brown has drawn a primary opponent, Michael Gallen, a teacher at Lakewood Ranch High School. So far, Brown has raised $1,170 and Gallen has taken in $3,025.

In District 6, one of two at-large seats, incumbent Carol Whitmore is the Republican in the race, and she has raised $40,200. Her Democratic challenger is Sundae Lynn Knight, who has raised $585.

County commissioners are paid $74,652 per year.

School Board

The hot race so far is for District 3, where board chairwoman Jane Pfeilsticker has decided to run for another term. Julie B. Aranibar has announced for the seat and has raised $100, and Albert G. Yusko recently announced his intention to run for the seat.

In District 1, Barbara Harvey has filed for re-election.

School Board members earn $36,084 per year.

County Court Judge

At present, two incumbent judges are running for re-election. George K. Brown Jr. is the incumbent in Group 1, and Doug Henderson is the incumbent in Group 2. Both have raised $1,000.