BRADENTON — The Bradenton City Council has selected a new council member to serve the City of Bradenton's Ward 3. The appointment of Kemp Schuessler was approved in a 3-1 vote during the July 23 city council meeting and sworn into office the same day.
The City Council’s Ward 3 seat was formerly filled by Josh Cramer, who vacated the position last month to accept his new role as Chief of the Bradenton Police Department.
According to the city’s code and charter, if any vacancy occurs on the city council (except as a result of a recall election) the remaining city council members shall appoint an eligible person to fill the seat until the next general municipal election, and said appointment shall be only for the unexpired term.
A seat on the Bradenton City Council carries a four-year term, and Cramer was elected in November 2022 and sworn into office in January 2023. His early leave means that 16 months remain until his former seat can be filled during the November 2026 election.
The city began accepting applications from interested candidates to fill the vacancy in May and received submissions through July 9. Schuessler, an independent insurance agent, was one of six Ward 3 residents who submitted applications.
Council members and Bradenton City Mayor Gene Brown commended the number of qualified residents who expressed interest in being considered for the vacancy.
Schuessler’s application letter to the council began with, “I am writing to express my sincere interest in the Ward 3 vacancy on the Bradenton City Council. With over 30 years of leadership experience in the financial services industry, I bring a strong background in strategic planning, budgeting, compliance and team building—skills that I believe will serve our city well as it grows and evolves.”
The 59-year-old’s resume included that he had previously worked in various positions on Wall Street early in his career before working as a financial advisor for Merrill Lynch (2012-2014), then as the co-founder and partner in a multi-state energy consulting agency (2015-2019), a managing director for Dream American (2017-2023), and most recently as an insurance agent.
The new councilman added that he and his wife chose to make Wares Creek their home, “because of its unique charm and deep-rooted history.”
He added, “I not only appreciate Bradenton’s heritage, but also see its exciting potential for smart, sustainable development.”
Click here to read Schuessler's letter to the council in full and to review his resume.
The Council’s Process
On July 22, the council held a workshop meeting where each applicant for the Ward 3 vacancy was given three minutes to provide introductions and statements before the council. Multiple citizen attendees of the workshop told TBT the meeting was short (roughly a half hour), and that despite time being allocated for council member questions of the candidates, none recalled any being asked.
The following day’s advertised meeting agenda (July 23) included an item related to the Ward 3 seat, but based on the item’s cover sheet, it was not clear whether the council would be selecting one of the six applicants for the appointment during the meeting.
The item was advertised as a “discussion about the Ward 3 seat,” and the suggested action of the council was noted as “TBD,” as in “to be decided.”
But upon Mayor Brown’s reading of the item into the public record, he recognized Councilwoman Jayne Kocher, who, after offering some opening comments, immediately moved to appoint Schuessler to the vacancy.
Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey seconded Kocher’s motion.
Barnebey opened her comments by recalling her own experience seeking an appointment in 2020, before complimenting the quantity and quality of the candidates who applied for the Ward 3 appointment.
After hearing from each of the candidates during the day’s prior workshop meeting, said Barnebey, and having reviewed their application letters and resumes, she agreed with Kocher’s selection of Schuessler for the role.
Following Barnebey’s comments, Councilwoman Lisa Gonzalez Moore shared that after reviewing the applications and conducting informal meetings with each candidate one-on-one, she felt prepared to offer a different candidate for the appointment.
Moore said she had good conversations with each of the candidates. Referring to her meeting with Schuessler, she commended his “willingness to serve this community that he is relatively new to.”
The candidate Moore stated was her first choice was Marsha Forrest, a resident of Bradenton’s Ward 3, as well as a business owner within the city’s Ward 5. As both a resident and small restaurant owner of the city, Moore said she felt Forrest could bring valuable dual perspectives to the council’s board.
However, with a motion and second already on the table to appoint Schuessler, that motion closed the ability for council members to hold a broader debate of all candidates up for consideration, or to make any other motions for appointments, until the vote was held on Kocher’s initial motion for Schuessler.
Unlike Moore, Councilwoman Pam Coachman said she did not meet with any candidates one-on-one, but did review their applications.
Speaking mainly on the appointment process, or perhaps lack of a clear, well-understood process, Coachman suggested that the council consider holding a future workshop meeting to better define its process for filling council vacancies.
“I just think maybe we could tighten this up,” said Coachman, while sharing some concern that each of the applicants may not have had a clear understanding of how they could or could not engage with the council ahead of its decision.
Though Moore stated during her initial comments that she would be honored to serve with any of the applicants as a potential future council member, she also expressed a desire for the members to engage in a broader discussion of all the candidates before a vote was held.
Attempting to move the council to hold a discussion, Moore motioned to “postpone” Kocher’s initial motion to appoint Schuessler, seeking to nullify the motion under Robert's Rules of Order. As Moore explained, she intended to essentially clear the table of any motion so a deliberation of all candidates could be held before a motion was re-made for appointment.
Moore’s motion failed for lack of a second.
With Kocker’s motion still on the table, the appointment of Schuessler to the Ward 3 seat was put to a vote, where it passed 3-1, with Councilwoman Coachman dissenting.
“No,” said Coachman as the vote was called. “I’m just saying… for the other five (applicants).”
Schuessler officially assumed his seat after being sworn in by Mayor Brown at the end of the July 23 council meeting. The Councilman Schuessler took his place on the dais during a Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) meeting that followed that same afternoon.
Click here to view the additional candidate applications submitted for the city council's consideration.
Dawn Kitterman is a staff reporter for The Bradenton Times, covering local government news. She can be reached at dawn.kitterman@thebradentontimes.com.
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David Daniels
Unlike former councilperson, Cramer, I hope Mr. Schuessler actually responds to constituents concerns. Also, despite his career catering to wealth, I hope he takes the time to visit, understand and act to improve the not-so wealthy neighborhoods in ward 3 between 9th and 14th St W, where the streets are littered with trash. Most importantly, I hope Mr. Schuessler is not just another rubber stamp for good ol boy developer interests like the rest of the council. The council's vote to approve former City manager Carl Callahan's project for 400 apartments at the old city hall site is typical of what we've seen over and over. This site is at one of the busiest, most traffic-clogged corners in the entire county. It is also right on the river and could have been used to the benefit and beauty of the entire city. Now, it will not only be an ugly, traffic nightmare, but it will add 400 more toilets to the city's failing waste water system to add to the millions of gallons of raw sewage the City has already dumped into the Manatee river.
Sunday, August 3, 2025 Report this
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
Slam Bam thank you ma’am. That’s how you get your pre-selected applicant appointed. It’s been done by Manatee County for decades. You decide who you want beforehand. You have someone nominate the candidate quickly second by another corrupt, elected official and then the chair quickly closes nominations with no intent for rebuttal or an opportunity for the other candidates to be considered. This disappointment is nothing but another hand on the rubbish stamp of overdevelopment and greedy developers. I see the same old, same old for years to come and the citizens of Bradenton suffer.
The city Council brings a new meaning to the word scammers because that’s exactly what they did. They scam the public… Again.
For the record
Sunday, August 3, 2025 Report this
lmseybold
Definitely was not a fair process! I hope that every single applicant runs for ward 3 during election time. Doubt that a newbie to the area would be selected. We had awesome candidates that have invested their time and efforts to the city and were really not even considered. What's that saying? It's who you know, even if you are the wrong candidate. Truly stated by all council members but 1. None of them did their homework, but 1 council member did! I won't forget!!!
Sunday, August 3, 2025 Report this