BRADENTON — On Thursday, Manatee County Planning Commissioner Matt Bower announced he is voluntarily resigning from the county’s Planning Commission. Bower will leave the seven-member advisory board midway through his four-year term to which he was appointed in December 2024.
The county’s Planning Commission is a statutorily required advisory board established to act as the Local Planning Agency, advising the county on land-use and growth-related matters.
Bower previously served on the commission from 2013 to 2017. After his initial term ended, he sought reappointment but did not receive sufficient support from the commissioners then in office.
A Manatee County native, Bower has been a vocal advocate for sustainable growth, becoming involved in local politics as a public activist during hearings over the controversial Long Bar Pointe (Aqua by the Bay) development. His background includes work as a Certified Financial Planner, service in the U.S. Army, and an unsuccessful 2020 run for the District 3 seat on the Manatee County Commission. Bower ran as a no-party-affiliation candidate against Republican Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
Bower announced his early departure during the commissioner comments portion of the Planning Commission’s Oct. 15, 2026, meeting, speaking at the close of the session.
Bower opened his comments by thanking county planning staff and acknowledging their work.
“You guys have a tremendously difficult job—I would say the most difficult job in this building,” he said. “What you all have gone through with the different boards and county administrations here, to be able to accomplish what you are accomplishing is a very difficult task.”
Then, reading from a prepared statement, Bower said he intended to step down from his seat.
“Dating back to my first term as a planning commission member, my goal has been to try and remove the politics out of planning and vision for the community. I wanted to help preserve what made our community so great for so long,” his statement included. “I am saddened as to what Manatee County has become.”
He continued, “I know growth is inevitable, but our leaders have just stopped caring, or at least stopped caring in the way I’d like to see us grow. This all began several boards ago, and unfortunately, while things have changed somewhat, I see no light at the end of the tunnel. Politics and money will continue to get in the way.”
Bower said his recent experiences in Oahu’s North Shore community in Hawaii, where residents work to preserve their way of life while balancing economic growth and tourism, have influenced his outlook. He also pointed to a renewed Christian faith and said he hopes to bring lessons from those experiences back to Manatee County as he pursues new goals.
“In addition to feeling that I have no ability to affect change, even if I were to stay on the board, I would be missing a minimum of 3-5 meetings per year,” he added.
Bower said he intends to step down once the county board appoints a replacement. He expects to remain on the commission at least through January 2027, or until a successor is named. He also offered to continue serving as commission chair until the new board is seated.
Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting also marked the final meeting for board chair John DeLesline, whose term expired Oct. 14. A local general contractor, DeLesline was the longest-serving member of the current board, having first been appointed in December 2010.
To replay Planning Commissioner Bower’s full statement, click the video below.
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