Race Analysis: Manatee County Commission District 1

The Manatee County District 1 race features three candidates who we feel confident would be qualified and competent commissioners if elected.

Carol Anne Felts scored the most impressive upset of the August primary. Using a grassroots campaign, she won a landslide victory over a well-funded, developer-backed candidate in the Republican primary. TBT enthusiastically endorsed her in that race.

Felts has deep roots in Myakka City and has been an extremely dedicated public activist at Manatee County Commission meetings for years. She ran for the countywide D6 seat in 2022. Felts’ commitment to improving her community and the county at large is unquestionable.

Jennifer Hamey is a Parrish-based attorney who, while not as visible as Felts, has likewise demonstrated a deep commitment to her community and the county. Hamey is running as an NPA candidate.

Both Felts and Hamey bring impressive qualities to the table, although they are very different candidates.

Felts demonstrates impressive endurance. She has been dogged in her efforts to sway an obstinate board toward better outcomes and has never once allowed that obstinance to dissuade her commitment. Felts has been a hairshirt on this special interest-driven BOCC, and we believe the energy she brings to a debate would be quite useful as a new board undertakes the broad policymaking efforts that will be required in righting this ship.

As a talented and experienced attorney, Hamey brings a rare level of polish that suggests she would be effective at building consensus. Hamey has demonstrated a strong grasp of the policies and procedures that drive the crafting of statutes. On more technical issues, she has proven a quick study, and we feel she would work well with staff as the county makes big decisions in the near future regarding the comp plan and land development code.

Glenn Pearson is a qualified candidate who would certainly be an improvement over the last person to hold the office—outgoing Supervisor of Elections James Satcher. As a grassroots Democrat in a very red district, Pearson faces an uphill battle, to say the least. That said, we also feel like the all-Republican board could benefit from some ideological diversity.

Each candidate brings unique skill sets to this race, and we believe that all three would make for competent and responsive commissioners. District 1 voters can listen to podcast interviews with each of them below to better decide which candidate they believe would best represent their interests.