In last week’s column, I suggested that the Manatee County Commission reevaluate its posture toward our state delegation. This week, Senator Jim Boyd and Representative Will Robinson took a small step in the right direction.
As I mentioned in the previous piece, both decided to back a dumb play by local politicians to “study” consolidating the three island cities. Robinson carried the water with the support of Boyd and former Rep. Tommy Gregory after the island got in a standoff with former Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge and former County Administrator Scott Hopes over public parking and the county’s—or at least Van Ostebridge’s—desire to erect a costly, ineffective parking garage.
Most of Van Ostenbridge’s beef was with Holmes Beach Mayor Judy Titsworth, who said their relationship started off sour after she declined to endorse Van Ostenbridge in his 2020 Dist. 3 Manatee County Commission race. Van Ostenbridge then engaged in a costly and wasteful four-year pissing match that played at least a small part in his historic loss to current chair George Kruse.
Robinson and Boyd sent a letter to the three island mayors on Thursday, blatantly signaling a 180-degree reversal on the matter. After a few paragraphs of booty smooching, the legislators maintained that they had no personal stake in the outcome of the study they commissioned and wrote the following:
“The OPPAGA study confirms what we have discussed over the past year. Merging or eliminating cities could negatively impact the unique and special character of the Island and could have a detrimental impact on issues like building height. The lower height of buildings on the Island must be valued and maintained at all costs. We have been very clear that Anna Maria Island must never become a high-rise community and anything that would cause that to happen would be a nonstarter to us.”
Duh!
It should not have taken a taxpayer-funded study to acknowledge the obvious, but this was always about playing nice with their local party members and scoring points with some deep-pocketed development interests who would undoubtedly prefer the island be annexed by the much more developer-friendly City of Bradenton.
Kudos to islanders for making it clear that, in the words of both the 41st President and the Dude, this aggression will not stand. And kudos to the new Manatee County Commission for making it clear that the revenge project was dead in the water.
Van Ostenbridge isn’t getting his parking garage or getting rid of the island cities.
That said, the annual legislative session will open on March 4 and is scheduled to run through May 2. There are sure to be many bills filed that would likewise impede home rule and have a negative impact on Manatee County’s ability to self-govern. Voters and the BOCC would be wise to keep a watchful eye and ensure Robinson, Boyd, and newcomer Bill Connerly know they can join KVO and his ilk on the sidelines should they seek to pull any more shenanigans.
Dennis "Mitch" Maley is an editor and columnist for The Bradenton Times and the host of our weekly podcast. With over two decades of experience as a journalist, he has covered Manatee County government since 2010. He is a graduate of Shippensburg University and later served as a Captain in the U.S. Army. Click here for his bio. Mitch is also the author of three novels and a short story collection available here.
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Charlene
It's a shame that Robinson didn't really pay a price for this stunt. He only lost 2 points (ish) in votes compared to Trump and other local Republicans. He was the only local R candidate that did not cross the 60 point threshold, although he was still close enough to it. Too bad HD 71 didn't see fit to send him packing.
Friday, January 10 Report this
jimandlope
Boyd and Robinson are “stealth,” legislators as they fly under the radar. Most people in the district don’t know who they are. Builders and developers know full well who they are and how to use them. If the joining of the three cities was so critical last year how is it that the idea is no longer worthy? What changed? Ridiculous maneuvering that failed. Jim Tierney
Friday, January 10 Report this
AllForOne
Politics! Lick your finger and stick it in the air to see what direction the wind is blowing.
Friday, January 10 Report this
gatorheel
The parking garage was a bad idea, but one of the reasons it came up in the first place was because the island cities took away thousands of street parking places. I'm not sure why the country is letting them off the hook for that. One of the island complaints was "we're not Bradenton's parking lot" which is a ridiculous statement-- unless the island considers Bradenton their freeway to their private island. Places I used to park for twenty years (long before most of these so-called locals found AMI) are now no parking zones.
Friday, January 10 Report this
Libby23
I can’t help but think that the voice of the people played at least a small role in this good outcome. Under the umbrella of a grassroots nonpartisan group called Save Florida Home Rule, islanders and lovers of the island rose up. Several hundred came out to protest and rally and over a thousand sent letters to our legislators to advocate for the cities to retain their identities.
Friday, January 10 Report this
Debann
BOYD AND ROBINSON...PATHETIC
Friday, January 10 Report this
dcombspt
Holmes Beach restricted parking in 480 places and issued parking permits for $15 to residents and property owners. That is NOT thousands. Truth matters
Friday, January 10 Report this
gatorheel
@dcombspt
1) Even if your number is accurate there is no net public good to removing ANY public parking. The sole purpose is to block non-residents from AMI.
2) Your number is not accurate: https://www.islander.org/2020/06/residents-react-to-parking-cuts-hb-chief-responds/. Well over 1,000 and they only restored some of those spaces after the massive, rightful, backlash.
3) That's great island residents can PURCHASE a permit for what has been free since the beginning of time. What about the rest of the county who cannot purchase a permit? Maybe the City of Bradenton should charge island residents for a parking permit so they can visit friends in the city or attend an event on Riverwalk or Old Main. Or maybe put a tollbooth on Manatee Ave west of 75th.
Truth matters. What a joke. The truth is the island used to be a place for everyone not just the people who had the means to live there. Over the years even that has gotten further out of reach (or was never within it) for most, so Phase 2 is to block locals from even visiting.
Saturday, January 11 Report this
David Daniels
Boyd and Robinson need to go. We’ll be paying attention this session as they vote for more preemption, more unconstitutional (and legally expensive)voting and free speech restrictions, more pro developer legislators and further public records exemptions. Oh and Kudo’s for The Dude reference.
Saturday, January 11 Report this
David Daniels
Correction. more pro developer legislation, not legislators.
Saturday, January 11 Report this