As I reflected on the many things I’m thankful for this week, I kept returning to the overwhelming experience of August’s local elections. Having a front-row seat to the historic sweep of heavily-funded special-interest candidates was, far and away, the most amazing thing I’ve been involved with in decades as a journalist. Before I head out for a bit of much-needed post-election vacationing, I wanted to say thank you.
The post-Citizens United era saw apathy among voters grow to unprecedented levels. Indeed, it seemed like the day of the grassroots candidate was a thing of the past. Whenever readers asked whether I thought things might ever change, my standard answer was only if people got angry enough to start looking into who had been making the decisions on growth management and why. Deep down, I thought it would come far too late, if ever.
We’re a little behind the curve, considering the irreversible damage done in recent years, but we’re still in the better late than never phase, and I do believe the new Manatee County Commission will unwind the worst decisions when possible. Last week, Craig Pittman brought you a story about a similar sweep at the Milton City Council, where a small panhandle town is experiencing a sewage mess reminiscent of what has been happening with the City of Bradenton.
Unfortunately, Bradenton residents haven’t come close to reaching a tipping point. In November, all incumbents were either unopposed or won by wide margins. However, we are learning that big money only works when people aren’t paying attention. It’s easy to fool a low-information voter with a few slick and sentimental ads. However, all the money in the world cannot fool a voter who is well-informed on the issues at stake.
Here at The Bradenton Times, we take the responsibility of informing public opinion with the utmost seriousness. We’ve taken deep dives into dozens of issues that impact our community. Our readers knew who to be angry with, and they were not bamboozled by red meat attack ads. As we head into 2025, we look forward to continuing the conversation on what is best for this community via investigative journalism, opinion columns, and our weekly podcast.
The special interests that had for too long ruled this county aren’t about to pack up their toys and leave the sandbox. A mountain has been moved, but we mustn’t take our foot off the pedal or our eyes off the ball. We need to recruit more citizens into the movement for good government. Tell a family member, tell a neighbor, tell a friend. Forward your email editions, post articles to NextDoor and Facebook, and help us get the word out that real, local news is alive and well in Manatee County.
Last but not least, if you are not currently a paid subscriber, please consider a subscription to help us continue our work and keep TBT paywall free. If you have a business, consider supporting us by advertising in our publication. If all you can do is read diligently and vote accordingly, that’s fine, too. Together, we can continue to turn Manatee County around and put it back on course for future generations.
Mitch Maley
Editor in Chief
The Bradenton Times
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WTF
Great local truthful information to the Citizens of Manatee County and beyond.
Thank you for all you do!
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this
lib224
Unfortunately, we continue to be bamboozled at the state and national level. We're now seeing the same kind of corruption by the wealthy oligarchs occurring in Florida and nationwide. Maybe in two years the voters will wake up to the corruption.
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this
Debann
PLEASSSEEE..!!! Bishop and Brown WAY OVERPAID ..IF THEY REALLY CARED ABOUT THE ANIMALS THEY WOULD MAKE IT WORK...all we were PROMISED HAS NOT COME TO FRUITION...STOP MAKING EXCUSES..AND BEARDEN, BALLARD AND RAHN SHOULD BE CONCERNED THEIR ONLY ON THE BOCC TO WORK FOR THE DEVELOPERS...HOPEFULLY THAT CHANGES IN 2026...DAVID DANIELS YOU ROCK KEEP UP THE GOOD FIGHT..BISHOP AND BROWN ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this
Debann
Oops. Commented on the wrong article..my bad
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this
Debann
Thank you Mitch.. proud subscriber
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this
hutensky
Gave thanks on Thursday for the 2024 impact of both Mitch Maley and the Bradenton Times. They helped our community make real change. Thanks also to Joe McClash for his long time leadership & and financial support for good government in Manatee County and enhancing our collective environmental wisdom.
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this
CLEGma
Thanks for reporting the truth about our county, your newspaper has been a great resource for local issues. So happy that I subscribed to it last year. Keep up the good work!
Sunday, December 1, 2024 Report this