Whitmore and Wonder Spar at Tiger Bay

BRADENTON — Just one day after the unruffled METV debate Wednesday, Terri Wonder and sitting Commissioner Carol Whitmore met again at the Tiger Bay Club in downtown Bradenton for another debate. This time the gloves were coming unlaced and the political fever brought more players into the ring.

Manatee County Commissioner Betsy Benac

Whitmore started the debate with her usual biographical opening, telling the story of a poor girl from the streets and look where I am now, I was a City Commissioner, Mayor, nurse. I understand what it is like to help others.

She accused Wonder of not caring enough to vote, being an outsider, and not a Manatee County native. Wonder was even the recipient of Whitmore's patented “shame on you” line on several occasions.

Wonder challenged Whitmore's accomplishments, telling her that she had spent the last year walking through neighborhood after neighborhood listening to what the people of the county had to say and what they expected from their representatives. She claims they've had enough of their current representation and are ready for a change.

Wonder said her tour in Iraq as a consensus builder for the government, graduate work and community work, which included substance abuse environments, has in many ways qualified her for the challenges ahead. She said she wasn't the nobody from nowhere that her opponent was framing her to be.

Manatee County Commissioner Robin DiSabatino

Wonder said the community was dissatisfied with her opponent's environmental record and her commitment to animal safety, and that the "No-Kill" program Whitmore claimed to champion has been an embarrassment to Manatee County.

Whitmore accused Wonder of being an opportunist by taking advantage of photo ops with another Republican Commissioner and not doing anything for animals prior to the trouble. This brought attention to Commissioner DiSabatino, that Republican who was shown in a photo with Wonder on a pamphlet produced by a No-Kill advocacy group who'd endorsed both candidates. (This occurs right around the one hour mark in the video below.)

Wonder cited Whitmore's response to the brochure that contained the bipartisan picture, and how Whitmore campaigned the Republican Executive Committee to have DiSabatino's membership revoked.

Whitmore denied it, and Wonder offered to show the trail of emails Whitmore sent out to the REC Chairwoman. Then Commissioner DiSabatino stood up and got in line to set things straight.

When DiSabatino stood up to the mike, it was like someone sat on the remote and hit the serious channel. She set it all straight and lambasted not only Whitmore for her actions in the photo event but Commissioners Benac and Baugh as well.

Manatee County Commissioner Carol Whitmore (Left) with opponent Teri Wonder looking on

DiSabatino called the three Commissioners the "mean girls" and told them they have to stop campaigning to control everyone. She cited the private emailing, the accusations of unloyalty, and then cited the fact that both Benac and Chappie contributed to Democrat Gwen Brown's campaign and asked how any of them could be making such a case out of a mere photo.

Benac attempted to say a few words, but it only reminded me of Will Rogers's quote, "If you find yourself in a hole, quit digging."

Their next debate will be at the Annual Environmental Summit on October 28 at 6:30 p.m., at the Palma Sola Botanical Park.