It has been brought to our attention that many of our articles reporting on the litany of scandals related to Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge seem to be suppressed by search engines. Voters who recognize the embattled county commission candidate's danger to our community have expressed concern that they have had difficulty sharing our reporting with other voters.
We never want to see engaged citizens struggle in their efforts to inform their friends, families, and co-workers about issues of such grave concern, and because Mr. Van Ostenbridge is using a mountain of campaign cash given to him by the seedy developers who helped him get his seat, we thought we would compile some of our most notable reporting in this special issue.
Van Ostenbridge's first term has been a dumpster fire in which he has subverted the will of his constituents to carry out the wishes of his paymasters. He has been arrested for getting caught on video stealing from one of his constituents. He has wasted the people's time and money on a senseless war with an island city over an unwanted and cost-ineffective parking garage. He led the battle to eviscerate our wetland protection policies despite unprecedented public outcry, and he has weaponized the organs of government to silence his critics and punish his perceived enemies.
To say that Van Ostenbridge is unfit to serve would be the understatement of the century. Please take the time to read up on any of the issues you may have missed, and feel free to forward the accompanying email or this link to anyone you think needs to know more about his candidacy. Van Ostenbridge is running for the Republican nomination in the District 7 at-large seat, where he faces incumbent George Kruse. If you are a registered Republican in Manatee County, this race will appear on your August ballot. TBT endorsed Kruse for this race. You can read more about why we did so here.
Mitch Maley
Editor in Chief
The Bradenton Times.
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CathySlusser
We need to see the video of him throwing a citizens report in the trash without even looking at it.
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
Cat L
So happy to see the compilation of articles in this edition. People have short memories I need to be reminded who this person is.
KVO must go!
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
Dianna
Just off the top of my head… he doesn’t care about representing District 3 residents….doesn’t want public comment…belittles citizens who show up in person for public comment, especially children…doesn’t want call in public comment...doesn't answer e-mail…doesn’t answer phone or return phone calls…assistant does his job on that..hates the library and books of any kind……hates the LGBTQ community….hates veterans and Tunnels to Towers project, called the gated veterans housing project a “homeless camp”….purchased 19,278 district 3 resident’s voter information with taxpayer money and placed it into public records…decimated wetland buffer zones…..wasted taxpayer dollars redoing his office because it wasn’t nice enough…..ripped out Florida friendly median landscaping and put in Royal Palms so we can sit in traffic when the water truck comes because there is no way to water them… I am sure that others can continue on with this list………….
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
Debann
VOTE THE WEASEL OUT...CONFIRMED LIAR AND A THIEF...VOTE GEORGE KRUSE...I TELL PEOPLE EVERY SINGLE DAY OF ALL HIS SHANIGHANS...OVER PAID CREEP
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
rayfusco68
Tis the season for junk mail from Pedicini trying to sway votes for the bought and sold candidates like KVO. I find the huge postcards to be quite ridiculous. The one I received today stated that Mr. Kruse (who is running against KVO) is a tool of George Sorros. I am sure billionaire Sorros has absolutely no interest in the politics of Manatee County much less supporting Republican George Kruse. Anyone that receives these flyers and believes a word they say needs a reality check.
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
rjckeuka4
Mitch, You forgot...he led the charge to dump Cheri Coryea and single handedly championed the hiring of the boisterous empty shirt, Scott Hopes, whose incompetent leadership led to the loss of approximately one third of the County staff.
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
nellmcphillips
One thing that seems missing is KVO. Where is he? We have not seen him in forums, in neighborhood meetings, civic clubs, or anywhere for that matter. With the visibility of most candidates the only place I have seen KVO is in my mailbox where he spouts lies. It’s a very sad take on what he is really all about which is only himself and his developer friends. He may have won with the vote during COVID with mailers but he has no business not being in the public eye. He represented my community of Terra Ceia poorly and could not understand why we wanted to keep the old Florida ways and why caring for our natural resources is key to community and water quality. But then he was given to us in redistricting not by vote. He took the local voice away and chastised us when we spoke in commission meetings. Just say NO KVO!
Tuesday, August 6 Report this
WTF
KVO is unworthy of being an elected official.
One and Done right to the unemployment line ... For the Record
Tuesday, August 6 Report this