Baugh files for re-election

Lakewood Ranch resident Vanessa Baugh has announced her intentions to run for another term as Manatee County's District 5 commissioner.

Baugh, a Republican, filed for re-election Friday with the Supervisor of Elections Office. To date, she is the only candidate in the race for the District 5 seat, which comes up for reelection in November 2016. 

Baugh noted the board must continue to work on solutions for the county's indigent healthcare crisis, prepare for potential changes in the county administrator's office (Administrator Ed Hunzeker's contract expires in 2017; he had planned to retire in 2014) and be diligent about spending the county's budget dollars "smartly" so issues can be addressed properly.

Baugh also said the board must work to ensure that development  — although it cannot be stopped — is managed correctly for the benefit of all citizens, and the county must find funding solutions for repairing older roads, particularly in East County. New road development can be funded through impact fees, but road repairs cannot.

"I'm talking about roads that are 50 years old and need repairs; you can't use impact fees to pay for those," Baugh said. "I'm looking for solutions for that situation. We need to figure out how to fund these issues."

Baugh said she continues to focus on economic development and would run on that platform for a second time because it impacts quality of life so significantly.

"There's a lot of very important things that are happening," she said. "I want to make sure I'm apart of it and I try to do the best I can for the county as a whole."

For a complete story, see the June 18 issue of the East County Observer.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].