Manatee County District 1 commission seat open for applications

Although Gov. Ron DeSantis has the option of filling the open Manatee County District 1 commission seat temporarily going into the Nov. 3 general election, no announcement has been yet on a temporary commissioner.

Meanwhile, candidates are starting to line up to vie in the general election for the right to hold that seat for the final two years' of Carol Felts' term, which runs through 2028.

Felts represented District 1 after being elected in 2024, until her death Feb. 24.

DeSantis declared the seat vacant March 24. The executive order reads that the seat will be filled “in compliance with the law.” 

However, Florida statute only demands a vacant seat be filled during the next general election if more than 28 months remain in the term. Felts had over 32 months remaining.

The statute does not require the governor to fill a vacant seat by appointment. That decision to fill the seat or leave it vacant until the general election is up to DeSantis. 

When former District 5 commissioner Vanessa Baugh announced her resignation June 16, 2023, her resignation became effective July 31, and DeSantis appointed Ray Turner to fill the seat Aug. 1. 

On the other hand, when DeSantis appointed James Satcher as Manatee County’s Supervisor of Elections April 12, 2024, DeSantis chose not appoint a replacement to his District 1 seat. Felts was elected to fill the seat the following November. 

Commissioner George Kruse hopes to see Felts' seat filled temporarily by DeSantis' appointment for the sake of District 1 residents. Otherwise, the same 80,000-plus citizens will be left again without a district commissioner for an extended period. 

As an at-large commissioner, Kruse can only do so much in calling attention to District 1 needs. He said it’s a district commissioner’s job to know the minutiae within their district, such as which streets have potholes and the posted speed limits. 

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Kruse also noted that if DeSantis doesn’t appoint someone to the seat, then within the three-year span from 2024 to 2026, District 1 residents will have gone longer without representation than with representation.

In the five months prior to Felts’ death, three other commissioners from around the state died while serving. Each of those seats were filled within three months.

Lee County Commissioner Mike Greenwell, 62, died of thyroid cancer Oct. 9 and was replaced by Patricia Petrosky Dec. 12. Suwannee County Commissioner Maurice Perkins, 67, died of pancreatic cancer Nov. 26 and was replaced by Clyde Fleming Feb. 13. And Baker County Commissioner James Bennett, 58, died in a car crash Dec. 8 and was replaced by Terrance Iverson Feb. 13. 

If DeSantis follows the same pattern, Felts’ seat will be filled by the end of May. 

The governor’s office is currently accepting applications for the temporary seat. The East County Observer made a public records request for any applications or expressions of interest for the seat, but has yet to receive a response.

The governor’s website shows nine vacancies in the state under the category of “elected officials.” 

Residents living in District 1 can submit an application to receive a governor's appointment by visiting FLGov.com/eog/leadership/appointments to fill out a 10-page appointment questionnaire and a short board application.

If someone is appointed, they will have to run during this year's election process to keep the seat. 

The new primary to watch

Prior to Felts death, the at-large District 6 race was due to be the most crowded primary election out of the three open seats in District 2, District 4 and District 6. 

Seven candidates were vying to win the Republican nomination for the at-large seat during the Aug. 18 primary, but two candidates have switched to the District 1 race following Felts' death, and one dropped out.

The Republican pool in District 6 has dwindled to four candidates: Tony Barrett, John Calovich, Ed Ference and Tara Poulton. 

The Republican candidates in District 1 as of April 3 are Myakka City’s Elizabeth Arnold, Parrish’s Andrew Cottrell, Duette’s John Dunn, Myakka City’s Michael Harrison, Parrish’s Eugene Hendry, Parrish’s Adam Johnson and East County’s Marc Stanoch. 

Johnson and Anthony Drake had originally filed to run for District 6. After Felts died. Both candidates submitted a “letter of withdrawal” to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections citing intentions to run for District 1. 

Drake confirmed with the East County Observer that he will be filing for the 2026 race after Easter when his duties as a pastor settle down. 

Drake brings the Republican candidate count up to eight, and Palmetto’s Leland Taylor announced his “intent to run” March 31, making it nine. 

Taylor, along with Myakka City’s Jason McKendree, showed up on a poll that was sent out to District 1 voters at the end of March via text message. While neither Taylor or McKendree are official candidates listed on the Supervisor of Elections website, both were referred to as candidates in the poll. 

McKendree has not made any announcements, but would make it 10 candidates for the seat if he does.

As of now, Democratic candidate Sari Lindroos-Valimaki will skip the primary election and head straight into the general election as she is the only Democratic candidate running for Felts' seat. 

As of April 3, none of the candidates for District 1 have reported collecting or spending any campaign funds.