- March 18, 2026
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Since Commissioner Jason Bearden has elected not to run for a second term in the District 6 (at-large) race, several county residents are vying to take his seat.
Lakewood Ranch’s John Calovich is one of those.
Calovich has been endorsed by Commissioner Bob McCann and is running on a platform that aims to “build a team of at least four votes to return the Manatee County government back to the people.”
McCann already holds a seat and his thought is that if Calovich, Edward Bailey, Jr. in District 2 and Glen Gibellina in District 4 all win, they would be very like-minded when it comes to issues.
Bailey is McCann’s former commissioner aide and son of Xtavia Bailey, president of the Manatee Tiger Bay Club. The incumbent in District 2 is Commissioner Amanda Ballard.
Gibellina is a citizen activist with a focus on affordable housing. The incumbent in District 4 is Commissioner Mike Rahn.
“You’ll hear the same thing (from Bailey and Gibellina) about stopping the building,” Calovich said, “Because we all believe in it.”
McCann said he’s endorsing Calovich because he’s running a similar campaign to his own in 2024, which focused on the quality of life for people who already live in Manatee County versus accommodating new developments for people who want to move to Manatee County.
While four votes can’t stop state preemptions, such as Senate Bill 180, McCann noted that four votes can deny an application to rezone land and allow for higher density.
“There is absolutely no legal right to a rezone,” McCann said. “And SB 180 sunsets in October 2027. At that time, we’ll still be on the board.”
If there are enough votes in favor, wetland buffers could be widened and Zipperer Road could be designated as a canopy street, so the trees that line either side would be protected. Right now, both of those actions are prohibited under SB 180 for being “more burdensome and restrictive.”
Calovich is 66 years old and lives with his wife, Elizabeth, and daughter, Katie, in Savanna at Lakewood Ranch. Katie Calovich is a senior at Cardinal Mooney Catholic High School in Sarasota.
The family moved to Lakewood Ranch from St. Louis, Missouri in 2021 and they all are members of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church. Calovich is also a member of the church’s Knights of Columbus chapter. At the beginning of February, he was inducted as a Fourth Degree Knight, which is the patriotic arm of the council.
Calovich describes himself as a conservative Republican. He spent his career in sales management and currently owns two America’s Swimming Pool Company franchises (East Manatee and Sarasota) with his nephew Jake Anderson.
As Anderson took on more responsibility, Calovich stepped back and is now focusing his energy on campaigning.
Coming from sales, Calovich is used to working with a lot of people. He wants more community involvement — instead of seeing 50 people at a commission meeting, he wants to see 150 people.
Calovich didn’t name names, but said he reached out to a commissioner weeks ago and never received a response. He's ready to take phone calls and respond to emails because those citizens, who reach out to their commissioners, care.
Calovich wants to encourage more Manatee County citizens to care about what’s happening in their local government.
He noted that it’s unlikely residents will encounter the same issues they do now because if he, Bailey and Gibellina get elected, they’ll be transparent in everything they do.
“We’re doing it for the people, not for us,” Calovich said “(The platform) I’m running on, it’s not going to change.”
That platform includes halting urban sprawl, providing affordable housing through infill and redevelopment projects, investing in technology to optimize traffic flow, mobilizing the public to fight for home rule and lowering the county’s nearly $1 billion in reserves so residents aren’t paying more than they need to be in taxes.
For more information on Calovich, visit ElectJohnCalovich.com.
