'Dunn' with special interests, Duette resident enters District 1 race

While some candidates are campaigning that they will give the government back to the people, Duette’s John Dunn says he would be just one vote if elected to the Manatee County Commission. 

Dunn said the work of giving the government back to the people would include establishing a county charter. A county charter would be like a constitution for the county, where the residents would need to vote to pass or amend it. 

Although the subject of a county charter was discussed among commissioners Jan. 6, Dunn wants to take it one step further with requiring district consent.

“As far as the district consent goes, it’s not power to that (commissioner), it’s power back to the people again at the ballot,” Dunn said. 

If a comprehensive plan amendment, major rezoning request, or a development beyond the Future Development Area Boundary only impacts one district, Dunn wants to give the decision-making authority to the people who live in that district by way of a referendum on the next upcoming ballot.

When asked about the timing aspect, Dunn countered that, generally speaking, the main concern of people living in Manatee County is over development, so waiting on a referendum is another means to slow growth. 

“There’s only so many ways you can (slow growth) at the moment,” he said. “You can refuse to rezone for density, and then once Senate Bill 180 expires (in October 2027), we can explore other options with charter amendments and create some sort of county constitution to protect us at least a little bit.”

Dunn noted that the state can still preempt a charter. SB 180 is an example of a state preemption that currently has the Manatee County Commission stalled on reinstating its former wetland buffers because the bill prevents local governments from making any changes that would be “more restrictive or burdensome” on development.

Dunn said finding the right verbiage would be key in creating a charter to avoid preemption, but part of his plan also includes finding the right people to sit on a charter commission. They, too, would be elected by the people.

“If we have the wrong group of people write this charter, it could lock in some bad ideas,” Dunn said. “The military in me is saying I want to get to that asset and use it before somebody else uses it for the wrong reasons.” 

Dunn, 34, spent seven years in the U.S. Air Force as a medic. He rose to the rank of E5 staff sergeant, but his first job in the medical field was in the emergency room at the Lakewood Ranch Medical Center.

Photo by Lesley Dwyer

Dunn was born at Sarasota Memorial Hospital, raised in Myakka City and graduated from Lakewood Ranch High School. He received his training at the then-Manatee Technical Institute, which is now Manatee Technical College.

He lives in Duette with his wife, Sarah, and their two children, Peyton, 7, and Grace, 3.

The family lives on five acres near Mosaic’s Four Corners Mine (a phosphate mining operation), which was the catalyst for Dunn getting involved in local government and ultimately running for county commissioner. 

“That operation was slowing down (when he and his wife bought in Duette),” he said. “Well, (Mosaic) went and re-permitted it and got it approved for a dragline, which is a different way to extract the phosphate.” 

The planning commission unanimously denied Mosaic's request for a 14-year extension, but commissioners approved the request in a 5-2 vote in February. Commissioner Bob McCann and the late commissioner Carol Felts voted to deny the extension. 

The dragline concerns Dunn because of the particles that can travel through the air. His kids play outside. 

“In my humble opinion, (Duette residents) had false representation in that supermajority vote, along with no sort of district courtesy to follow Carol Felts and her no (vote),” Dunn said. “It put us in a jam out there because now the reclamation is in the 2050s.”

Reclamation is when the mining stops and the land is restored into a park or a wildlife habitat. 

Dunn isn’t trying to get on the board to reverse course and stop the mining, but he wants more transparency by way of third-party testing for pollution and results that are readily available to the public.

Having left the area for the Air Force in 2014, it shocked Dunn to see the growth when he returned in 2023. Parrish, in particular, had been developed at a rate that was hard to fathom. 

“A lot of people feel like they haven’t been heard, like their voice hasn’t steered the county,” Dunn said. “I’m not for sale. I’m rich in ways that money can’t buy. I have my family and my morals.” 

To read more about Dunn, visit VoteDunn.com.