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District 5 Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh files for re-election
Just days after retired county administrator Ed Hunzeker announced he would run for the District 5 seat on the Board of County Commissioners, incumbent Vanessa Baugh has officially thrown her hat into the ring.
Baugh, a Republican who has served on the board for two terms, filed her paperwork Thursday. In a press release, she explained that improving quality of life, infrastructure improvements and fighting against tax hikes will be her campaign priorities heading into 2020.
“Manatee County is finally at a point where we are moving forward and getting things accomplished,” Baugh said in a prepared statement. “We’re making investments in public safety, critical infrastructure improvements, protecting our natural resources and waterways and being fiscally conservative with taxpayer dollars.”
Hunzeker, who served as county administrator for 12 years, retired from his post in March. He announced Monday he would challenge Baugh for the GOP nomination in District 5, which encompasses Lakewood Ranch, Myakka City and other parts of East Manatee.
Both candidates position themselves as staunch supporters of Republican values and President Donald Trump.
In his campaign kickoff, Hunzeker boasted of his performance in navigating the county through the Great Recession, long-range planning and his ability to deliver a balanced budget.
“I have 51 years of experience in government,” he said. “I’ve been with Manatee County for 12 years and I truly understand the workings of government.”
Baugh, on the other hand, touted her close relationship with constituents since she was first elected in 2012. In recent months, Baugh has advocated for lower taxes, and fought to block residents in Lakewood Ranch community development districts and homeowners associations from having to pay a new stormwater fee.
“We still have lots to accomplish to keep Manatee County moving in the right direction. We need to focus on lowering taxes and fees on families and small businesses and keep big government out of the way of free enterprise. I am a proven conservative who has and will continue to work hard every day to ensure Manatee County continues to be a wonderful place to live,” Baugh said.
Baugh has been critical of Hunzeker’s performance as administrator in the past. While he worked for the county, Baugh said she “lost trust” in his professional judgment and penned a letter signed by five other board members reprimanding him for his administrative approval of a public safety radio tower at Kinnan Park that commissioners felt was sneaky and disingenuous.
“(Your actions) clearly demonstrated a lack of follow-thru that the County Commissioners requested from the Administration and Staff resulting in insubordination. This created a major lack of trust of the elected officials, administration and staff by the general public,” she wrote.
In 2016, Baugh voted in favor of a motion to start a national search for a new county administrator, instead of renewing Hunzeker’s contract. A lack of suitable candidates, however, ultimately caused the board to extend the contract to January 2019.
“I wish (Hunzeker) the best, and we’ll have a good time running,” Baugh said Monday in an interview with the Bradenton Herald.
Both candidates are set to face off in the Republican primary election next August. The winner will advance to the November 2020 general election if there is a Democratic nominee and/or unaffiliated or write-in candidates.
Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh announces she will run for reelection
Baugh joins former county administrator Ed Hunzeker in the race for the District 5 seat.
- by: Jay Heater Managing Editor
As Lakewood Ranch's Vanessa Baugh heads toward the final year of her second term as Manatee County's District 5 commissioner, she is seeing some breakthroughs in very important issues concerning the citizens.
"I think we've made changes and have had great results," Baugh said minutes after she filed to run for reelection on Thursday afternoon. "I want to finish what I have started. We will see this administration grow."
Baugh said a key example has been the hard work needed to increase funding for the Manatee County Sheriff's Office so it can deal with the area's booming growth. "The Sheriff (Rick Wells) has been battling to get the personnel he needs," she said.
She said her solid relationship with the Florida Department of Transportation has resulted in a positive response to citizens' requests to have safer roadways. She said it is imperative for the county to continue to work with the FDOT to make the State Road 70 and State Road 64 corridors safer.
"I can't stand the thought of losing another human being in a needless traffic accident," said Baugh, who is on the Sarasota/Manatee Metro Planning Organization Advisory Council.
Besides identifying and improving problem areas, Baugh has pushed to have State Road 70 widened from Lorraine Road through County Road 675, a project that has begun. Baugh said she eventually hopes to see S.R. 70 as a four-lane road all the way across the state.
Besides being on the MPO Advisory Council, Baugh is chairman of the Port Authority, she is on the Tourist Development Council, and was selected to serve on the Florida Association of Counties Water Policy committee.
President Donald Trump had noticed her contributions and invited her in March when he visited Lake Okeechobee to study the effects its polluted waters have on Florida. "Water quality is such a massive problem for us," Baugh said.
Besides those issues, Baugh said she wants to see through the construction of Lakewood Ranch's new library adjacent to the Premier Sports Campus.
"We need that new library," she said. "It has to be done as soon as possible. I have been asking for this for seven years and we finally seeing it come to fruition."
Baugh will be opposing former Manatee County Administrator Ed Hunzeker, who filed Oct. 7.
"Manatee County is finally at a point where we are moving forward and getting things accomplished," Baugh said. "We're making improvements in public safety and critical infrastructure, We're protecting our natural resources and waterways and being fiscally conservative with taxpayer dollars. We still have lots to accomplish to keep Manatee County moving in the right direction. We need to focus on lowering taxes and fees on families and small businesses and keep big government out of the way of free enterprise.
"I am a proven conservative who has and will continue to work hard every day to ensure Manatee County continues to be a wonderful place to live."
Baugh and her husband, Don, have owned Vanessa Fine Jewelry since 1999. They have four children and 10 grandchildren.
Lakewood Ranch business owners win C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian Award
LAKEWOOD RANCH -- Manatee County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh, and her husband, Donald, owners of Vanessa Fine Jewelry, are the 2016 C. John A. Clarke Humanitarian of the Year Award recipients.
The Lakewood Ranch Community Fund will honor the Baughs along with Rick Fawley, former president of Fawley Bryant Architects Inc., at the March 19 Disco Ball Gall at the Lakewood Ranch Golf and Country Club.
The award is presented to "honor individuals who have distinguished themselves through their high professional standards, unwavering ethical and moral values and steadfast dedication to improve the quality of life for people in our community," according to a release.
In 1999, the Baughs opened Vanessa Fine Jewelry and have gotten involved with a number of local community organizations. The Baughs established one of the first Founder 50 donor-advised funds with the Lakewood Ranch Community Fund, according to the release.
Fawley, who will receive the honor posthumously, was a "master architect and a top-echelon civic leader," according to the release.
Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/news/local/article62600467.html#storylink=cpy
LWR at 20: Q & A with County Commissioner Vanessa Baugh
Q: As an elected official and a resident of a community development district in Lakewood Ranch, what do you consider the advantages and disadvantages of CDDs?
Lakewood Ranch Town Hall (Staff photo/Dale White)
Lakewood Ranch Town Hall (Staff photo/Dale White)
A: An advantage of a community development district is that it is a local group to provide for the long term specific needs to its residents. They plan, finance, construct, operate and maintain the infrastructure and services of the community. The disadvantage of a CDD is that it costs more than just an HOA (homeowners association) generally.
Q: Do you think Lakewood Ranch residents will eventually want to incorporate as a municipality?
A: In years to come I suspect it is a good possibility that Lakewood Ranch will incorporate. However, let’s make sure we have our “ducks in a row." We only have the one time to make it work and it must be right. To create a city is a complicated and a big responsibility. We need to grow and develop to ensure its success.
Manatee County commissioners and guests at the recent ground breaking for the Fort Hamer Bridge. (Staff photo/Dale White)
Manatee County commissioners and guests at the recent ground breaking for the Fort Hamer Bridge. (Staff photo/Dale White)
Q: Several upcoming road projects will affect Lakewood Ranch - the diverging diamond interchange at Interstate 75 and University Parkway, the Fort Hamer bridge, a southern extension of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to Fruitville Road in Sarasota County, a potential I-75 overpass from that extension to Cattlemen Road, a southern extension of Lorraine Road into Sarasota County.If all of these projects are done, can Lakewood Ranch residents expect to have their concerns about traffic alleviated for the near future - especially as more neighborhoods are built in the master-planned community?
A: These improvements will certainly help the strain that we are experiencing today. We will have several other alternatives to go south and west, including 44th Avenue which is under construction right now. 44th Avenue will start at Cortez Road and end at Lorraine Road. 44th Avenue will help to elevate traffic on State Roads 70 and 64. These endeavors will definitely improve the traffic as we know it today and help in the future.
Q: You frequently conduct Town Hall meetings with your Lakewood Ranch constituents. Other than traffic, what issues are they raising with you lately?
A: Growth and roads are the main concerns at this time. As you know, Lakewood Ranch is a master planned community. Many of the neighborhoods that are under construction today were put on hold because of the economy in the past few years. We are in a growth mode. So everyone is watching to see how traffic and the feel of Lakewood Ranch are affected. I am confident that the beauty that we have grown to love in the area will remain and will also be more prevalent. I am excited to see the next chapters come to life.
