A recent Manatee County Commission District 2 candidate forum grew pointed, and, in its final minutes, personal, as incumbent Amanda Ballard drew fire from both opponents over the environment, homelessness and oversight of SeaPort Manatee.
Ballard, a Republican, shared the stage with fellow Republican Edward A. Bailey Jr. and Democrat Charles B. Smith Sr. at the forum, sponsored by the Tiger Bay Club of Manatee County.
Smith — president and CEO of Manatee Harvesting Co., a former county commissioner and former Palmetto vice mayor and city commissioner — went after Ballard from the outset, accusing her of siding with the phosphate company Mosaic “against the environment” and of shifting oversight of SeaPort Manatee from the County Commission to the state.
Ballard, an attorney who has worked in the child welfare system, acknowledged voting to move control of the port away from commissioners, saying they are not experts at running a port and that operations need to be professionalized.
“We need change in District 2,” Smith responded.
Bailey asked whether anyone thought life in the county was better than it was four years ago, then answered his own question: “No.” Traffic is worse, the cost of living is higher, infrastructure is failing and his generation is bearing the brunt of poor development and environmental decisions, he said.
“How many of your children no longer live here?” he asked. “We are losing a generation here, and I want to be the voice to prevent that.”
On economic development, Bailey said the county needs to attract young people, invest in youth and protect first-time homebuyers.
Ballard said economic development in District 2’s urban core has been hindered by street homelessness, which keeps potential customers from approaching businesses.
“Until we get a handle on this issue, you will not see the kind of economic development in our urban core that we need,” she said, adding that the county “can’t continue relying on the boom-and-bust cycles of construction and tourism to make up the bulk of our economy.”
The current commission “is set up for building, building, building and building and destroying the environment,” Smith said, adding that its members need to be voted out.
On infrastructure, Bailey called traffic “a huge, huge issue” that is “very, very bad,” and said the board must build consensus to stop approving development until infrastructure is in place.
Ballard said the challenges are complicated because the county includes incorporated areas with their own regulations, but she said progress is being made on repaving and sidewalks.
Smith pointed to new construction that extends “right up to the road” along corridors that will eventually have to be widened, such as at DeSoto Square Mall.
Asked how they would balance the district’s varying needs, the candidates described their outreach.
Smith said that during his previous time in office, he held community meetings, visited homes and returned phone calls and emails. Bailey said commissioners must be willing to listen to and be part of the community, including through town hall meetings.
Ballard said she tried town halls but “no one showed up,” so she changed course, contacting residents in every neighborhood, attending church and community association meetings and knocking on doors.
On campaign contributions, Smith said he had put $6,000 of his own money into his campaign and is not accepting “any money from anyone at all. I’m not going to be bought and paid for.”
Bailey said he had accepted no money from the development industry, aside from one or two small real estate companies.
Ballard said her donations are local, from friends, attorneys and two affordable housing developers who live in the area and in Sarasota, but she said the contributions do not control her votes.
In the forum’s closing minutes, the exchanges turned personal.
Bailey criticized Ballard for not representing District 2.
“I would like to hear what Mr. Bailey would like to do for Manatee County,” Ballard responded. “I have not heard it. All I hear is, ‘You’re bad.’ I’ve seen no plans. I’ve seen nothing that actually shows he has the experience, the demeanor or the ... the experience to do this job and do it well.”
Bailey replied that his plan is on his campaign website.
Smith then accused Ballard of lacking experience, saying she had been a staff attorney “shuffling papers to real lawyers.”
“How dare you?” Ballard said. “I tried 50 cases in a courtroom protecting children from abuse and neglect in Manatee County, and I spent my entire career doing that work, saving children in Manatee County.”