Seven months after it broke, Manatee County commissioners reopen debate about Confederate memorial

The Manatee County Commission on Tuesday rejected giving voters a chance to decide the fate of the Confederate monument removed under the cover of darkness from the courthouse grounds in August.

The removal resulted in the monument breaking in pieces but that did not settle the debate about its fate.

The motion Tuesday failed in a 4-3 vote with Commissioners Vanessa Baugh, Robin DiSabatino and Stephen Jonsson voting in favor of sending the question to voters; and commissioners Betsy Benac, Charles Smith, Priscilla Whisenant Trace and Carol Whitmore voting against.

Representatives from America First Manatee, commission candidate Barbara Hemingway and others asked the commission to keep its promise to let voters have the final word on the monument's fate.

Hemingway said it was unfortunate the issue ever arose and that it did so because of threats from groups like Black Lives Matter and Answer Suncoast who threatened to continue protesting the monument's placement at the historic courthouse in downtown Bradenton.

Manatee County's response was to first cover the monument in plywood, and then to have it removed until a suitable place could be found. An attempt to move it under the cover of darkness led to the structure breaking.

Where the monument is now had not been publicly disclosed until a frustrated Baugh revealed the location in a challenge to her fellow commissioners.

"If you have any guts, you will vote to let the people decide whether they want it or up at all or in pieces on a flatbed truck at the (Lake Manatee) dam where it's at now."

The commission has been trying to convince Gamble Mansion to take custody of the monument, but the historical preservation board at the mansion has resisted from the beginning and recently sent a letter to the commission noting that it "vehemently opposes" the notion, Hemingway said.

Hemingway said they are trying to get the Manatee Historical Village to take ownership of the monument, but thus far finding a new home has been the problem.

"I have no problem with people voting for it, but right now we don't know where we have permission to put it," said Trace, the commission's chairwoman. "I am diligently and respectfully trying to find a home for it. I want to find a good home for this monument, but make sure it will be there for eternity and not have to put this board through this again."

One of the sticking points was the language Baugh used in her motion, which stated she wanted the monument returned to the courthouse until a suitable place could be found. Commissioner Betsy Benac said it didn't make sense.

"I don't see any good coming from moving it to the courthouse so we can debate where to move it," Benac said.

Commissioner Carol Whitmore, who voted against removing the monument, said she didn't vote for Baugh's motion for that very reason.

"I believe in history whether bad or good," she said. "But we have to have a place where it's safe and respected."

DiSabatino said she couldn't understand the hesitation in putting the issue on the November ballot for voters to decide.

"I've gotten a lot of emails," she said. "I don't see why we can't ask the people to decide. That's when you know, when every citizen has a chance to vote on this."

This story was originally published May 8, 2018 at 4:17 PM with the headline "Seven months after it broke, Manatee County commissioners reopen debate about Confederate memorial."