The three cities on Anna Maria Island will go to the polls on Nov. 3, with a mayoral race in Bradenton Beach and both Holmes Beach and Anna Maria electing three commissioners from fields of five candidates. Today, we look at the Bradenton Beach race, followed by Holmes Beach on Wednesday and Anna Maria on Thursday.
Mike Pierce
As the current mayor and a former city commissioner, Pierce, a retired manager and efficiency expert with General Motors, wants to continue to make Bradenton Beach a great, safe and clean place to live and visit. He considers street and walkway repairs as the other top issues.
He describes the city budget as lean, noting municipal workers have given up pay increases in the last three years, taxes have not gone up in years, and the city has dipped into reserve funds to maintain its budget. Those reserves, he says, were designed to be spent during a tough economy.
During his mayoral term, Bradenton Beach secured federal stimulus funding for Gulf Drive improvements. Pierce also worked with the Florida Department of Transportation to get a sidewalk constructed along Cortez Road to Gulf Drive, making that stretch of roadway safer for pedestrians.
He also served the city during the reconstruction of the Historic Bridge Street Pier, now a major attraction, and commission approval of money-saving, solar-powered streetlights for the commercial district. Both projects help fulfill Pierce’s goal of making the island city a great destination.
Bill Shearon
Shearon, owner of Linger Longer Resort on Gulf Drive, served three years as a city commissioner and currently sits on the planning and zoning board and on the mooring field committee. His civic involvement also includes service on the Metropolitan Planning Organization, the City Pier Team and the Bradenton Beach Scenic Highway committee.
He wants to eliminate deficit spending, reduce waste, improve efficiencies by replacing an “antiquated budget system,” and avoid tax increases or service cuts. Bradenton Beach cannot continue to spend reserves after pulling out more than $150,000 in the past two years, he says. Every expenditure must be justified to ensure essential services are maintained. Commissioners should receive detailed budgets to examine every line item. The city must live within its budget, he says.
Shearon believes that the city has tools for capital improvement plans that are not being utilized, and the city has spent thousands of dollars on unfinished projects. He wants to complete those projects, require times lines on new ones and eliminate costly delays and no-bid contracts.
He contends that citizens who attend public meetings are not given the opportunity to be heard and their concerns are not being addressed, and that must change.
Overall, his goal is to maintain the city’s quality of life for both residents and visitors.
Our recommendation: Mike Pierce
Under his stewardship, Bradenton Beach has made great strides with civic improvement projects. The Historic Bridge Street Pier is a wonderful addition to the small town and a strong economic asset. Sidewalks are critical to both the visitor experience and public safety. Pierce plans to continue to seek out grants to pay for additional projects to spare city taxpayers.
Many governments, including the state of Florida, are tapping reserves in order to weather the sour economy. While we agree that strategy is not sustainable, we believe Pierce is taking the prudent path in order to maintain essential services while not raising taxes.
With his accomplishments as mayor and his commitment to ecotourism and a green city, Pierce merits a fresh term.
We recommend Mike Pierce for mayor of Bradenton Beach.
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