Manatee commission declines to remove Baugh from chairman role after vaccine site fiasco
The Manatee County Commission declined to remove Commissioner Vanessa Baugh from her role as chairwoman after controversy swirled around a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site in Lakewood Ranch.
Commissioners James Satcher, Kevin Van Ostenbridge and George Kruse joined Baugh in voting against the motion to remove her as chairwoman, while commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore voted in favor.
After reports that Baugh helped Gov. Ron DeSantis put together a drive-thru vaccine site for two Lakewood Ranch zip codes, the board said they didn’t approve of the decision that undermined the random selection process in the county’s Vaccine Standby Pool.
Ahead of Tuesday’s public meeting, about 30 protesters also urged Baugh to resign for her role in organizing the pop-up site and choosing five residents, herself included, to receive vaccines.
But a majority of commissioners declined to act on that request, arguing that removing Baugh for the position would further divide a fractured board. Baugh did not comment as the board discussed the motion to remove her chairman title.
“We keep trying to find ways to distract ourselves to the detriment of the people of Manatee County,” Kruse said, who called the chairman role a ceremonial title. “I’m hoping this is the breaking point of it stopping.”
The chairman of the board signs official documents, such as letters and proclamations, on behalf of the board and conducts the board’s public meetings.
“I think this is an effort to make this hyper-partisan and polarize what’s happening,” Van Ostenbridge added.
Baugh apologized at a workshop meeting last week, but some of her fellow commissioners said they hoped to hold her accountable for her actions.
“I know you all probably won’t break ranks, but I’ll challenge you,” Bellamy said ahead of the unsuccessful vote, calling on Baugh’s conservative allies to remove her from the role. “There is an opportunity not just to be loyal to the individuals that sit to the left and right of you, but to be loyal to the individuals that voted you in because there’s been residents from District 5 that complained about this and there’s residents from District 2 that complained about this.”
Servia said she believed it best for the board and Baugh to elect a new chairman, predicting continued public outcry against Baugh in the coming weeks.
“That’s not good leadership that moves us forward. It concerns me. If this board moves forward, we need a chair who’s going to provide a strong base of moving forward. I just don’t think today Commissioner Baugh is the one — and I think for her own good. I think she’s going to function better outside of that role. I think she’s going to continue to be attacked and under attack as the chairman.”
The Manatee County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged Tuesday that it has received a criminal complaint against Baugh and is investigating whether her actions violated state law.
Speaking against the motion to remove Baugh, fellow commissioners leapt to her defense. They said a single lapse of judgment wasn’t enough to warrant the removal of her title.
“Having the idea that we should all just get along is admirable and it sounds good, but the truth is we have differences of approach, differences of philosophy and we represent different areas,” Satcher said. “When we come together, we’re going to disagree.”
“Commissioner Baugh made a terrible mistake. She compromised the fairness of the lottery system,” said Van Ostenbridge. “The fundamental point of that system was to avoid favoritism and that’s exactly what happened when people were hand-selected in certain zip codes. She’s apologized and accepted responsibility for her actions. She has to answer to her constituents.”
Whitmore told her fellow board members that she was disappointed in their decision to keep Baugh as chairwoman, accusing her of poor leadership.
“Somebody needs to take the helm here because we’ve lost our credibility,” Whitmore said. “I don’t think it’s going to pass and if it doesn’t, I hope this community raises heck.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2021 at 12:04 PM.
