Bradenton council incumbents battle challengers in fiery debates

It was a series of fiery debates laden with accusations for Bradenton City Council candidates who debated on Thursday ahead of the Nov. 8 elections.

Ward 5 incumbent Harold Byrd Jr. faced off against challenger Keenan Wooten to start off the debates. Byrd accused Wooten of only recently moving into the city limits just to run for office and said Wooten hasn’t voted in a city election in the past 10 years. Wooten fired the first shot, saying no one in Ward 5 even knows Byrd because he is never in the neighborhoods talking to the people he represents.

“There are a lot trust issues on the city council,” Wooten said. “People feel like their voices are not being heard. We need full transparency on projects that people feel like they have no input on. I want to be that city councilman that reaches out to everyone so everyone can experience the American dream.”

Byrd called out his challenger’s lack of experience and negative outlook on the city.

“I’m reminded of Chicken Little where he always thought the sky was falling,” Byrd said. “My opponent walks around talking about dark clouds. How can you talk about being a leader with the attitude of the sky is falling?”

Byrd went on to cite several ongoing projects the city has in motion to spur economic development, while Wooten criticized Byrd’s leadership in taking over the city’s three community redevelopment agencies, in particular the CCRA in Ward 5.

“Last year, Byrd promised to roll up his sleeves and get to work,” Wooten said. “I’m still waiting on that. The CRA has less presence in the community than ever before. Two weeks ago, there was a CCRA meeting with a lot of yelling and screaming. The CRA website talks about projects 10 years ago. We have to stop living in the past and start talking about what have you done for me lately.”

Ward 1 debate

The Ward 1 debate featuring incumbent Gene Gallo and challengers Devon Davis and Tami Spyker Goudy was equally fueled with accusations with the exception of Goudy who stayed on task.

Goudy said redevelopment is a pressing issue for the city and now that the city is recovering from the Great Recession, “We need to make sure we have plans and backup plans to continue that.”

Goudy is a big supporter of enacting a Main Street America program in Bradenton that has seen success in other parts of Florida and across the nation. Goudy pushed for transportation alternatives to resolve local traffic issues and said downtown historical buildings that are essentially empty or used for storage could be revitalized to attract small business.

Davis and Gallo have been at war on social media for months, and those battles spilled into Thursday’s debate. Davis accused Gallo of favoring his daughter’s development company where she is a planner. However, it is not illegal any more than a husband and wife team running for mayor and city council since mayoral candidate Warren Merriman is Davis’ husband.

Gallo brought up Merriman’s criminal investigation in which he was terminated from the Bradenton Police Department in January and later convicted of misdemeanor theft. Gallo said investigative reports show that Davis was not honest with law enforcement officers during the investigation.

Those records also indicate that Davis and Merriman were trying to force a police officer to buy a home through Davis’ realty company if that officer wanted to become a K-9 officer. When the officer said he couldn’t afford any homes on Davis’ listings, then he was greeted with a text saying he must not want to be a K-9 officer.

The full debates can be seen on the METV website beginning Friday and will be available until the election.

This story was originally published October 6, 2016 at 8:45 PM with the headline "Bradenton council incumbents battle challengers in fiery debates."