Clash over Tallahassee trip leads to another failed attempt to remove Baugh as chair
A productive trip to Tallahassee has left both sides of the Manatee Board of County Commissioners “disappointed.”
Commissioners Kevin Van Ostenbridge, Misty Servia, Vanessa Baugh and George Kruse were joined by county staff to pitch the county’s legislative priorities at the state capitol last week. Commissioners said they had fruitful conversations with powerful state leaders, but at the tail end of Tuesday’s meeting, Servia aired a grievance yielding yet another failed motion to remove Baugh as chair.
Ahead of the trip, Servia said, the board set guidelines for the trip but said she felt misled when a political consultant joined in on two of their meetings.
“I was disappointed when political consultant Anthony Pedicini inserted himself into the trip,” Servia said.
Servia explained that Pedicini scheduled and sat in on meetings with Speaker of the House Chris Sprowls, R-Palm Harbor, and House Majority Leader Michael Grant, R-Port Charlotte. While those meetings were said to be extremely valuable, Servia pinned blame on Baugh, who serves as chairman of the board.
“You’re not leading this board. You’re crippling this board,” Servia told Baugh. “You do not have the right to make decisions for this board outside of the Sunshine.”
Commissioners defend political consultant’s role
Even though the board did not vote to formally authorize Pedicini’s involvement, County Attorney Bill Clague said that his assistance in Tallahassee did not violate any of the board’s policies. Commissioners explained that Pedicini was able to secure and facilitate those meetings with Sprowls and Grant and Servia’s own meeting notes point to beneficial conversations with those officials.
“I’m glad that he did. I’m thankful that he did,” Van Ostenbridge said of Pedicini’s help. “He did facilitate the introduction and he opened two big doors for Manatee County.”
“These are silly personal issues that Commissioner Servia is injecting unnecessarily. It’s disappointing. It was a successful trip for this board,” he added.
According to campaign finance records, Pedicini’s Strategic Image Management political consulting company served as a consultant for Commissioner James Satcher, Van Ostenbridge, Kruse and Baugh in their 2020 election campaigns.
Kruse also appreciated Pedicini’s role in Tallahassee, noting that the consultant excelled where the county’s own lobbyist couldn’t.
“They were great meetings with high-level administrators that we otherwise couldn’t get,” Kruse said. “I truly, honestly believe it was 100 percent in our best interest to attend those meetings because the speaker of the House and the majority leader can have a lot of sway when it comes to getting things like Moccasin Wallow and the oyster beds and Piney Point moving forward for us now.”
Servia contested that it was inappropriate and improper for someone who isn’t officially aligned with or hired by Manatee County to work on its behalf when meeting with state leaders. In the end, she said Baugh was at fault.
“Chairman Baugh, I blame you. You knew better than this,” Servia said. “This is a very poor judgment.”
Servia’s allegation is the latest development on the board that has remained fractured ever since they voted to move forward with firing former County Administrator Cheri Coryea. The divide expanded after commissioners learned of Baugh’s involvement in organizing a state-run COVID-19 vaccine site in Lakewood Ranch that provided vaccines for just two of the county’s zip codes.
Tuesday is the third time within the past month that the board declined to remove Baugh as chair. Each time, Baugh’s conservative allies – Satcher, Van Ostenbridge and Kruse – have said they prefer to move on from the incident and focus on county business.
But Baugh’s opponents – Reggie Bellamy, Carol Whitmore and Servia – have publicly questioned the decision to keep her as the leader of the board in the midst of controversy.
Manatee residents attempt to sway Kruse
Earlier in Tuesday’s meeting, several residents made an attempt to convince at least one commissioner to change his mind. After Kruse noted at a recent meeting that “nobody cares” about Baugh’s role in the Lakewood Ranch vaccine site, they put together a large postcard with pictures of residents who say they are concerned about Baugh’s actions.
“Your silence is an endorsement of what she did,” said Eugene Rose, a Bradenton resident, who told commissioners that he was “embarrassed” by the board’s refusal to take action against Baugh. “We know her motivation is purely political. She said so.”
“This is not a matter of left or right but right and wrong,” said Dawn Kitterman, another Bradenton resident.
Kitterman helped organize the demonstration, which included pictures of more than 100 local residents attached to a large sign that was delivered to Kruse’s office.
“Do the right thing. Hold her accountable. We care,” the sign said.
Each resident involved in the demonstration submitted a photo of themselves with a message to the commission, with many urging the Baugh to resign or be held accountable by the board.
Reached for comment Wednesday afternoon, Kruse said he appreciated the group’s effort and has put the sign up for display in his office. However, he said the action wasn’t enough to change his stance on the issue.
“People see me as the fourth person, and I do what I think is the right thing to do,” said Kruse. “As long as I think what I’m doing is right, I’m alright with people being upset with me.”
Kruse also said he regrets saying that “nobody cares” about Baugh’s vaccine controversy — a comment that downplayed the concerns of his constituents.
“Some of my choice in words, initially, were not the best. By saying ‘nobody cares,’ that was a poor choice of words. It minimized people’s opinions. To say that about 410,000 county residents is obviously not true,” he explained. “I’m not hiding behind that, and I apologize.”
While most commissioners say they would prefer to move on, those residents found support from Whitmore, who said she’s also heard from residents asking the board to remove Baugh as chairman.
“It’s not in the past, Whitmore said. “That happened four weeks ago and I haven’t seen a slow up of the emails. I think this needs to be brought up. I don’t think our current chair should be chair.”
The motion to remove Baugh as chairman of the board failed by a 4-2 vote. Commissioners Satcher, Van Ostenbridge, Baugh and Kruse voted against the effort. Commissioners Bellamy and Servia voted in support. Whitmore was absent and did not vote.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 2:04 PM.
