Who won city council races in Bradenton, Palmetto, Holmes Beach? Here are results
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2022 Election Results for Bradenton, Manatee
Here are the full voting tallies for Florida races in Bradenton and Manatee County.
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Bradenton City Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey was reelected on Tuesday, and incumbent Councilman Bill Sanders was defeated.
Here’s how municipal races played out in the midterm elections in Manatee County’s Bradenton, Palmetto and Holmes Beach.
Barnebey won with 61.6% of the vote, or 9,781 of ballots cast, compared to opponent David Levin with 38.4% of the vote, or 6,102 ballots cast.
Ward 2 includes part of west Bradenton.
In 2020, when Mayor Gene Brown resigned his seat on the city council to run for mayor, Barnebey was appointed to fill the vacancy. It was not her first time sitting on the city council, however, having previously served 1998 to 2012.
Raising more than seven times the money raised by Levin, Barnebey brought in $91,690 in contributions while Levin had $12,904.20 in contributions. Levin, however, outspent Barnebey, with $12,575.33 compared to $2,423.59 spent by Barnebey.
Barnebey did not immediately respond for comment.
Levin had accused the councilwoman of corruption because her husband, Mark Barnebey, works for Blalock Walters, a local law firm that represents developers, but never provided evidence of that. A local business owner, Levin, has previously been convicted of hacking into government websites, including the Lee County Supervisor of Elections and the Florida Division of Elections.
In the heated race for Ward 4, Lisa Gonzalez Moore ousted Councilman Bill Sanders and also beat opponent Kurt Landefeld.
Meanwhile former Assistant Police Chief Josh Cramer, who ran unopposed, won the seat for Ward 3.
Palmetto pastor takes seat left by longtime commissioner
Sunshine Matthews has been elected onto the Palmetto City Commission to take the Ward 2 seat left vacant by outgoing Commissioner Tambra Varnadore.
Matthews took 57.7% of the vote, or 1,094 of ballots cast, while Mattingly took 42.3% of the vote, or 803 of ballots cast.
Varnadore was first elected to the commission on Aug. 31, 2004, taking office the following month. She did not run for reelection, however.
Sunshine Mathews, a Palmetto native, is a worship pastor at Church On The Rock in Palmetto. Her parents founded the church 37 years ago and her father continues to serve as a senior pastor.
Ward 2 includes northwest Palmetto.
“I have had so much support. It has been just an awesome experience, especially being a newbie in this new venture,” Matthews said as a celebration could be heard behind her. “I have just learned so much and I am incredibly excited to get started on making a bright future for Palmetto.”
Matthews raised more money than Mattingly, raising $14,035.55 while he raised $12,069.44. But Mattingly outspent Matthews, with $12,043.77 in expenditures compared to $5,332.82 spent by Matthews.
Running unopposed, Commissioners Harold Smith and Brian Williams have also been reelected.
No contest in Holmes Beach
There was no contest on the ballot in Holmes Beach on Tuesday.
Holmes Beach Commissioner Jayne Christenson was running for re-election but bowed out of the race last month, saying that it was because of the demands of balancing work and personal life.
“I have a demanding job in the bio-pharmaceutical research and manufacturing industry and have recently taken on even more people management and multi-million dollar budget responsibility which requires extensive travel, limiting the time I have to dedicate to the city,” Christenson wrote in a letter to the Supervisor of Elections.
With two seats open, candidates Daniel Diggins and Gregory Kerchner each have been elected.
Mayor Judy Titsworth ran unopposed, so she has been re-elected to office.
All three will be sworn-in on Wednesday.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 8:41 PM.
