Two days later, Manatee County officials reinstate Van Ostenbridge as chair over Baugh
Two days after making a surprise change to remove Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge as chairman of the board, the Manatee County Commission voted to reinstate him Thursday morning.
Earlier this week, county officials made surprising changes by moving to oust Acting County Administrator Lee Washington and Van Ostenbridge over what they said was a lack of communication.
On Tuesday, board members voted to have Commissioner Vanessa Baugh serve as chairwoman for the rest of the year.
But during Thursday’s public Land Use Meeting, one commissioner had a change of heart. Commissioner Amanda Ballard said she wanted to redo the vote and reinstall Van Ostenbridge as chairman.
“At the last meeting, I made a vote which I have since — upon further reflection — come to believe was not in the best interest of the county,” Ballard said.
The board voted 4-2 to name Van Ostenbridge as chair. Commissioners James Satcher and Jason Bearden voted against the change. Baugh was absent from the meeting and did not cast a vote.
The board chair is largely a ceremonial role. The commissioner, who is voted into the position by fellow board members, conducts public meetings and signs documents on behalf of the board.
But Van Ostenbridge’s approach to his job outside of public county meetings caused tension with several board members. On Tuesday, they said they believed they were kept out of the loop on government decisions but did not provide specific examples.
“We’re not always informed of things the way we should be. I have complained many times about it,” Baugh said at the time. “I don’t like feeling sometimes like the chairman runs the show and then we find out about it after the fact, the decisions are made instead of bringing things to the board, but that’s his way. That’s how he does things. I don’t agree with it, and I’ve been on this board a long time.”
“I have been kind of frustrated because information has only been brought up to certain commissioners on this board. It makes it hard for me to do my job,” Bearden added. “I’m not going to make this picture look pretty because it’s not very pretty.”
Van Ostenbridge, who also served as board chairman in 2022, immediately began leading Thursday’s public Land Use Meeting.
This story was originally published April 20, 2023 at 11:03 AM.
