Manatee County Commission candidates participate in series of debates Thursday

Manatee County Commission candidates expressed their support of small businesses during Manatee County Black Chamber of Commerce’s forum Thursday.

As a small business owner herself, Priscilla Whisenant Trace, who is running for the District 1 seat, said she’s found that you can’t get answers quickly.

“If they have problems, I will try to streamline,” she said. “We have to make the process more efficient, and the only way you can do that is by trust and working with people.”

District 1 candidate Corie Holmes said small businesses are very important in Manatee County. Ron Reagan, who is also running for the seat, wasn’t in attendance.

“It is actually the backbone of several of our communities,” Holmes said. “I’m a major supporter of enhancing our community as it relates to small business.”

For Matt Bower, who is running for the District 3 seat, small businesses in that district is a major issue.

“It is very difficult to thrive as a small business in District 3,” he said.

Dave Zaccagnino, who is also running for the seat, said he will work with the chambers just as he has in the past on Anna Maria Island. Steve Jonsson, who is also running for the seat, participated in a separate forum earlier in Cortez.

“It is very important to have good jobs in this county because it raises all boats,” Zaccagnino said.

District 5 candidate Kathleen Grant said she is opposed to most of the Economic Development Corporation’s funding. Her opponent, Vanessa Baugh, was not in attendance.

“I don’t think the government should be picking winners and losers,” she said.

Commissioner Betsy Benac, who is running for re-election to the District 7 at-large seat, said they’ve helped a lot of small businesses.

“We know small businesses are the backbone of our economy here,” she said. “I think what small businesses need are resources.”

Her opponent Jack Richardson said “If you want to foster small business, then the last thing you need to do is raise taxes.”

A forum in Cortez

Just before the event, Zaccagnino, Bower and Jonsson spoke to nearly 30 people at Fisherman’s Hall in Cortez. The candidates introduced themselves and answered questions from residents on everything from the upcoming sales tax referendum to whether they support the animal shelter’s no-kill policy.

Commercial fisherman Mark Coursey wanted to know how candidates would support commercial fisherman and protect the village’s environment and bays.

“One of the biggest things is make sure that the fishery is protected. It’s not just about Cortez. It runs all the way out east,” Bower said, adding that a lot of his friends are fisherman like Coursey. “You have a lot of things going on out east that you may not be aware of ... all groups within Manatee County need to be working together.”

Jonsson said it’s key to keep in mind that Cortez is a quaint commercial fishing village and it needs to stay that way.

“We gotta make sure we don’t have developers in Cortez Village,” he said. “We don’t need a bunch of high-rise condominiums and big commercial properties here.”

Zaccagnino, a former Holmes Beach commissioner, said his opponents will talk about what they would do.

“I’m going to talk about what I have done to protect the environment,” he said, adding that he’s served on the board of the Sarasota Bay Estuary and has been involved other organizations. “I’m not just doing this because I’m running now. I’ve always done this.”

The forum in Cortez was not without tensions. After Holmes Beach Commission Vice Chairwoman Jean Peelen asked the candidates if any of them have accepted campaign donations from developers, builders, or anyone in real estate, Bower said no.

“It’s interesting he brings that up because there’s a lot of transparency, and if you look at the supervisor of elections website, he has five $1,000 contributions from five different LLCs from the same address. That’s what they call dark money,” Zaccagnino said, pointing at Bower. “There’s a reason why I haven’t been endorsed by Realtors or the Sierra Club ... because I’m independent.”

Bower said the LLC Zaccagnino referred to is from a good friend of his who donated a yacht for a fundraiser for Bower. Bower offered to give residents his friend’s cell number so they can ask him any questions.

“Leave no stone unturned. Dave is right,” he said. “Gotta make sure you do your homework.”

Jonsson said he has accepted donations from the groups of people Peelen listed.

“And quite frankly, I’m proud of it. These are people that encouraged me to run for this job, these are all people that I did business with for 38 years, 37 years,” he said. “I’m proud that these people were willing to sit there and support me. That doesn’t mean they’re going to buy my vote.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2016 at 9:38 PM with the headline "Manatee County Commission candidates participate in series of debates Thursday."