No opposition in Anna Maria elections. There will be a seat up for grabs after Nov. 3

The Nov. 3 General Election looked to be a smooth process for the city of Anna Maria where all the incumbents qualified for re-election with no opposition.

The resignation of Amy Tripp from the city commission threw a bit of a wrench in that process. Tripp remains on the ballot but has moved to North Carolina after announcing her resignation via email to the city on Aug. 4.

It’s not a new experience in Anna Maria with commissioners stepping down. The process is for those interested in filling the vacated seat to submit applications for review by the remaining commissioners. Those commissioners then vote to see who will be appointed.

Tripp was appointed in February 2018 when Nancy Yetter resigned from the commission because of an out-of-state move. Tripp finished Yetter’s term and then was elected on her own that November.

Anna Maria Mayor Dan Murphy, who is running unopposed for another term, said the city is taking applications, but won’t appoint a new commissioner until after the Nov. 3 election.

“We’re going to continue to seek applicants and that list will be announced some time in October,” Murphy said. “We’ll appoint a new commissioner on that first meeting after the election, which I believe is around the middle of November.”

Commissioner Mark Short is up for reelection and is unopposed, guaranteeing him his first full term. Short, too, was appointed in October 2019 when Brian Seymour resigned from the board. He now has a year under his political belt before heading into his first full two-year term.

“I definitely thought it would take a little while to get used to the process, but I feel like after a year, I’m much more comfortable, very comfortable as a matter of fact, with the process and how things work,” Seymour said. “I do believe it does take a about a year for anybody to get acclimated to everything that goes on in a situation like this.”

Short said his priorities for the coming term include finalizing the deals for a bait shop and new restaurant on the Historic Anna Maria Pier, which was destroyed by Hurricane Irma in 2017, and reopened in June.

Rebuilding the pier turned into quite the struggle with the 2018 bout of red tide and a construction barge hitting the pier during a storm, causing lengthy delays in getting the pier reopened.

Short said the city is close to finalizing the leases for the bait shop and restaurant.

“From my perspective, finalizing everything related to the pier is something we need to focus on and I know we will,” Short said. “With respect to things outside of that, continuation with the city remains on things like dealing with stormwater and addressing areas still exposed to flooding. I think we have a vision with respect to that and will get it done.”