Three candidates want to be Bradenton’s next mayor. These are their plans for the city
For the first time in more than 20 years, Bradenton voters will elect a new mayor in November.
Mayor Wayne Poston, who was first elected in 1999, announced his decision to retire this summer, after originally launching a bid for re-election. Three candidates entered the race to replace him.
In a Monday evening candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Manatee County, all three candidates answered pressing questions about their qualifications and how they would improve the quality of life in Bradenton.
Councilman Harold Byrd, Jr., who has served on Bradenton City Council for a total of almost 20 years, is running for the seat with a “fresh vision” for city leadership. Byrd served on the council from 1989 to 1995, and again since 2007.
After crafting policy on the legislative side, Byrd says he’s ready to transition to an executive role within City Hall.
“Our campaign is focused on redevelopment, public safety, public improvements, transportation, ridding our city of a lot of the traffic problems we have, as well as affordable, workforce and attainable housing,” Byrd told forum viewers.
“If you want to elect someone that’s competent, educated and has the experience to move the city in the right direction, vote for Harold Byrd,” he added.
Dimitrie Denis, who previously ran for the District 2 seat on the Manatee County Commission in 2018, is another candidate in the mayoral race. Denis pitched himself as a blue-collar, working-class Republican. While keeping taxes low, he said he hopes to transform Bradenton by attracting high-tech companies, tackling infrastructure issues and providing more attainable housing.
“You have two establishment politicians running to be mayor, representing both sides of the aisle. Make it easy on yourself, and vote for the other guy, Dimitrie Denis,” he said, referring to his opponents. “We’ll rebuild our Black community, defend our guns here locally from the federal government, restore respect for our law enforcement officers and rebuild our crumbling infrastructure.”
As a last-minute entry, former Councilman Gene Brown is also in the running to become Bradenton’s next mayor. Brown’s decision to run came just hours after Poston dropped out of the race. It was a golden opportunity to give back to the community, he explained.
“Working to make our city better is important, and it’s one of those things that really comes from the heart,” Brown said. “As you work to make our community better, you’re also making everyone better.”
Brown said his priorities include protecting law enforcement, continuing to revitalize downtown Bradenton and providing more affordable housing while keeping taxes low. He was first elected to the council in 2012. Because he entered the race after the qualifying date, Brown was forced to resign from office in order to run.
Candidates differ on police referendum
Candidates also weighed in on the upcoming charter amendment referendum vote, which gives Bradenton voters the opportunity to remove the mayor’s power as commissioner of the police department. Under current guidelines, Police Chief Melanie Bevan reports to the mayor, but if approved, she would begin reporting to the entire City Council.
It’s a necessary step, Byrd argued, in order to restore trust in the community.
“In this day and age, one individual should not have all that power, influence and oversight over that particular department,” Byrd said. “It needs more input.”
But Byrd’s opponents said they didn’t believe removing the mayor’s authority over the Bradenton Police Department is the right decision. Brown said he couldn’t support that change to charter because there wasn’t enough public input, calling the referendum vote a “political” move. Poston is also urging residents to vote against the referendum.
“I don’t believe it’s the right timing. Do I believe there’s room for improvement on our charter? Yes, I do, but I believe we’ve got to work thru a citizens committee to do that and not have political partisanship in that,” said Brown.
According to Denis, the referendum vote is another situation that comes down to the “establishment.” He said neither of his opponents have made meaningful changes to the police department during their time on City Council and urged voters to let the mayor keep the role of police commissioner, as long as they’re also voting for him.
“I believe that if you’re voting for either of the establishment (candidates), you should vote against them obtaining that power,” Denis said. “However, you should allow your next mayor, Dimitrie Denis (to have) that power, because he’s a newcomer, he’s anti-establishment and we’re coming with new changes. The police department reflects the mayor and the mayor reflects the police department.”
While neither of the candidates support a movement to defund the police, all of them supported any necessary budget adjustments to make the department’s job easier.
“I believe that the police chief has everything she wants on the budget,” Denis said. “If we’re working behind the eight ball with our police department, we want to make sure they have adequate funding and we’re not playing around with their budget.”
Byrd noted that the City Council recently discussed a plan to pay for body cameras, an upgrade that the city “can’t afford not to fund.”
“To protect and serve, we need to provide the tools. However, it’s possible to do it better,” Byrd said.
Each candidate agreed that certain problems in the city of Bradenton have to be solved by working with neighboring municipalities, such as the city of Palmetto or Manatee County.
“The council of governments will be very important to work together. Not to tell the county what they have to do, but it’s going to be a coalition of working together to make things better for all us,” said Brown.
Brown leads the pack when it comes to campaign contributions, according to the latest records at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office. He has raised more than $97,000, while Byrd has raised about $11,000 and Denis has raised about $1,000.
To learn more about Brown’s campaign, visit VoteGeneBrown.com. To learn more about Denis’ campaign, visit Denis4Mayor.com. To learn more about Byrd’s campaign, visit VoteHaroldByrd.com. Election Day is Nov. 3.
This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
