Gene Brown wins 55 percent of the vote to become the city of Bradenton’s next mayor
Gene Brown won about 55 percent of the vote in the three-way race to become the city of Bradenton’s next mayor.
Brown received 12,883 votes, or 54.6%. Councilman Harold Byrd, Jr. won about 8,163 votes, or 34%. The third candidate, Dimitrie Denis, received 2,729 votes, or 11.%.
Brown, who will be only the third Bradenton mayor in some 40 years, previously represented Ward 2 on the Bradenton City Council for about eight years before stepping down to enter the mayor’s race after the qualifying date.
Brown campaigned on a platform that focused on revitalizing downtown Bradenton, protecting law enforcement and providing more affordable housing while keeping taxes low. He celebrated his victory with family and friends at Pier 22 Tuesday night.
“I’m ready to keep working together for our city and working together as a great council to progress our city along,” said Brown.. “The past has been great and the future looks bright.”
Byrd served for nearly 20 years on the Bradenton City Council. He served his first stint between 1989 and 1995. He was re-elected in 2007 and has served on the council ever since.
Byrd ran on a platform of redevelopment, public safety and public improvements. He said he had a “fresh vision” for Bradenton when he first launched his campaign earlier this year. Reached for comment Tuesday night, Byrd said he was proud of the fight his campaign put up against a campaign that raised over $108,000. Byrd’s campaign raised about $13,000.
“We knew what we were up against. We were an underdog and we gave a great fight. I’m proud of the community support,” Byrd said.
Despite the loss, Byrd said he plans to remain active in the community. He also said he believed Brown to be behind negative mailers that went out against the police oversight charter amendment. Bradenton voters did not approve the referendum to remove the mayor’s power as police commissioner.
“That was a very racist flyer that went out and misinformed the voters and that needs to be dealt with. I’m more of a danger on the outside than I am on the inside,” said Byrd, who vowed to remain involved in city politics. “We’re not going anywhere.”
Denis, who ran for the District 2 seat on the Manatee County Commission in 2018, campaigned on a platform of keeping taxes low, attracting high-tech companies to the area and improving the city’s infrastructure. Denis did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday night.
Mayor Wayne Poston, who has been in the position for almost 20 years, initially ran for re-election in 2020 but withdrew from the race earlier this year after vetoing a controversial attempt to put a referendum question regarding oversight of the police on the ballot. The Bradenton City Council ultimately succeeded in placing the item on the General Election ballot, but Bradenton voters did not approve the referendum Tuesday night.
Moving forward, Brown says he hopes to put together a transition team to continue improving the city.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 8:54 PM.
