Manatee commissioners’ move to fire Coryea ‘smells pretty bad’ | Letter to the editor

I used to write frequently to express my opinions, but more recently I have not. The situation in this country is way beyond paying attention to writers of letters to the editors.

However the lead story in the Sunday Bradenton Herald about the three new commissioners who have ganged up to fire the 30-year public servant, now serving as county administrator, who they apparently view as someone who will oppose their power-grabbing schemes, is the most egregious local behavior to rattle my cage in a while.

I remember when it was announced that the Lena Road property was to be purchased. The managers of the programs that were to eventually relocate were very pleased. I recall that they said having several departments on one location would save money and time, increase efficiency, and would be something that would improve operations for many years. They had been looking for a suitable site for a long time.

Last week three newly elected commissioners came to one of their first meetings. The item was not put on the agenda, so was unexpected. Apparently they thought they had a chance to sneak it in and influence things to their advantage. Under the ideological guise of Republican values and the need for a new approach, they said the property was grossly over priced, blamed the purchase on the county manager, and felt she should be fired. This appears as an effort to meet the desires of some of the most powerful real estate developers in the area, who were very big political donors to these commissioners.

This smells pretty bad. Is there no personal integrity or ethical consciousness? I will be watching to see who wins; the long time public servant who apparently cares about the county, or the power grabbers who only care about throwing their weight around, repaying their political donors and spouting political ideology meant to confuse the voter.

Doris Sutliff

Bradenton