Results: 2 Commission, 3 School Board Seats Up For Grabs

MANATEE COUNTY, FL – Three Republicans will battle it out Tuesday, April 28, to lay claim to the Manatee County Commission District 4 seat.

The seat was vacated by Commissioner Robin DiSabatino who decided not to seek a third term in office.

Hoping to take her place are Republicans Mark D. Black, Laurie Galle and Misty Servia.

Black served as a combat engineer in the Army. Following his tour of duty, he earned his master plumber’s license and worked in public service for a metropolitan housing authority. He later became a department chief the building department of a local government. After taking an early retirement, he went back to school, earning a bachelor’s degree in public administration and policy and a master’s in public administration.

For the past 30 years, Galle and her husband, Roger, have owned and operated a commercial painting company in Manatee County, specializing specialized in new construction restaurants including Cracker Barrel, Applebee's and Outback Steakhouse.

The mother of two children who attended Manatee County schools, Galle is active with Hope Family Services, the Rubonia Community Center, Palma Sola Botanical Park, Manatee Junior League and the Coalition on Homelessness in Sarasota and Manatee counties.

A lifelong resident of Sarasota/Bradenton, Servia’s career includes 12 as a professional planner and nearly 18 years as a county planner.

She received a gubernatorial appointment in 2013 to the Manatee County Housing Authority, is a member of the Bradenton Tree and Land Preservation Board and an active member of the Manatee Chamber of Commerce.

Additionally, she is a member of Leadership Manatee’s Board of Governors and serves on the Citizen’s Advisory Committee of the Metropolitan Planning Organization and the County’s Planning Task Force.

DiSabatino has endorsed Servia.

The winner of the Primary will face Melton H. Little, the only Democrat running for the District 4 seat, in the General Election on Nov. 6.

The district covers the southern portion of the county, including the Whitfield and Bayshore Gardens neighborhoods between 34th Street West and Lockwood Ridge Road.

Manatee County voters will also have a chance to vote for Democratic contenders for the District 2 Manatee County Commission seat and Republicans for the District 6 County Commission Seat.

Reggie Bellamy and Charles Smith are battling for the District 2 seat, which covers parts of Bradenton, Palmetto and Ellenton on either side of the Manatee River.

A graduate of Palmetto High School, Smith’s family has owned and operated the Manatee Harvesting Company Inc. for 54 years.

He holds criminal justice degrees from Bethune Cookman College and the University of Central Florida along with a doctor of divinity from Bethesda Biblical Institute.

Smith was the first black elected to the Palmetto City Council (now commission) and was elected to the Manatee County Commission in 2014.

His opponent, Bellamy, is a Bradenton native who served as a corporal in the Army and received his bachelor’s degree from Bethune Cookman University.

He is currently a dean at Buffalo Creek Middle School in Palmetto as well as the executive director of the Palmetto Youth Center and head coach of the Palmetto High School boys’ basketball team.

Republican James Satcher will face incumbent Carol Whitmore for the commission’s at-large District 6 seat.

Satcher graduated from Berry College as and Rhema Bible College and has held various ministry leadership positions ministry director at Youth For Christ and pastor of a church.

In addition to raising their five children and another on the way, he and his wife, Monica, are involved in organizations that aid children orphaned by the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the nonprofit outreach Acts of Love, a ministry that fights sex trafficking and sexual exploitation. They serve as co-chairmen of the board of the governor-sanctioned 12th Circuit Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition for Sarasota, DeSoto and Manatee County.

Whitmore grew up on Anna Maria Island and is a 1973 graduate of Manatee High School. She received her certification as a licensed practical nurse and worked in the Critical Care Department at Manatee Memorial Hospital before being appointed director of physician relations and later director of risk management, a position she held until 1991.

In 1991, she was elected to the Holmes Beach City Commission and served as mayor from 1998 to 2006 when she was elected to the Manatee County Commission and re-elected in 2010 and 2014.

Another contentious race is the nonpartisan race for the Manatee County District 4 School Board seat.

Four candidates are vying to fill it: Scott Hopes, Joe Stokes, Richard Murphy and James Daniel.

The incumbent, Hopes, currently serves as the board’s chairman. He was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott a little over a year ago. A product of the Florida education system, Hopes is a former educator.

Stokes moved to Manatee County in 2004 when he was hired as an educator at King Middle School. He later served as director of elementary schools and assistant principal.

Murphy is a former teacher, school board member and superintendent. He taught school in Manatee County for two years.

Daniel moved to Manatee County in 1982. His wife is a teacher and his son and daughter attend school in Manatee County.

Other school board seats up for grabs include District 2 and 5.

Alice Kaddatz will go up against incumbent Charles Kennedy for the District 2 seat and James Golden is facing incumbent John Colon for the District 5 seat.

Image via Shutterstock

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