Two Petitions Support Keeping County Administrator Cheri Coryea

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — After the Manatee County Commission surprised many by moving toward firing County Administrator Cheri Coryea in a 4 to 3 vote at its Thursday meeting, two online petitions supporting her were created.

Three newly-elected commissioners - Kevin Van Ostenbridge, James Satcher and George Kruse – and recently reelected incumbent Vannessa Baugh led the move to fire Coryea without cause less than three days after they were sworn in.

One petition called “Show your support for our County Administrator Cheri Coryea” had nearly 1,200 signatures on iPetitions.com as of Wednesday morning. It was created by former county commissioner Joe McClash, who served in that role for more than two decades.

The petition read, “Signing this petition may not change the vote of the developer-funded commissioners. However, it will send a message that firing a county administrator that has worked her way up in our community and earned its respect is not acceptable.”

In a comment on the petition, he also said he had worked with Coryea on various issues during his time in office.

“She is a dedicated employee, tackles every problem with a solution and is a great mentor. This community has championed hiring a county administrator from within. Creating a path forward for those to succeed,” he wrote. “Having the first women administrator to do this is a great accomplishment. It is the responsibility of every commissioner to work with the county administrator and to help them to be the best, so they can do the best for our community. Those voting to fire her for no cause, show how they are not putting the needs of this community first. County administrators only can carry out the policy of the (seven) commissioners. Not an easy task when you have (seven) bosses. Nothing but chaos will come from your action commissioners (Van) Ostenbridge, Kruse, Satcher and Baugh. You bring great shame to our community!”

The second petition, “Keep Cheri Coryea as Manatee County Administrator” on Change.org, has nearly 150 signatures as of Wednesday morning. This petition was created by Angelstar Colon, who works in a law office and knows Coryea. She said she was “shocked” when she learned about the commission’s decision to fire the county administrator, so she created this petition.

“What we're concentrating on right now is to make sure she keeps her job, because she's an excellent worker,” Colon said in an interview with Patch. “I’ve dealt with her. I like to talk to her. She's a wonderful person. She will do anything to help you out and even if she tells you no, she does it in a way so you know why she said no.”

Colon added, “She’s a wonderful person all around. For them to come in and not even get to know her and to want to give her the ax, I feel that's wrong and for no reason.”