Yesterday, December 14th, 2021, the Board of County Commissioners met for a marathon meeting that covered a variety of topics. Included at the end of the meeting were the annual election of officers for the Board.
In a unanimous vote, Commissioner Van Ostenbridge was elected as the new Chair of the Board of County Commissioners. He will assume his role as Chair in 2022.
“It will be an honor to serve Manatee County as their Chairman of the County Commission. I want to thank my colleagues for their confidence in my leadership. I look forward to a productive year of hard work in the interest of our taxpayers. My expectations are that this will be a year filled with Accountability, Civility and Ethics (ACE) at all levels of our government.” – Commissioner Van Ostenbridge.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh closed the meeting by congratulating Van Ostenbridge. She stated that it has “been an interesting year” and she felt the board “has come a long way”. Baugh continued by saying she is looking forward to what the board can accomplish next year. She reflected on the “many trying times” during the year and specifically mentioned the change of Administrators. Baugh complemented County Administrator, Scott Hopes, saying he “may be the best County Administrator she has worked with”.
In addition to electing a new chair, there were several other elections to fill other positions. The results of the elections are as follows:
Board of County Commissioners
- Chairman- Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge (District 3)
- First Vice-Chairman- Commissioner James Satcher (District 1)
- Second Vice-Chairman- Commissioner George Kruse (At-Large)
- Third Vice-Chairman- Commissioner Carol Whitmore (At-Large)
Port Authority
- Chairman- Commissioner Reggie Bellamy (District 2)
- First Vice-Chairman- Commissioner George Kruse (At-Large)
- Second Vice-Chairman- Commissioner Misty Servia (District 4)
- Third Vice-Chairman- Commissioner James Satcher (District 1)
Tourist Development Council (TDC)
- Chairman- Commissioner Misty Servia (District 4)
- Alternate Chair- Carol Whitmore (At-Large)
Included below is the video segment of the elections.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyXsBDu8yIk&ab_channel=ManateeCountyCommissionerMeetings
