Manatee County Has Much To Be Thankful For This Holiday Season

Manatee County has much to be thankful for this holiday season. We have survived the COVID nightmare that paralyzed much of our country. 

Over the past few years our county has welcomed  many refugees from the northeast who were able to escape the tyrannical Democrat politicians who moved further to the left with each passing election. 

These migrants from the north have helped Manatee County elect the most conservative county commission in years. Our commissioners, for the most part, are focused on making government more efficient and more accountable to the taxpayers. 

When these conservative commissioners took office they had to make staffing changes that ruffled the feathers of the bureaucratic state. Most government bureaucrats tend to be left-leaning. This is not surprising to anyone. These bureaucrats have good salaries and benefits that are far superior to most private enterprise employees. 

In order to change the direction of the county to a more conservative focus, staffing changes had to be made. When you begin to remove bureaucrats that are not in tune with the less-government, more efficient government standard, the local Democrats and media are going to protest. AND THEY DID! 

The commissioners persisted in changing the focus of the bureaucracy from the county employees to the county taxpayers. (It is interesting to see how many county employees still do not go to the office 5 days a week. 

Obviously, we need county employees. The system, however, works better when the mindset from the top is that of a private business. In a private business, a CEO is concerned about his employees but he understands that if he focuses too much on the employees, the business will suffer. We have seen this happen in our school systems that focus on the unionized teachers and not on the education of the students. A focus on the customers or the taxpayers allows a business to thrive as it continues to improve and adapt to changing environments. 

Fortunately, our county administration has begun the process of focusing on the taxpayers. It is not always pretty to watch, and like any successful business, mistakes are made along the way. Many counties in our country are run by Democrats and their budgets are out of control and the regulatory environment is unbearable for small businesses. THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN MANATEE COUNTY!

We can also be thankful that Republicans control our public safety arena. Sheriff Wells and State Attorney Brodsky refuse to follow the Democrat game plan of allowing criminals to avoid the consequences of their crimes. Their leadership allows each of us to be safe and secure in our neighborhoods. 

There are many issues to be dealt with over the next few years. Our infrastructure has to be upgraded and expanded to allow our citizens to enjoy our beautiful area. Many past commissioners buried their heads in the sand and did not invest in the infrastructure that was needed and we sit  in traffic jams today because of their lack of foresight. (They like to characterize their lack of foresight as environmental protection) 

Our present commissioners must make sure that public spending is done effectively and with minimal waste. Criminal elements must be dealt with severely so that our public continues to feel safe. 

We are blessed to live in this part of America. It is truly a time to be thankful. 

---