Friends, Fellow Citizens:

The last two Boards of the County Commissioners have claimed to be conservative, and yet have not been upholding conservative values. They have, for the most part, been unresponsive to citizens - except for special interests. They have done some good things, but there has also been a severe lack of transparency in a number of areas.

They have allowed development to spin out of control, opening up land east of the Future Development Area Boundary (FDAB) and allowing thousands of homes to be built further out into East County without sufficient infrastructure in place. That means more traffic, more stress on our water supply, more pollution, more crowds at our beaches - and potentially millions more of our tax dollars subsidizing this development.

They rolled back protections for our wetlands, putting our water quality at risk. They have wasted money on things like expensive car wraps; beautification projects that are far more costly than advertised; overpriced designs for new parks; a hotly contested parking lot on Anna Maria Island that will be far more expensive than it will be useful; and most recently, increasing the budget of the Supervisor of Elections office by approximately $800k or 26% for the remainder of the year, with much of it spent on salaries. There is more, but we only have so much space to write.

As a native Floridian and resident of Manatee County for over 30 years, Carol Ann Felts is running a grassroots campaign to bring back transparency, good governance and citizen participation to our County Commission. But she needs your help.

For years, Carol Ann Felts has been working hard to educate, inform and involve the public in how our communities are formed and how we are governed. She has never hesitated to speak up for the citizens' rights, especially the right to address issues before our Board of County Commissioners. She has helped others to review the facts and understand the challenges of planning for our future growth. And there is no greater advocate for the Accountability, Civility and Ethics standards in our Manatee County government that we should all practice and aspire to.

Campaigns are costly. But with your help, we can put an average citizen in office that has a vested interest in this county and has demonstrated her commitment to serving Manatee County citizens. She is putting in her own investment of time and money, and is counting on your efforts to do the same.

Special interests have already chosen their candidates in this election. You will see incredible amounts of dollars rolling in, and the pounds of mailers paid for by dark money. Candidates are already distracting people, fundraising off of President Trump’s legal problems. While it is regrettable that the prosecutions against our former (and likely future) president are inflaming the country, his fight is not something that our Manatee County Commission can address. President Trump isn’t aware of our wetlands issues. He couldn’t tell you where our FDAB lies. He can’t speak to the development of our Comprehensive Plan or the Land Development Code. He has no idea what places might better support affordable housing. He doesn’t know what we are doing (or not doing) for our veterans. He isn’t familiar with our local roads, and whether a speed bump or traffic light might be more appropriate than a traffic circle. We have to remain focused on our LOCAL ISSUES in our local races, and not allow candidates to skate by just by supporting our president.

Please help the people’s candidate with a donation of your time or a monetary contribution that will enable us all to have a voice and the good governance our residents deserve. We know that money can be tight, especially in this economy. We are asking for you to give $20 - or more, if you are able, that will help us get our message out to other citizens. And if you can afford to give it monthly for the next few months, we would appreciate it. We don't have the luxury of tens of thousands of dollars to hire people to do this work, but a little bit from normal citizens can go a long way if we are careful and spend wisely.

And talk to your neighbors and friends. The time to start paying attention to what is happening locally in your backyard is now, before another election goes by and special interests take away your right to the quiet enjoyment of your property and the quality of life of this county.