Manatee County Democrats News Updates

By Florence Shelton-Clark, Manatee County Democratic State Committeewoman (Jan. 10, 2022) -

Voting rights, fundraising, Democratic messaging, unifying – were the watchwords of the two-day Leadership Blue Conference held in early December. Happily, it all took place face-to-face for the first time since I was elected State Committeewoman nearly a year ago. It felt great! 

COVID-19 kept us apart, but the vaccine, wearing masks and social distancing made it possible for us to see each other in person as a group, thanks to the work of President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party.

Distinguished fellow Democrats and candidates attended the conference including, Commissioner of Agriculture Nikki Fried, Congressman Charlie Crist, State Senator Annette Taddeo, State Democratic Party Chairman Manny Diaz, and Manatee County Commissioner Reggie Bellamy.

In her session, Messaging and Communications, State Representative Fentrice Driskell emphasized how Democrats must frame our narrative: “Freedom to be Healthy, Prosperous, Safe.” She called on Democrats to name the true villains dividing us and stressed the positive messages we must convey by communicating forcefully and using best practices.

A Voting Rights Roundtable honed in on how critical it is to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act by making it clear that all of us, Democrats of all nationalities and the unaffiliated, have to protect the right to vote. It’s not a Black issue, as Republicans are saying. Voting rights is an “everybody issue.” The session, Let’s Talk: Real Issues, Real Impact, Real Action Needed, also touched on how to get young people involved and active.

At the Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, Manatee State Committeeman Rev. James Golden introduced his friend Rt. Rev. Samuel Green, Sr, who highlighted the values that all religions share and the ideals that unite us. I trust that everyone walked out of that service as inspired and motivated as I did.

U.S. House Majority Whip Congressman James E. Clyburn, who played an essential role in Joe Biden becoming President, said that the attack on January 6 was not just an attack on the Capital, but an attack on the People and our democracy. His keynote speech was enlightening. 

In her Leadership Reception, U.S. Senate Candidate, Congresswoman Val Demings emphasized strengthening law enforcement and positive community relations as well as squashing efforts to demonize democratic ideas as “socialism.” She emphasized that the majority of Americans are in agreement with Democratic policies that have nothing to do with ideologies.

The Manatee County Democratic Black Caucus held its quarterly Executive Committee meeting just prior to the Conference. Under the leadership of our state Black Caucus President Trevor Mallory, we took stock of where we stand and where we’re headed in 2022. We have good reason to be optimistic. New Black Caucus chapters are growing to reach every Florida county to meet one of our greatest challenges – gaining new members as well as more Democratic voters. 

We accomplished important work with the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, of which I’m a member. In the final analysis, it is up to all of us to make sure we get across to everyone that the Democratic Party is the party of true inclusion of all voices. That’s how we win. Exclusion happens when it’s allowed and enabled. 

The Leadership Blue Conference provided motivation, inspiration and our marching orders to get to work as Democrats. To make lasting change, there’s some heavy lifting to do on all our parts during these times when democracy itself is under threat. We need all hands on deck to maintain our country’s greatness in a changing world. As your State Committeewoman, I vow to do my part.

By William Clapper, (Jan.  14, 2022) –   More than 200 people held a candlelight vigil at the Manatee County Historic Courthouse the evening of Jan. 6 to remember the assault on our nation’s Capitol in 2021 and to rally for voting rights.

The message to local, state and national politicians is: voters must decide the outcome of elections. The activists further demanded that elected leaders pass urgent legislation including the Freedom to Vote Act, the Protecting Our Democracy Act, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and DC Statehood.

The Bradenton event was one of more than 175 events that took place throughout the county on Jan. 6. 

The radical groups that planned and conducted the attack on the Capitol continue to restrict the freedom to vote, attack fair voting districts, and are planning future attempts to sabotage free and fair elections.

Examples of how voting is endangered include:

· Restrictions on voting by mail and using drop boxes with intent to limit the number of ballots cast.

· Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to establish an “election crimes” investigative force, despite lack of evidence of voter fraud.

· County supervisors of election have disproportionately purged Democrats from voting rolls. More than 3,000 fewer Democrats are registered in Manatee County compared to Election Day 2020. 

· The Manatee County Commissioners approved a redistricting map that dilutes minority voting power by dividing the county’s urban core.

· The Florida Legislature has proposed redistricting changes that could diminish political competition, perpetuating more than 20 years of Republican, one-party rule in Florida.

By William Clapper, (Jan. 6, 2022) – Manatee County’s District 2 suffered the most from the blatantly gerrymandered district map the Manatee County Commissioners approved last month.

The new District 2, as well as other redrawn districts, clearly favor personal and political agendas of four current commissioners. Redistricting criteria includes keeping social and economic similarities intact, factors that were not considered with the redrawn map. The district map was approved by a 4-3 vote with Commissioners Reggie Bellamy, Misty Servia and Carol Whitmore opposed.

“I think this [newly drawn district map] was a very, very sophisticated strategy to dilute the minority vote,” Bellamy said in media reports after the county commissioners approved a hastily prepared map that was not scrutinized by staff, or the county’s legal office. 

“You really did not care about what the voters of Manatee County thought, and it caused me to wonder whose marching orders are you marching to,” District 2 resident and Manatee County NAACP Secretary Susie Copeland said in media reports.

All public input was ignored or belittled. County Administrator Hopes mentioned that the more than 200 people who spoke against proposed redistricting plans at BoCC meetings constitute a very small percentage of citizens. 

“Instead of applauding citizen participation, why make light of it when at most of the meetings the seats are empty?” asked Copeland.

The Manatee County Democratic Party analyzed voter registration data to understand the effect of redrawing District 2’s boundaries. The analytics show new District 2 was subjected to packing. An estimated 13,000 voters from majority white and Republican-leaning communities were packed into District 2, which historically has a majority of minority voters. 

District 2’s northern most neighborhoods, including the city of Palmetto, shifted to predominately white districts while a number of majority white neighborhoods were configured into District 2. 

Redistricting also allotted a portion of Terra Ceia to remain in District 1, after James Satcher, the District 1 commissioner, said he may want to move into that neighborhood. 

Commissioner Servia’s District 4 was pushed further west to 75th Street, neighborhoods previously allotted to Kevin Van Ostenbridge’s District 3. District 3 now includes most but not all of Manatee’s shoreline, negating a Commission promise of creating a total "coastal district.”

Taking a wider view of the gerrymandering that occurred nationwide, the New York Times reported, “Black elected officials across the country — ranging from members of Congress to county commissioners — have been drawn out of their districts, placed in newly competitive districts or bundled into new districts where they must vie against incumbents from their own party. Almost all of the affected lawmakers are Democrats, and most of the mapmakers are white Republicans.”

The Manatee County Commissioners are nominally non-partisan, but their actions, voting patterns and statements clearly indicate they swing heavily to Republican views and policies.

Congratulations to Rev. James Golden on his election as chairman of the Manatee County School Board. 

Golden, the board’s vice chair this past year, was first elected to the board in 2018. He is the first Black man to lead the Manatee County School Board. Two Black women, Ruby Byrd and Barbara Harvey, headed the board in past years.

Gina Messenger, a board member since 2016, was elected vice chair.  In a statement after his unanimous election, Golden spoke of his educator parents, and the people who made it possible for him to ascend to the chairmanship. 

“I stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said. “I am deeply, deeply honored to gain the trust of my fellow board members and become the first African American man to not only be elected to the School Board, but to be the first African American man to serve as the chair.”

As vice chair, Golden championed a rule that banned “discourteous, disrespectful, or disparaging conduct” at board meetings. He also helped reinstate invocations to begin meetings. He set a tone for the year with a prayer:  “We thank you, most of all, for the fellowship among this board. We got called a lot of names a lot of times, but not by each other, and we thank you for that. And we thank you for the people who called us names, because it keeps us humble in knowing that we are not perfect, either."

Rev. Golden said, “I ask for your prayers that I bring no dishonor to the legacy and the memories of those whom I have been blessed to carry on for. I will make mistakes. Charge it to my head and not to my heart.”