Manatee County commissioners choose a developer lobbyist as new admin, oust chairman

Just two months after a surprise shakeup at Manatee County’s highest levels, board members made another round of unexpected changes this week.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Mike Rahn thanked Acting County Administrator Lee Washington for his service since February before calling for him to be replaced by a local lobbyist for the building industry. A few moments later, Commissioner Jason Bearden successfully petitioned for a new board chairman.

Before finalizing the roster changes with a vote at the end of Tuesday’s public meeting, several commissioners said they were prompted by a lack of communication among county leaders.

“I have been kind of frustrated because information has only been brought up to certain commissioners on this board. It makes it hard for me to do my job,” Bearden said. “I’m not going to make this picture look pretty because it’s not very pretty.”

Washington took the acting administrator job in February after Scott Hopes made a sudden departure. Hopes and board members have not publicly announced a reason for his resignation.

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge served as board chairman in 2022 and was voted to continue serving in the role by his fellow commissioners in December. His term was set to expire at the end of the year.

Industry lobbyist could lead county

Manatee County Government has begun the process of searching for a permanent county administrator, but Rahn said he had already had a replacement in mind. He tapped Jon Mast, CEO and chief lobbyist of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, to become the county’s next acting county administrator.

The commissioners also have close ties to the BIA. Rahn is a former president and “life director,” Baugh’s husband Don Baugh is on the board of directors, and Ballard’s husband David Ballard was on staff as the Government Affairs and Membership Director until recently.

According to his LinkedIn Profile, Mast has led the organization since 2015. He also previously worked in Sarasota County Government’s land development services department.

Mast, who lives in Sarasota, was not present at Tuesday’s meeting.

Commissioners previously said they hoped to hire a new permanent administrator by the beginning of October.

Rahn did not provide an explanation for why he chose Mast to become the acting administrator, but he immediately found support from his fellow board members.

“I think it’s in the best interest of Manatee County to bring somebody from outside,” Bearden said.

Commissioner George Kruse criticized the decision to replace Washington and questioned how a new county administrator would resolve the problem.

“I don’t know how inserting someone who’s never worked for the county is going to get all the information at their fingertips and magically get it to you,” Kruse said. “This is just a disruption and a waste of time.”

Board members declined to address specific situations, but several said they felt they had been kept out of the loop.

“There have been major events that I still haven’t been briefed on,” said Bearden, who implied that he hasn’t had direct communication with Washington in two weeks.

“Especially when it comes to personnel, it’s just not fun to talk about those things in a big meeting where everyone is watching,” Commissioner James Satcher added. “I think it might be good to make a change.”

Commissioners are not allowed to discuss issues that come before them outside of public meetings. Florida’s Sunshine Law requires that when two or more members of a public board or commission discuss an issue that could be voted on, it must be in a public meeting with notice given and minutes taken.

Since Washington took over as administrator in February, board members have butted heads with the county’s top executive in public meetings over library policies and changes in the county’s Human Resources Department.

On Tuesday, the board voted 6-1 to begin negotiating an acting county administrator contract with Mast. Kruse cast the only vote against the proposal. A final contract will return for board approval in an upcoming public meeting.

If a contract with Mast is approved, Washington would return to his role as the director of the county’s Community & Veterans Services Department, which he has led since February 2022.

‘The chairman runs the show’

Immediately after moving to replace Washington, board members made another power play. Bearden said he hoped to make a top-down change by removing Van Ostenbridge as board chairman and naming Commissioner Vanessa Baugh as his replacement.

“It’s not a point of whether or not our chair is doing a great job as chair because he is, but where I’m at with it, because staff has been trained a certain way, they only report to certain commissioners,” Bearden said.

The chairman of the board conducts the commission’s public meetings and signs documents on behalf of the board. As board chairman Van Ostenbridge also maintained close contact with the county administrator, which caused friction with other board members.

“We’re not always informed of things the way we should be,” said Baugh. “I have complained many times about it. I don’t like feeling sometimes like the chairman runs the show and then we find out about it after the fact, the decisions are made instead of bringing things to the board, but that’s his way. That’s how he does things. I don’t agree with it, and I’ve been on this board a long time.”

The move to replace Van Ostenbridge’s chair seem came just hours after tempers flared between him and Baugh while the board discussed solutions for replacing the county’s parking garage in downtown Bradenton.

Baugh said she felt Van Ostenbridge had already had key conversations with staff. Van Ostenbridge shot back that Baugh would have an opportunity to have those discussions if she didn’t cancel briefings with staff.

“Staff is up here asking for direction and you’re complaining that you don’t know anything. That’s the whole point of them coming here,” Van Ostenbridge said. “Show up to your meetings and your briefings once in a while and you’ll know what’s going on, won’t you?”

“Do you really want to go there with me?” Baugh asked.

Later, as board members voted 4-3 to name Baugh chairwoman of the board, Van Ostenbridge noted that he is not allowed to communicate with board members outside of public meetings because of the Sunshine Law.

Commissioners Mike Rahn, Kruse and Van Ostenbridge voted against the proposal.

In January, the Florida Commission on Ethics settled an ethics charge against the third-term commissioner. Baugh was hit with an $8,000 fine and a public reprimand over accusations that she had misused her public office to ensure she received a COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021.

After the vote, Baugh became chairwoman effectively immediately. Before Tuesday’s meeting had ended, Manatee County Government sent a press release announcing the leadership changes.

Baugh, who has represented District 5 including Lakewood Ranch since 2012, previously served as chairwoman in 2016 and 2021.