Commissioners Carol Carter, Doug Copeland and Dale Woodland are hoping to keep their seats in the Nov. 7 election.
All three have submitted qualification papers to seek re-election.
Laurie Jo Higgins, a resident of Anna Maria for nearly 22 years, is looking to be a spoiler.
“I’m very nervous,” admitted Higgins, who has never run for elected office. However, she said, she wanted to break up the “good old boy’s club” of power in the city.
“Complacency has set in,” she said.
Higgins says her motivation to enter politics includes a history of bad interactions with officials.
“I was treated badly by city officials and when I tried to complain I was bullied, threatened and, basically, told you’ll never know when you might need us,” Higgins said.
In addition, she said, she feels the commission doesn’t cater enough to the needs of the elderly and young people on the island.
“All the hype is for vacation rentals,” she said. “There’s a group of old people who are silent. They complain to me, and they don’t really have a voice. A lot of people are very afraid to speak up because of what happened to me. Nobody wants to be harassed.”
Higgins said a dispute arose with Anna Maria officials while her mother was in hospice care at Higgins’ home.
“During my grief period, the bullying sent me over the edge. I’m stronger now,” she said.
As for policies and visions for the city, Higgins said she is “100 percent in favor of more green spaces,” but would prefer to see bicycles on sidewalks instead of bike paths, which she says remain dangerously close to vehicular traffic.
She said the city overstepped its bounds with its vacation rental ordinance. “When you allow a 10-bedroom home to be built, what do you expect?” she said. “If you’re going to give the building permit, that’s what you should expect.”
She also said she has followed the debate between the Center of Anna Maria Island and the city. “I see both sides. …I understand why there can’t be total transparency,” she said.
However, she added, the center board is “more of the same good old boy’s club we’ve always had out here.”
Copeland was the last of the incumbents to declare his candidacy.
“I want to get the City Pier Park done,” Copeland said about his goals for a new term. “I’m not sure we can get the pier completed, but at least we can get that construction going and get the Bert Harris cases completed. Then continue to try to work for the best interests of the citizens.”
Copeland added that he hoped the Florida League of Cities can help the city obtain stronger home rule, adding that he believed settling the Bert Harris complaints could resolve much of the conflict in Anna Maria.
“We’ve weathered the storm,” he said. Up next, he said, is to convince more people to live full-time on the island.
Copeland has served on the city commission since 2014, as has Carter. Woodland has been a commissioner for 14 years.
The election is Nov. 7.
Wow finally someone who gets it! ‘ If you allow a 10 bedroom home to be built what do you expect?’ It’s only taken ten years but finally someone is standing up who understands that this is a land development issue and if it had been addressed we would not have a vacation rental issue. This is where the City should have started years ago.
I hope she gets the support she deserves. It’s time for some new faces. The longstanding members have failed if we are all honest. They are far too slow to grasp the issues. Heck Carol Carter and her husband started the move to recall the one Commissioner who had his finger on the pulse when it came to where the City was heading. All that he predicted came true. What on earth is she even doing on the Commission if she couldn’t see what he was trying to do.