Five people are set to run for three Holmes Beach City Commission seats heading into the island’s election season.
Ferguson
However, one of three incumbent commissioners who previously told The Islander they planned to run for reelection won’t be in the race.
Commission Chair Jim Kihm announced in an Aug. 27 email that he would not seek reelection to a third two-year term. He gave no reason.
Kihm first was elected in 2017 and has served as commission chair since 2018. He also serves as the city’s legislative liaison and chair of the ManaSota League of Cities.
“I have enjoyed serving the people of Holmes Beach over the past four years and I feel that I am leaving the city in good hands as I finish out the rest of my current term,” Kihm wrote. “I would like to thank all the voters for putting their trust in me and electing me to serve them. I have made every effort to serve to the best of my ability.”
His term will end with the Nov. 2 election.
Soustek
Kihm’s announcement came just hours before the qualifying window closed.
Commissioners Terry Schaefer and Carol Soustek had qualified for reelection before the deadline with the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office, as well as a political newcomer, Renee Ferguson.
So did former Commissioners Pat Morton and John Monetti — at the wire — shortly before noon Aug. 27.
Soustek, who serves as the commission’s vice chair, was appointed in 2014 to complete the unexpired term of Commissioner David Zaccagnino — who lost a bid for mayor.
Morton
She was reelected to her first full two-year term in November 2015 and has been reelected every two years since.
“This will be my fifth time running for the office and I feel I have a very good handle on our needs and wants,” Soustek wrote in her candidate statement.
Schaefer was elected to a two-year term on the commission in November 2019.
He serves as the commission’s liaison to the Anna Maria Island Chamber of Commerce, the Center of Anna Maria Island, Anna Maria Elementary School and the city’s police pension board.
Schaefer
Morton, a 27-year resident of Holmes Beach, was first elected to the commission in 2003 and served 17 years before losing his seat in the 2020 election.
Monetti, a 16-year resident of the city, was first elected to the city’s planning commission in 2002, where he spent four years before mounting a successful campaign for a city commission seat in 2006. He served on the city commission for six years before losing his seat in the 2012 election.
Ferguson, an 11-year resident, has not served the city in any official capacity, but frequently airs her concerns at city meetings.
There were 2,768 registered voters in Holmes Beach as of Aug. 27, according to the SOE.
Monetti