The race was over before it began.
David Galuszka informed The Islander June 22 that he is not a candidate in Bradenton Beach for Ward 4 commissioner.
Galuszka planned to run in the Nov. 8 municipal election against incumbent Commissioner Ralph Cole.
He filed paperwork by the June 17 deadline to run but later learned he’s not qualified for the ballot.
Galuszka’s address, 300 Second St. N., is outside the Ward 4 boundaries. Galuszka resides in Ward 3, where the commission seat won’t be up for election until 2023.
Bradenton Beach uses a four-ward system for representation on the city commission. In order to run for a ward seat, a candidate must be a full-time resident of the ward.
“Each ward commissioner candidate shall be a resident of and be primarily domiciled at the time of filing in the ward in which the candidate has filed their candidacy,” per the city charter. “Each ward commissioner shall at all times remain primarily domiciled in the ward in which the candidate is elected.”
The Ward 3 voting district contains the whole of the downtown community redevelopment agency district and is bordered by Cortez Road, Sarasota Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and the southern city limits.
Ward 4 is bordered by 17th Street North, Sarasota Bay, the Gulf of Mexico and Cortez Road.
Galuszka, who ran unsuccessfully in 2021 against incumbent John Chappie for mayor, is out of bounds and out of the running.
Cole is now uncontested in his bid for reelection, as is Ward 2 Commissioner Marilyn Maro.
Cole has served three nonconsecutive terms as a city commissioner. He was elected in 2015 for Ward 3, appointed to a one-year term in 2017, elected in 2018 and again in 2020.
Cole lost his race for reelection in 2017 but was appointed by the commission to fill the seat left vacant after Chappie was elected mayor.
While Maro is uncontested, her ability to retain her office will be determined at the polls, as voters on Election Day will decide whether to eliminate term limits.
Maro has served as Ward 2 commissioner for three consecutive terms, having been appointed to a two-year term in 2016 and elected in 2018 and 2020.
The commission-appointed charter review committee recommended asking voters to eliminate term limits and, in May, commissioners voted to accept the CRC’s recommendation.
The commission has placed five charter-related questions on the Nov. 8 ballot.
If voters do not eliminate term limits, Maro will not be able to remain as an elected official.
The charter committee also considered the ward system in its review of the charter but decided not to recommend changes.
One committee member, Jim Hassett, was outspoken in his belief the ward system is not needed in Bradenton Beach.
But, in the end, the committee voted 4-1 to retain ward representation.
For more information on the 2022 election, go online to votemanatee.com.