A clash between a Manatee County commissioner and a man gunning for the seat could escalate to a criminal charge.
Lakewood Ranch resident Jason Bearden provided a sworn statement June 22 to the Holmes Beach Police Department seeking charges against County Commissioner Carol Whitmore for removing three Bearden campaign signs that were posted in Holmes Beach.
Bearden and another Republican are challenging Whitmore in the Aug. 23 primary election for the at-large District 6 seat on the county board of commissioners.
Whitmore, a Holmes Beach resident and 16-year incumbent on the county commission, delivered three Bearden campaign signs to the HBPD June 11 and said she had removed them from private property near her home and a public right of way, according to a police report.
The signs remained as of June 24 at the city’s code compliance office for Bearden to recover.
Whitmore told police she called developer Shawn Kaleta, who owns private property where two of the signs were posted, and he told her he hadn’t given permission for the signs to be posted.
In his sworn statement, Bearden disputed Whitmore’s argument, writing that the people who posted the signs were given permission by “various property owners.”
Whitmore told police she removed the signs because they were in violation of city code, which states that the posting of political signage more than 45 days before an election is prohibited.
However, it’s not up to residents to enforce the code, which may be defunct, according to Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokajer.
HBPD Detective Josh Fleischer wrote in a June 22 police report that Bearden’s complaints about the “unconstitutional” code led city attorney Erica Augello to agree that “the way the current ordinance reads needed to be changed.”
Earlier in the month, June 13, Chief Bill Tokajer issued a news release, asking residents to report potentially noncompliant signs to city code and law enforcement officers instead of removing signs.
The HBPD completed a capias request June 22, including a potential second-degree misdemeanor charge against Whitmore for petit theft.
The capias request goes to the state attorney’s office, which reviews the case and determines if Whitmore will be charged.
The SAO can then issue a court summons or a warrant for Whitmore’s arrest.
If Whitmore is convicted of such a charge, she could face up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine.
Whitmore downplayed the issue June 22, reading from a prepared statement outside Holmes Beach City Hall.
“You got me, I confess,” Whitmore said. “To the people of Manatee County, I want you to know, I did pick up a few illegally placed yard signs per Holmes Beach ordinance.
“Let me ask my fellow citizens of Manatee County: Do you want a commissioner who is going to call the cops on you for jaywalking? Jason Bearden would. Do you want a commissioner with such a weak jaw that he starts crying over a few illegally placed signs? Jason Bearden did,” she added.
Whitmore also accused Bearden of committing election fraud by “paying his friends to run against me.”
Bearden countered Whitmore’s claims in a June 23 text message to The Islander.
Bearden wrote, “Carol’s accusation is completely fictitious and manufactured. It’s almost as good a fiction of her lying about turning herself in.
“The only candidate breaking the law in this race is career Commissioner Carol Whitmore. She’s the only candidate with a police report; Carol is the only candidate who can be charged of a crime and the only candidate who could face jail time.”
“Carol isn’t just a criminal, she’s a pathological liar. She knows sign ordinances have been ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. I look forward to full charges being levied by an impartial state attorney and the maximum penalty being levied,” Bearden added.
Two county commissioners decried Whitmore’s actions on social media despite their own controversies.
Commissioner Vanessa Baugh tweeted June 21 about the matter, writing “I wonder if this is how many political signs for Baugh and Kruse disappeared in 2020, calling Carol Whitmore!”
Baugh called the same day for Whitmore to resign in another tweet.
Last December, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause against Baugh for abuse of office for her role in organizing a pop-up vaccine clinic in violation of the county’s vaccine lottery system.
An ethics commission hearing to discuss Baugh’s case will be held Aug. 9-11.
Commissioner George Kruse joined in, calling the sign incident “dirty politics” in a June 21 tweet.
“At least now I know where all my signs went in 2020 ….” Kruse wrote in one tweet responding to a post about the sign removal incident.
The SAO charged Kruse the next day with a second-degree misdemeanor for driving under the influence of alcohol in an April 20 single-vehicle crash in Bradenton.
An arraignment for Kruse’s DUI charge was scheduled for July 19.