Sheriff Steube releases list of endorsements

Sheriff Brad Steube has released a list of endorsements that reads like a who's who of the Manatee County political, law enforcement and business establishment, as he seeks to bolster his re-election campaign.

Steube, who faces former sheriff's detective William Waldron, a Republican, and non-affiliated Alphonso Scott Junious, also announced he had qualified for the Aug. 14 primary ballot by turning in 2,000 petitions to the county elections office.

“I am humbled by the support of so many citizens of Manatee County,” Steube said in a statement. “They’ve helped us get the needed petitions signed and have helped us raise money for this campaign. I look forward to serving the citizens of Manatee County well throughout my next term, as I have more work to do to continue the efforts we started five years ago that are making such a positive impact on the county.”

Steube was appointed sheriff in 2007 after Charlie Wells retired. He was elected in his own right in 2008.

As of March 31, Steube had collected more than $116,000 in political contributions, more than any candidate for any local or county office.

Individuals and organizations endorsing Steube include:

United States Congressman Vern Buchanan
State Representative Jim Boyd
State Representative Greg Steube (the sheriff's son)
Former State Representative Bill Galvano
Former State Representative Ron Reagan
Former Senator John McKay
Former Senator Pat Neal
State Attorney Earl Moreland
Public Defender Larry Eger
Former Sheriff Charlie Wells
Longboat Key Police Chief Al Hogle
Bradenton Police Chief Mike Radzilowski
Holmes Beach Police Chief Jay Romine
Palmetto Police Chief Rick Wells
Mayor Wayne Poston, City of Bradenton
Mayor Shirley Groover Bryant, City of Palmetto
Gulf Coast Builders Exchange
The Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance
Fraternal Order of Police, Manatee Lodge 70
Suncoast Professional Firefighters and Paramedics, Local 2546

Marianne Barnebey announces bid for mayor of Bradenton

Bradenton City Council member Marianne Barnebey on Thursday announced via email that she is challenging incumbent Mayor Wayne Poston in the Nov. 6 election.

Here is the email:

Bradenton City Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey will enter the mayor’s race for this November’s election. 

“After receiving encouragement from many citizens and business owners in our community, I have decided to run for mayor. We all want our community to prosper. We have serious issues we must face to maintain and improve our quality of life for all.  I will remain committed to the citizens as we continue to move forward together and look forward to hearing from all the citizens of Bradenton.”

“I believe I have the vision and the ability to pull our community together in order to operate an open and transparent government. I will be asking the citizens to voice their concerns and opinions through traditional channels as well as newer technologies.” 

“We have tremendous opportunities with the redevelopment of our downtown and neighborhoods.  For our community to be successful with this, it is critical that the city government listen to the citizens who pay for the government.” 

Mrs. Barnebey has served on the City Council since 1998. She is the founder and coordinator of Winter Wonderland, a family friendly festival in downtown Bradenton held in December. She serves on the boards of the Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program, ArtCenter Manatee, the Gold Star Club and Crimestoppers. She is the chair of the Manatee County Library Board of Trustees and is a founding member and soloist of Faith United Methodist Church. 

In the past Mrs. Barnebey has served as Chair of the Sarasota Manatee Metropolitan Plannning Organization and is still the City's representative on that board. She has served on the boards of the Suncoast Partnership to End Homelessness and Just for Girls Inc. SRQ Magazine has awarded the Best Local Official in Bradenton toMrs.Barnebey for the past two years.

Campaigns put their spins on polls showing Buchanan with large leads over Fitzgerald

Competing poll results released this week show U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan with large leads over his Democratic challenger Keith Fitzgerald. But what the numbers really mean depends on who is doing the spinning.

Several news outlets Wednesday reported on a memo from Republican pollster Public Opinion Strategies showing Buchanan with a 58 percent to 36 percent lead over Fitzgerald. The poll was conducted in March.

"Congressman Buchanan's brand is strong — he is a good ideological match for the district and despite the anti-Congress political environment, he is viewed favorably by likely voters," pollster Glen Bolger wrote in a polling memo, quoted by The Hill.

In turn, Fitzgerald's campaign released a memo from campaign manager Adam Scott detailing results of a February poll conducted by SEA Polling showing Buchanan with smaller lead, 49 percent to 38 percent.

Scott wrote that the fact the Buchanan is polling at less than 50 percent shows that he is "extremely vulnerable." Buchanan's weakness, according to Scott, is because of questions raised about his ethics during investigations by the Federal Elections Commission, the Office of Congressional Ethics and other agencies.

Scott also noted Buchanan loaned his campaign $250,000 a week after conducting his poll.

The Fitzgerald memo also included results of a separate poll showing that the percentage of voters who view Buchanan "favorably" declined from 53 percent in August to 44 percent in Feburary; and view of his "job performance" dropped from 59 percent positive in August to 52 percent positive in February.

"Since the initial assessment poll in August, Vern Buchanan’s favorability and job approval have seen double-digit erosion," Scott wrote. "In the months between the polls, the FEC found that Buchanan 'more likely than not' violated campaign finance laws and provided inaccurate and inconsistent testimony to federal investigators, and the office of Congressional Ethics found there is 'substantial reason to believe' that Buchanan violated federal law by failing to disclose income from his businesses."

Buchanan supporter Joe Gruters, the chairman of the Sarasota County Republican Party, countered with a press release stating that the numbers show Buchanan is "safe." He also passed along results of a poll, conducted by Public Opinion Strategies at the same point in the 2008 campaign, that showed Buchanan with a 53-37 lead over then-Democratic challenger Christine Jennings.

Buchanan went on to win by a 56-37 margin.

Gulf Coast Builders Exchange endorses John Colon for Manatee County Commission

The Gulf Coast Builders Exchange has endorsed John Colon for a seat on the Manatee County Commission, picking up support in a race that has separate building groups endorsing rival candidates.

"I am pleased and honored to be endorsed by the leading organization of prominent business people and entrepreneurs in Manatee County," said Colon, a Republican running for the District 5 seat now held by Donna Hayes, who is not running for re-election.

District 5 is comprised of neighborhoods in East Manatee, including Lakewood Ranch.

Last week, the Home Builders Association Manatee-Sarasota endorsed a second Republican in the race, businesswoman Vanessa Baugh. She also has been endorsed by the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, although Colon, a senior vice president with Wells Fargo Advisors, said other endorsements were issued before he became an official candidate.

As of March 31, Baugh had raised almost $35,000 for her campaign. Colon had raised slightly more than $21,000, according to the Manatee County supervisor of elections office.

James T. Golden, the only Democrat in the race, has raised a little more than $4,000.

Keith Fitzgerald challenges Vern Buchanan to release his tax returns (UPDATED)

Democratic congressional candidate Keith Fitzgerald is challenging U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan to release copies of his federal income tax returns for public review.

"This tax week, millions of Floridians are playing by the rules and paying their fair share of taxes, and they expect their Member of Congress to do the same," Fitzgerald's campaign said in a news release announcing a conference call for later Thursday. "Suncoast residents deserve full transparency from Vern Buchanan and ought to know where and how, the member of the chief tax writing committee in Congress, earns his income."

Buchanan's response?

 “With all the serious issues facing our nation, is this the best Fitzgerald has to offer?" said campaign spokeswoman Sally Tibbetts. "He needs to stop taking orders from Nancy Pelosi and start focusing on the issues our families care about – creating jobs, lowering gas prices and strengthening the economy.” 

The returns might provide details of Buchanan's exact worth. According to disclosure reports members of Congress do file that list their holdings and liabilities in broad ranges, Buchanan is one of the wealthier members of Congress.

In making the demand, Fitzgerald is again demonstrating he will make the ethical clouds hanging over Buchanan a major theme of  his campaign. The campaign today made Fitzgerald's tax returns available on its website.

"According to the New York Times, Buchanan is reportedly under investigation by the IRS and has a history of failing to disclose his financial interests. Recently, House Congressional Ethics investigators found there was a “substantial reason to believe” that Buchanan broke federal law by failing to report more than $14,000 in income over four years," the news release states

The House Ethics Committee currently is reviewing whether to start a full investigation of Buchanan.
So far, there has been no response from Buchanan's campaign to Fitzgerald's challenge.

Report: DCCC reserves $2.5 million in TV ads for Tampa, maybe to help Keith Fitzgerald (UPDATED)

After Labor Day, it may be very difficult to watch television in Tampa Bay without seeing ads touting either side in the likely congressional race between U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, and Democratic challenger Keith Fitzgerald.

Politico reported Wednesday that the Democratic Congressional Campaign has reserved almost $2.5 million in advertising time in the Tampa television market, and that the Buchanan-Fitzgerald race is a "possible" target for the money. Previously, the DCCC has identified the race as key to its efforts to retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives, and has promised Fitzgerald fund-raising and other support.

The Tampa ad buy, according to Politico, is part of more than $32 million in time the DCCC has reserved in key television markets across the country:

The ad buy, the earliest in Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee history, stretches from the Northeast to the Mountain West and covers dozens of congressional districts in 14 states — most of them key presidential battlegrounds.

A strategist familiar with the buy said that with presidential candidates, outside interest groups and well-funded super PACs poised to unleash an unprecedented flood of ads, the committee wanted to lock in TV advertising early, before inventory is bought out and rates become more expensive. Operatives from both parties say they expect ad prices to skyrocket by summer.

Democrats, in particular, can’t afford to wait. While the party has been successful in keeping pace in fundraising with the National Republican Congressional Committee — the DCCC outraised the House GOP campaign arm last year despite being in the minority — the NRCC heads into the final seven months of the campaign with $4 million more cash on hand. 

According to the latest Federal Election Commission figures, the NRCC had $27.1 million cash on hand through the end of March, compared with $22.8 million for the Democrats.

Democrats say the purchase by the DCCC’s independent expenditure arm is just a first investment — money can be moved or added later. Still, there is a sense of urgency to their efforts, driven by the uphill climb confronting the party, particularly in the wake of a redistricting round that solidified the GOP majority. 

Democrats need to net 25 seats to retake the House but a gain of that many seats has occurred just six times in the past 20 election cycles — and just once in a presidential election year.

And the Republican response?

Behind the scenes, House Republicans are also taking steps to prepare for the coming fall campaign season. The NRCC recently tapped Joanna Burgos, a former committee spokeswoman, to oversee its independent expenditure effort, and GOP officials say they are also exploring the possibility of laying down an early TV buy. 

Republicans said the early Democratic move smacked of desperation. 

“We always knew Nancy Pelosi was going to have an uphill climb back to the speaker’s chair, but nobody could’ve predicted the DCCC would go into a prevent defense down five touchdowns in the first half,” said Paul Lindsay, an NRCC spokesman. “When you’re spending money on Larry Kissell and Mike McIntyre, it’s not going to be a pleasant election cycle for House Democrats.”

NRCC spokesman Nat Sillin told the Bradenton Herald: “We always knew the DCCC was going to spend millions attacking members who have fought against President Obama’s job-destroying tax and spend agenda that has made Florida’s economy worse.”

Home builders endorse Vanessa Baugh for Manatee County Commission

The Home Builders Association Manatee-Sarasota has endorsed Vanessa Baugh for the District 5 seat on the Manatee County Commission.

 "This is such an honor and I am thrilled to have the Home Builders Association behind me," Baugh, a Republican, said in a news release issued by the builders group. "We will work together to serve the citizens and businesses of Manatee County and especially those in District 5."

District 5 is comprised of eastern portions of Manatee County, including Lakewood Ranch. Incumbent Donna Hayes is not running for reelection.

Other candidates in the race include John Colon, a Republican; and James T. Golden, a Democrat.