HOLMES BEACH – After working in the private sector for 18 months, former Manatee County commissioner Carol Whitmore is ready to step back into the local political spotlight, this time on familiar ground.
Whitmore is racing against three other candidates in the hopes of landing one of two available seats on the Holmes Beach city commission, the place where she started her political career before being elected as mayor and later elected to the county commission.
If elected, she plans to bring her ability to cultivate good relationships with other elected officials to the table.
“You need people who are willing to be open,” Whitmore said, noting that she has good contacts within Manatee County and with state leaders.
“I can act like a buffer,” she said. “They (other elected officials) want to hear from an elected official who has credibility.”
Whitmore said she’d like to help city leaders let the past go and move forward to build new, better relationships with Manatee County and Florida state elected officials. One of her greatest strengths as an elected official, she said, is building and maintaining relationships while also working in the city’s best interests to benefit the residents and visitors.
“I want to be there to support Judy (Mayor Judy Titsworth) and the commission but try to get us back on track,” Whitmore said.
Over the years, she said she’s seen three attempts to consolidate services across Anna Maria Island. Whitmore said she’s in favor of giving that a try if all three city governments can agree and they’re willing to move slowly to see what works and what may adversely affect the residents and visitors to the Island. She’s not, however, in favor of consolidating the city governments.
“I don’t support consolidating the cities at all. I believe in home rule,” Whitmore said. “I’ve lived here 55 years. I believe in home rule 100%.”
Removing all the existing structures at Manatee Beach to build a three-story parking garage is not a viable solution to traffic issues, she said. Whitmore added that she thinks funding for the project would be difficult to obtain, particularly when there is a county-owned parking garage in downtown Bradenton that needs immediate replacement. She said she thinks there are other solutions available to add public parking spaces, if needed.
Tourist development tax funds, Whitmore said, have a very narrow application under state regulations, though she thinks those monies could potentially be used to advertise or subsidize additional parking options at local churches.
Whitmore also said she hopes to use her public relations skills to help keep residents informed and work to help the three Island cities present a unified front on issues that affect all the municipalities. She said she thinks the strongest skill she can bring to the city is her ability to develop and maintain interpersonal relationships along with her ability to listen to the residents and help find solutions to problems.
“I’m honest,” she said. “And I think if you’re honest, you’ll never get in trouble.”
