Mayoral Candidates Debate at Tiger Bay Club

Is Bradenton at a crossroads or should it simply stay the course? Or is it in dire need of an overhaul?

The three candidates vying to be Bradenton's Mayor come at it from differing points of view. Incumbent Mayor Wayne Poston who is running for his fourth term, says he's back again because he hasn't yet finished the job.

"I am driven daily to do the mayor's work," Poston told a crowd at Manatee's Tiger Bay Thursday during a mayoral debate. "I live for creating a positive lifestyle for our town. It's about the success that we've seen and those we are about to see under my stewardship."

He was proud of Bradenton's logo as a a Friendly City. He said he designed it with the sunglasses because the city's future is so bright that it needs shades and, he said nothing has changed about that.

But City Councilwoman Marianne Barnebey said she decided to challenge Poston for the seat because the city is at a crossroads and it needs a "leader-servant:" Someone who is willing to listen to the will of the people and to tackle the city's toughest challenges.

"Serving as mayor isn't about being ruling elite or celebrity," Barnebey said. "It's about being a servant. To lead is to serve."

She said she wants to force banks to take responsible for foreclosed homes, to clean-up the properties and get them back into the hands of Bradenton residents. She wants to see an economy that attracts Bradenton's best and brightest back to the city once they have gotten their educations and she wants to serve as a role model for young women and girls who want to become leaders.

"We have to stabalize our neighborhoods," Barnebey said. "Banks who have made inappropriate loans, and now have foreclosed have houses that must be kept clean. That's their job if they own it."

She also said the city needs to begin replacing cast iron water pipes. It will be elected officials responsibility to decide on how the city pays for it.

"The success of our city depends on elected officials," Barnebey said.

Challenger Richard O'Brien argues that there are too many neglected places in the city and that the current leaders haven't done enough to move city hall off the waterfront, promote local businesses and connect the downtown with Village of the Arts and McKechnie Field.

He told a crowd at the debate that he would immediately move city hall and create a downtown mall in its place. He also wants to implement a buy local program and create a rapid response team at city hall.

While O'Brien promised to immediately move city hall, he was vague on the finances behind making it happen. He said he has moved offices before and it would be easy to just pick up city hall offices and move them. Moving the police department, he admitted, would be more difficult and he would likely leave the Bradenton Auditorium where it is.

Both Poston and Barnebey said the city hall complex is for sale but that they have to get enough money so that taxpayers don't have to foot the bill for a move.

Afterward Poston said it is clear that some of O'Brien's answers show he "doesn't understand the dimensions of the job."

"People didn't trust him to be a City Council member why would he think they would trust him to be Mayor?" Poston said after the debate.

But O'Brien said it's because it's time for someone with fresh ideas and a fresh perspective.