BRADENTON, FL – Voters in Bradenton will decide who wins the Ward 2 seat on the Bradenton City Council.
Two candidates are running for the seat:
- Marianne Barnebey
- David M. Levin
Voters will choose the winner in the November 8 general election.
Patch asked all candidates to fill out a questionnaire about their campaign and their priorities.
Levin responded to our survey and his responses are published below:
City or town of residence
Bradenton
Finance and technology, five years
Family
My wife’s name is Jacquelyn and our children are Maddie, 7, Sébastien, 6, and Faelynn, 3.
Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?
Nope
Age
37
Why are you looking for this office?
Because the recycling program has collapsed under the current “leadership”. It is a basic function of local government and they have failed.
There is also a significant entanglement between the developers, their attorneys — Blalock Walters, who also has the city attorney’s contract — and the government. This entanglement has led to corruption, and my opponent is part of this club.
What are the main differences between you and the other candidates for this position?
First, I represent people’s interests, not developers. Second, I actually have a vision for the city.
I would like to see the city manage itself better, but especially the section between the city center and the LECOM park. Restore recycling. Replace the sporadic Marauder Banners with something more inspirational. Set up a small free library in every city park and organize more 5k races.
If you are challenging an incumbent, how has the current incumbent let the community down?
Recycling failed on his watch. She recently tried to regulate Airbnb, very anti-capitalist in my opinion.
She abused her resort to protect her home from storms, using the fire department to do it — she tearfully apologized for that one. And just like Nancy and Mark Pelosi, she and her husband are considered corrupt and taken by many, many people in the community.
What other issues do you intend to address during your campaign?
Replace the chief of police and change the uniforms to something that builds trust in the community. Right now there are big problems with the Bradenton Police Department. Confidence and performance at the top are weak and they are being swept under the rug.
I would also like to see the city hire a city attorney who works exclusively for the city, and not share one with the developers.
What accomplishments in your past would you cite as proof that you can handle this job?
I would cite my success in the private sector. After getting election servers in Florida in 2016, I went to work in the private sector where I managed to build a host of businesses from scratch.
In the private sector vision and capital allocation (are) very important, if you get it wrong your business will fail.
Career politicians – people like my opponent who was first elected in 1998 – have proven to be short-sighted and very bad at allocating capital.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
Compare yourself to who you were yesterday, not who someone else is today.
Is there anything else you would like voters to know about you and your duties?
I believe in traditional values and think we need to balance our growth with preserving our environment while keeping taxes low.
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