The Bradenton Journal

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The Bradenton Journal
The Bradenton Journal
The legacy of Gov. Ron DeSantis Park

The legacy of Gov. Ron DeSantis Park

It's just another reminder of vacciengate and how most commissioners care more about playing politics than actually governing

Marc R. Masferrer's avatar
Marc R. Masferrer
Oct 20, 2023
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The Bradenton Journal
The Bradenton Journal
The legacy of Gov. Ron DeSantis Park
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Everything that has been wrong about the Manatee County Commission during the past three years — especially the hyper-partisanship and a fixation on petty political beefs — is best summed up in the naming of Gov. Ron DeSantis Park in south Manatee.

Gov. Ron DeSantis attended the dedication of Gov. Ron DeSantis Park in Manatee County on Wednesday. How the park got its name is nothing to celebrate. (Photo: Manatee County Government)

Whether DeSantis, who attended a dedication event at the park on Wednesday, is deserving of having a park that consists of a little more than a walking trail and a play-and-poop area for your dogs in the shadow of a cell phone tower, named after him is not the point. Neither is whether the county should name a park or any other public facility after a political figure long before his career, and his legacy, are complete.

What made the naming of the park after Florida’s governor and flailing presidential candidate DeSantis objectionable, was the deceit and scheming by some commissioners and their political allies that preceded the placement of the governor’s name on the park.

Deceit and scheming? Yes, I am talking about former commissioner Vanessa Baugh.

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