Write-in candidate limits who will be able to vote in Manatee County Commission race

Before he filed, Manuel Antonio Llamas had been enthusiastic supporter of Jason Bearden in his bid to unseat Carol Whitmore in GOP primary.

We have officially entered the Machiavellian portion of the 2022 elections in Manatee County.

First, Commissioner Vanessa Baugh interjected herself into the process of naming a new park in Commissioner Misty Servia’s district, in a bid maybe to embarrass Servia and aid her challenger, Mike Rahn, in the Republican primary on Aug. 23.

And now a buddy of Jason Bearden, who is challenging Commissioner Carol Whitmore in another GOP primary, has renewed the local tradition of running as a sort of ghost write-in candidate, a legal, but undemocratic move that limits who will be able to vote in the race.