{"id":106766,"date":"2026-01-05T21:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/106766\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T21:29:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:29:10","slug":"amanda-ballard-looks-to-hold-gop-control-of-manatee-county-commissions-district-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/106766\/","title":{"rendered":"Amanda Ballard looks to hold GOP control of Manatee County Commission\u2019s District 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Republican Manatee County Commissioner Amanda Ballard<\/a> has filed to run for re-election to the county\u2019s District 2 seat, seeking a second term representing much of the county\u2019s urban core including parts of Bradenton and Palmetto.<\/p>\n

Ballard is framing her campaign around public safety, infrastructure investment and quality-of-life improvements into a district she said has historically been overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOver my term as Commissioner, we\u2019ve made great strides in a District that has often felt forgotten and left behind,\u201d Ballard said in a news release. \u201cNow, District Two is in the center of the conversation, for the right reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

District 2 flipped Republican in 2022 for the first time in roughly three decades, when Ballard defeated Democratic incumbent Reggie Bellamy<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not here to grandstand, or score political points, but to improve the lives of people in District 2,\u201d Ballard added. \u201cThat\u2019s why we\u2019ve had unprecedented success achieving reinvestment in the urban core for the first time in decades.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ballard highlights a mix of large-scale capital projects and smaller neighborhood initiatives as evidence of reinvestment in the area since she took office.<\/p>\n

Those projects include the John Marble Recreation Center, the Washington Park Community Center, the Under One Roof women\u2019s shelter and the Bradenton Area Convention Center, as well as efforts to preserve the historic Mixon Fruit Farms property from development. She also touts lower-cost initiatives such as the county\u2019s Bookmobile program, community gardens and expanded constituent services.<\/p>\n

The Commission has reduced millage rates in two of her three years in office, and Ballard promises to follow through with \u201ca historic cut planned for 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ballard\u2019s political platform also focuses on the need for public safety and social service improvements. She emphasized her role in shaping the county\u2019s use of opioid settlement funds, as well as a strategy to expand shelter capacity, centralize services and more strictly enforce public safety laws through partnerships with law enforcement and social service providers.<\/p>\n

Ballard said she plans to run a consultant-free campaign, relying on family, friends and local supporters. She worked with political consultant Anthony Pedicini<\/a> and his firm SIMWINS<\/a> during her first political campaign.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Before her election, Ballard worked as a lawyer for the Department of Children and Families<\/a> practicing child welfare law. She and her family live in Bradenton.<\/p>\n

\u201cDistrict 2 is the heart of Manatee County,\u201d Ballard said. \u201cIt\u2019s where public safety, infrastructure, economic development, and quality of life for hardworking families all intersect. Decisions made for this district demand leadership that understands how all these moving parts work together. I bring continuity, creativity, and collegiality to a Board that could use more of all three.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Republican Manatee County Commissioner Amanda Ballard has filed to run for re-election to the county\u2019s District 2 seat,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106767,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[54859,54860,8052,28,7080,30,29,7088,7004,54861,54862],"class_list":{"0":"post-106766","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-amanda-ballard","9":"tag-anthony-pedicini","10":"tag-bradenton","11":"tag-florida","12":"tag-florida-department-of-children-and-families","13":"tag-florida-headlines","14":"tag-florida-news","15":"tag-manatee-county","16":"tag-palmetto","17":"tag-reggie-bellamy","18":"tag-simwins"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106766","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=106766"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/106766\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106767"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=106766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=106766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=106766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}