MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — The seat of chairman on the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners has been passed over to Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge.
The area native who represents district three was unanimously elected during a meeting Tuesday night.
"This is a normal and planned change in leadership to ensure all board members can participate in leadership roles throughout their tenure on the Commission," a press release reads.
Holding the position allows Van Ostenbridge to appoint the county board's leadership for the upcoming year.
Commissioner James Satcher was selected to serve as first vice-chairman, while Commissioner Reggie Bellamy will reprise his role as chairman of the Manatee County Port Authority and Commissioner Misty Servia will serve as the Tourist Development Council.
“It will be an honor to serve Manatee County as their Chairman of the County Commission," Commissioner Van Ostenbridge said in a statement. "I want to thank my colleagues for their confidence in my leadership. I look forward to a productive year of hard work in the interest of our taxpayers. My expectations are that this will be a year filled with Accountability, Civility and Ethics (ACE) at all levels of our government.“
While the change in leadership was scheduled to occur, it comes after a contentious year for the board after a complaint accused Baugh of creating a vaccine "VIP list" and adding her name to it.
Baugh's actions first came into question when she admitted to selecting two specific ZIP codes for the pop-up vaccination site and asking for herself and four others to be added to the list of those being inoculated.
Her request, which was sent to Manatee County Public Safety Director Jacob Saur, included asking for vaccination slots for Schroeder-Manatee Ranch President and CEO Rex Jensen and Lawrence Jensen, who do not live in the designated ZIP codes, and Robert and Marie Keehn, who live near Baugh.
The Florida Commission on Ethics found there was probable cause that Baugh abused her office to "obtain a disproportionate benefit by placing her own name at the top of Manatee County's randomly selected list of recipients to receive a COVID-19 vaccination."
Baugh previously expressed remorse over her actions saying, “I want to apologize to all the residents who I have disappointed in any action that I’ve taken according to some news outlets."
Individuals angered by the action of placing a vaccination site at one of Manatee County's wealthier and predominantly white communities called for her resignation.
In June, a four-month-long investigation conducted by the Manatee County Sheriff's Office found Baugh committed no crimes in creating the list and adding her own name.