Vanessa Baugh Steps Down From Manatee County Commission: Report

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — Commissioner Vanessa Baugh has resigned from the Manatee County Board of County Commissioners effective July 31, according to the Observer Media Group.

"Commissioners, the day has come to announce my retirement from the Manatee County BOCC. One thing I have come to realize is that one of the most important things in life is family. This week has reinforced that it is time to take care of my husband (Don Baugh), children and grandchildren and to be a bigger part of their lives,” she wrote Friday in an email to commissioners.

In early 2022, she indicated that she might step down from her seat by the end of that year, according to WFLA.

Related Stories:

• Baugh's COVID Vaccine FL Ethics Case Settlement On Jan. Agenda: State
• Elite Vaccine Clinic Investigation: 7 Things We Learned
• 'Nothing Criminal' After Investigation Of Elite Vaccine Clinic
• Baugh To Pay $8K Fine, Admit Guilt In FL Ethics Case Settlement

During a January 2022 land-use meeting, Baugh told her fellow commissioners, “I will tell you that probably by the end of this year, I will be resigning because I have had about all of this board that I want. I have bigger and better things to think about,”

Baugh, who represents District 5, was first elected to the board in 2012 and was reelected twice since then.

When she officially steps down from her seat, there will be 1.5 years remaining of her third term.

During the past two years, she’s been embroiled in a scandal involving COVID-19 vaccine distribution in Manatee County.

In January of this year, Baugh admitted to violating Florida ethics law after hosting an exclusive vaccination event in Lakewood Ranch in February 2021. The pop-up event at Premier Sports Campus was available only to those living in the county's two wealthiest ZIP codes.

In a settlement with the Florida Commission on Ethics, she was required to admit guilt and pay an $8,000 fine.