Mayoral election only for Bradenton Beach
By Paul Roat
Bradenton Beach voters will have a sparse ballot on Nov. 6.
Electors will have a choice for a new mayor of either Commissioner Michael Pierce, Ward 2, or Commissioner Bill Shearon, Ward 4. Both are running for the mayoral seat vacated by John Chappie due to term limits in the city charter.
Chappie will still be around, though, as he filed for and was the only candidate for the Ward 4 position on the commission.
Also unopposed was John Shaughnessy for his Ward 1 seat. It will be his second term in office.
Janie Robertson also will take office again for her Ward 3 position. She too had no opposition for re-election, and is also serving her second term as a commissioner.
Ward 2’s lone candidate - who will take that seat on Nov. 19 - is political newcomer Bob Connors. He works for Liberty Reverse Mortgage, has lived in the city for seven years, is married and has as his No. 1 goal to maintain the city. “I’d like to keep Bradenton Beach working as Bradenton Beach,” he said, adding that he’d like to keep the “hospitality, keep it friendly and a nice place to be” for year-round residents and visitors.
Chappie and Connors will serve one-year terms to fill out the unexpired terms of Shearon and Pierce, who each resigned their ward seats on the commission to run for mayor. Other offices will be for two years.
The Nov. 6 election will be held from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters will have a new polling location this year - Tingley Memorial Library, 111 Second St. N. |
