A familiar face won the only competition for three West Manatee Fire Rescue District commission seats.
Incumbent District 4 Commissioner David Bishop won a third four-year term Nov. 8 by more than doubling the votes of his challenger, Roger Morrow.
Bishop received 7,654 out of 11,187 total votes, or 68.42%, compared to Morrow’s 3,533 votes, 31.58%, according to the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office.
Bishop is an architect and lifelong district resident who was appointed to the board in July 2011 to succeed John Rigney, who moved from the district.
He will be joined on the dais by newcomers Derrick Warner and William “Billy” Burke, who won the seats in District 2 and 3 without opposition.
They will succeed George Harris and Al Robinson, who did not seek reelection.
Warner told The Islander Nov. 11 he had worked in a fire department for 46 years in Chicago, as well as served in local governments, and was excited to bring his experience to the commission.
“I’m very pleased and very excited,” Warner said. “It’s a fantastic opportunity.”
He ran for a commission seat in 2020 but lost to Robert Bennett with only 17.69% of the vote.
WMFR commissioners serve four-year terms and work with district administrators to manage the fire district policies and an annual budget.
The district includes all of Anna Maria Island, Cortez and areas of the west side of unincorporated Manatee County.
Bishop and Burke did not respond to Nov. 11 phone calls from The Islander.
All three were set to be sworn in at a Nov. 15 fire district commission meeting.