HOLMES BEACH – A new contender is putting her hat in the ring for one of two city commission seats up for grabs in November.
Carol Whitmore is a well-known face in the community and in local politics. Previously, she served as a city commissioner in Holmes Beach followed by tenure as the city’s mayor and several years on the Manatee County board of commissioners as an at-large commissioner. Whitmore left local politics in late 2022 to pursue the role of development administrator for Help to Home Inc. Now she said her contract with that nonprofit organization is up and she’s ready to step back into the local political spotlight with the goal of helping her community.
“I love my city,” Whitmore said of the Anna Maria Island community that has been her home for 55 years.
She said that she has no agenda going into the November election other than to try and shine a positive light on Holmes Beach. She added that she hopes to use her relationships with local and state leaders as well as with candidates running in elections throughout Manatee County to help rebuild and reinforce positive working relationships between officials.
“I want to move our city forward and hopefully help rebuild relationships,” she said.
Despite having previously served in the role, Whitmore said she has no interest in running for the mayoral seat in Holmes Beach that’s also up for election this year.
Also in the race for the two commission seats are incumbent Commissioner Dan Diggins and resident Steven Oelfke. Incumbent Commissioner Greg Kerchner has not yet qualified to run for re-election.
Incumbent Mayor Judy Titsworth thus far has one challenger for her seat, Tampa businessman Mike Roth.
Candidate qualifying for the Holmes Beach commission and mayoral seats continues at the Manatee County Supervisor of Elections Office through Friday, June 14 at noon. For more information on how to file to be a candidate, visit www.votemanatee.com.
