JACKSONVILLe, Fla. – Two term City Council member Bill Bishop confirmed to the Financial News and Daily Record that he will run for mayor next year.
"It's been a long time coming," Bishop told the newspaper. "I would say that it has gelled together the past couple of weeks."
Bishop, a Republican, served as council president during the 2012-13 council year.
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Bishop, an architect, said his experience in the profession along with his 30 years of being a resident would help bring "dedicated leadership" to the office.
"I have an understanding of how cities are supposed to run. Jacksonville, for a while now, has had this collective feeling for hoping something happens. We have been stuck in a rut, asking how to get out of that," Bishop told Daily Record reporter David Chapman. "We can't get it moving."
But with his background, Bishop said he can bring that movement forward and create "liveliness" that's been lacking or has been bogged down in ineffective government.
Bishop said he has been urged to run for some time by others, but that he finalized his decision in the past two weeks. He would join Mayor Alvin Brown, a Democrat, as the only other high-profile candidate who has filed. This month Property Appraiser Jim Overton announced his intention to file, but has yet to do so.