Candidate Profile: Carol Whitmore

First elected to the BOCC in 2006, incumbent District 6 (At-Large) Commissioner Carol Whitmore is the longest-serving member on the Manatee County Commission. She is seeking a fifth term in this year's election, which will be decided in August's Republican primary.

Originally from Michigan, Whitmore moved to Anna Maria Island with her family in 1969 and still lives there today. Whitmore and her husband, Dr. Andre Renard, have four children and eight grandchildren.

Whitmore is a graduate of SCF with a degree in Nursing. She previously worked at Manatee Memorial Hospital in Critical Care and went on to become Director of Physician Relations. Eventually, Whitmore was promoted to Director of Risk Management, a position she held until 1991 when she joined Manatee Springs, a head injury rehabilitation facility, as Admissions Coordinator.

Whitmore was first elected to public office as a city commissioner in Holmes Beach in 1991. In 1998, she was elected Mayor of Holmes Beach. While mayor, Whitmore continued to work as a nurse/surgical office manager until getting elected to the county commission.

While on the BOCC, Whitmore has served in almost every role possible, including commission chair, port authority chair, chair of the Manatee County Civic Center Authority, Manatee County Tourist Development Council, and the Sarasota/Manatee Metropolitan Planning Organization board. She has also served on the State Medical Examiners Commission and as Chair of the West Coast Inland Navigation District, as well as on the board of the Sarasota Bay Estuary Program. Former Senate President Bill Galvano appointed Whitmore to the Florida Department of Elder Affairs Advisory Council in 2019, and she has served on the Elder Abuse and Animal Abuse Committees as well.

"I continue to work to ensure Manatee’s economic future is sound and sustainable, even through difficult times," said Whitmore in her campaign announcement. "I seek fiscal efficiencies that serve the entire community. My balanced approach never minimizes crucial items like improving and maintaining our infrastructure and providing community services while addressing the safety of all our citizens."

While somewhat more moderate than the Republicans who have come to dominate the BOCC, Whitmore has proven herself a solid fiscal conservative, but one who is not paralyzed by blind ideological dogma. She has also done a commendable job of avoiding being overly partisan in her rhetoric and not injecting national political issues into her position in local politics, an increasingly common tactic that is making public policymaking at the local level much more difficult to navigate. As a countywide commissioner, she has earned a reputation as someone who listens and responds to all of her constituents with the same energy, regardless of their political affiliation.

Whitmore has been a solidly pro-business politician throughout her career and has gotten consistent support from a broad array of county businesses, particularly healthcare interests. Having raised more than $120,000 as of the latest reporting deadline, Whitmore will have a strong campaign cash advantage over her opponents.

Whitmore will compete against two opponents in the primary, Carol Felts and Jason Bearden, for her party's nomination. While there are only three Republicans on the ballot, the write-in loopholehas kept the race from being an open primary, meaning that Republican voters alone will decide the result, which is for one of only two countywide seats on the board.