Candidate: George W Kruse

Republican George Kruse is running for the Manatee Board of County Commissioners, District 7. George hopes to bring his private sector experience and background in finance to the Board of County Commissioners to tackle everyday problems for Manatee residents like road congestion, rising taxes, smart growth, and higher wage job creation. He will bring a conservative, free market view to the Board.

“Manatee County is growing, whether we want it to or not.  How we manage that growth is the responsibility of our County Commission. We need a Board that focuses on the key issues facing residents like reducing traffic, keeping taxes low, protecting our beaches, waterways and environment, and growing smarter,” Kruse stated.

“We can keep our taxes low and restructure our county budget so that we have the financial means to tackle problems like aging infrastructure, traffic congestion and workforce housing.  Focusing on these issues today is critical.  Putting in place long-term plans now, will make Manatee’s predicted growth more sustainable and help retain our community’s small-town feel,” Kruse concluded.

George Kruse has called the area home since the mid-1980s and Manatee County home since 2008. A graduate of Cardinal Mooney High School in 1993, George went on to receive degrees in both Management and Finance from the University of Florida and subsequently received his MBA in real estate finance from Columbia Business School in 2003. George has made a lifelong career in commercial real estate finance. It started when he accepted a position with an affordable housing equity fund at Raymond James, which began his passion for both finance and studying ways to generate attainable housing for communities. This has led to positions on the City of Bradenton’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, the Chamber’s Attainable Housing Task Force and numerous speaking engagements throughout the Country.

George and his family have been involved with the community in various ways since setting their roots here. Upon graduating from Leadership Manatee in 2019, George made it his mission to utilize his unique background and skill sets to improve Manatee County for its current and future residents. He strives to make Manatee a place his kids are happy to grow up in and even more excited to live in as they start their own families. He has taken numerous roles throughout the community including being an active Board member for the Sarasota/Manatee Columbia Alumni Club, Manatee Tiger Bay and Leadership Manatee Alumni Association. He is active with Bradenton Kiwanis, the Chamber of Commerce, Junior Achievement and various community/educational activities throughout the year. In his spare time, George is involved in running and triathlon activities and is presently training for a 50-mile trail run.