Candidate: Drew Buchanan

A seventh-generation Floridian, Drew Buchanan is a military veteran, small business owner, and proud Pensacolian. In the years following the Civil War, Drew’s great-great-grandparents arrived in Pensacola amid an economic boom, as thousands of immigrants arrived in the city to seek a better life. The family settled in Pensacola’s diverse Tanyard neighborhood near downtown, alongside other families of African-American, Creole, German, Italian, and Irish descent.

From these humble roots came Reubin O’Donovan Askew, Drew’s great-uncle and one of Pensacola’s proudest sons. Askew rose up from poverty and embarked on a life of public service, enlisting into the Air Force at age 17 and going on to serve as Florida’s 37th governor and a champion of government transparency and civil rights. Drew followed in Askew’s footsteps, enlisting in the Air Force at age 17 and serving for four years as an active duty combat correspondent and broadcast journalist, documenting worldwide military missions. Drew continues to serve in the Air Force Reserve.

After leaving active duty military service, Drew chose to move home to Pensacola, working to restore a century-old shotgun house in the city’s Tanyard neighborhood, opening a hospitality business in downtown Pensacola, and cofounding The Pulse, a fiercely independent digital news platform that quickly grew into Pensacola’s most-read locally-owned news source. Drew grew up listening to his great-uncle’s stories and learning about the importance of honesty, personal integrity, and public service. Those values defined Askew’s legacy as one of the nation’s most widely-acclaimed governors of the 20th century, and they form the core of Drew’s campaign to be Pensacola’s next mayor.