Republican Bill Conerly announces candidacy for State House District 72
LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – Veteran and self described “conservative engineer” Bill Conerly announced his candidacy for State House District 72 on Thursday.
The seat opened up after Rep. Tommy Gregory, R-Lakewood Ranch, accepted a position as president of the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.
“Florida is at a crossroads,” Conerly said. “We can continue to kick the can down the road, year after year, on issues like immigration, insurance and our quality of life or we can act.”
“I am running to take quick action, just like President Trump,” he continued. “The politicians in Tallahassee should be on notice: I won’t be making excuses or empty promises on insurance rates, I will be lowering them come hell or highwater. Floridians can’t and shouldn’t be struggling to pay insurance premiums.”
“Florida needs to secure its beaches, just like Texas is securing its border with Mexico. Floridians want their local law enforcement to act, as Joe Biden’s federal government sits idly by,” he said. “Giving local law enforcement the means to deport illegal aliens and cutting off funding for taxpayer programs that benefit illegals are among my top priorities.”
Ultimately, Conerly said that “we need an engineer in the house” to help rebuild and repair “our crumbling infrastructure” and reprioritize spending to get Floridians “out of traffic.”
The announcement said Conerly’s campaign will focus on promoting an “America First agenda” through each of its policy positions.
Conerly is a fifth generation Floridian raised in South Florida. He served in the U.S. Navy for nearly six years and returned to civilian life to pursue further education in engineering.
Within his decades of experience, Conerly took on his current role as owner and vice president of Kimley-Horn and Associates, which focuses on “mentoring and growing the next generation of engineers.”
Conerly, so far, faces one primary opponent in Rich Tatem, a Manatee County school board member.
