Election 2024: Cooper seeks District 2 commission seat
Wewahitchka resident George “Buddy” Cooper has announced plans to seek the post of Gulf County commissioner for District 2.
Cooper, 55, of 274 Homewood Circle, is running as a Republican. As it stands now, two other Republicans, Jack Husband and John Murnan, have also filed letters of intent to seek the commission seat. Husband is the incumbent, after he was appointed by Governor DeSantis in July 2023, to replace County Commissioner Billy Traylor, who died shortly after being elected in November 2022.
In the event no Democrats, or individuals without party affiliation, qualify to run, then the election will be decided at the Aug. 20 primary, at which time all voters within the district, regardless of party affiliation, will be able to vote for District 2 county commissioner.
The following statement was submitted by George “Buddy” Cooper’s campaign
My name is George W. “Buddy” Cooper, and I am running for Gulf County Commissioner Dist. 2.
I am a lifelong Gulf County resident and have been married to my wife Betty Jo for over 20 years. We have two sons, Caleb 17, and Zeke, 14.
I graduated from Wewahitchka High School in 1987 and started working at the St. Joe Paper Mill in 1988. I left the mill in 1992 to pursue a career in industrial construction and I stayed in that field until I went to work for RockTenn Paper in 2014 at their Panama City Mill. I stayed there until the mill permanently closed in 2021.
I am a member of Glad Tidings Assembly of God, Gulf County Search and Rescue and the Wewahitchka Volunteer Fire Department. I enjoy working with the people of Gulf County and I believe there is something special about our county and its residents that you cannot find anywhere else.
I feel like Gulf County is facing some unique challenges moving forward as we balance new growth and preserving what God has created. I am very passionate about caring for our county and its residents. In the upcoming months leading to the election, I am going to try to visit every community in District 2. In the meantime, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call me anytime 850-814-4108. I am looking forward to serving you as commissioner of District 2.
Thank you for your support,
Buddy Cooper
Meet the Editor
David Adlerstein, The Apalachicola Times’ digital editor, started with the news outlet in January 2002 as a reporter.
Prior to then, David Adlerstein began as a newspaperman with a small Boston weekly, after graduating magna cum laude from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. He later edited the weekly Bellville Times, and as business reporter for the daily Marion Star, both not far from his hometown of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1995, he moved to South Florida, and worked as a business reporter and editor of Medical Business newspaper. In Jan. 2002, he began with the Apalachicola Times, first as reporter and later as editor, and in Oct. 2020, also began editing the Port St. Joe Star.