MANATEE COUNTY, FL (Nov. 19, 2024) – Three new County Commissioners—Carol Ann Felts, Tal Siddique and Dr. Bob McCann—were sworn into office, and Commissioner George Kruse took the oath for a second term during a brief ceremony today at the Manatee Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) Patricia Glass Chambers.
The four were surrounded by friends and family as they were sworn in at 9 a.m. After the ceremony, they got right to work, with a Land Use Meeting.
Carol Ann Felts, elected to District 1, is a native 8th-generation Floridian. Raised in a family of first responders, law enforcement officers and city employees, Felts first settled in West Bradenton, commuting to St. Petersburg for her career opportunities while choosing to raise her family in a smaller town. Felts relocated herself and her horses that were boarded in Parrish to her own property in Myakka after retirement, where she is an avid Florida history buff, amateur genealogist and full-time animal concierge, with a keen interest in agriculture, local politics and the environment.
Talha “Tal” Siddique, elected to District 3, has led software teams for the U.S. Air Force. His professional record includes work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in the fight against illegal immigration and for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, supporting our veterans. In the private sector he has successfully built and scaled IT businesses across the globe. A graduate of George Washington University, Siddique is a proud member of the NRA, enjoys making his own ammunition, shooting trap and clays, woodworking, building computers and volunteering in the community.
Dr. Robert “Bob” McCann, elected to District 5, is a native of Chicago, but he has lived in Manatee County, District 5, for 18 years. McCann is a devoted public servant, Physician, Lawyer, Business Executive, Educator and proud US Navy Veteran. McCann is a parishioner of Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church and a Fourth-Degree member of the Knights of Columbus. He is also a National Disaster Life Support Instructor, member of the Republican National Lawyers Association and the Federalist Society.
George Kruse, reelected to the countywide District 7 seat, was first elected in the 2020. He 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 Business Management and Finance from the University of Florida and subsequently received his MBA in real estate finance from Columbia Business School in 2003. Kruse has made a lifelong career in commercial real estate finance.
Commissioners Amanda Ballard (District 2), Jason Bearden (At-Large) and Commissioner Chair Mike Rahn (District 4) have two years remaining on their four-year terms that began in 2022.