VERO BEACH — An island attorney and Central Beach resident has thrown his name into the hat for one of the three open seats on the Vero Beach City Council this November.
Dan Stump recently resigned from the board of the Indian River County Taxpayers Association so he could run for the council. He was the president of the group last year.
“I’ve been looking forward to this,” said Stump who turned in the paperwork Wednesday.
Stump has been a landowner in the city for 10 years and a resident of Vero Beach for the past 6½ years. His law practice is on A1A where he specializes in civil matters and estate planning.
This isn’t his first foray into public office.
In 1980, he was elected to a four-year term as a trustee for a township in the Lansing , Mich., area.
He said his experience then as well as his legal background should prove beneficial to the city of Vero Beach and its residents.
Stump supports the sale of the city’s electric utility. He said he is very familiar with the issue and should be because his campaign treasurer is Glenn Heran, a strong proponent of the sale.
Stump has lived in other parts of Florida and has traveled extensively around the state. His heart, he said is with fellow city residents and taxpayers.
“I want to preserve the quality of life,” he said. “…Vero Beach is where I want to live out my life. I am very concerned and would like to make things right from the city’s standpoint.”
The qualifying deadline to run for the open seats is 5 p.m. Friday.
“I’m pretty happy. It’s great to find someone who is like minded,” said Heran, the current president of the taxpayer’s group.
So far Mayor Pilar Turner, Vice Mayor Craig Fletcher and perennial candidate Brian Heady have all said they are running.
Jay Kramer, whose seat is up for grabs, has yet to apply. When contacted Wednesday afternoon, it appeared he wouldn’t be running again.
“It’s just not fun as it used to be,” Kramer said.