Candidate Profile: County Commission District 1: Larry Bustle

Candidate: Lawrence E. Bustle, Jr. (Incumbent)

Party Affiliation: Republican

Age: 77

Hometown: Manatee County

Residence: Palmetto

Occupation: County Commissioner for District 1

Education: Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering, U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology (1967) and graduate of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (1970).

Graduate of Leadership Florida Class XXIV, Lawrence Bustle, Jr. currently serves as District 1’s Manatee County Commissioner. Having dedicated seven years to the city of Palmetto as Mayor, Bustle was voted County Commissioner by the community in 2008 and will face a challenge from Cory Holmes in November's election, after defeating Nathaniel Leonard in August's Republican primary.

Bustle attended the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. and was commissioned to be a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force after graduation. In 1958, he attained his pilot wings, flying 130 combat missions in an F-4D Phantom II aircraft during the Vietnam War.

While in Vietnam, Bustle was recognized with nine Air Medals, the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross and Purple Heart, later achieving an Astronautical Engineering degree from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology. Bustle held senior command ranks within the Air Force and eventually retired as a colonel in 1984.

Previously a part of the American Patriotism Celebration Task Force and Chamber of Commerce Economic Development Council Advisory Board, Bustle is consecutively in his third year of being the Manatee County Port Authority Chairman. He also serves under the same position for the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and Manatee County Public Safety Coordinating Council.

Bustle is a husband, father and grandfather involved with local organizations focused on educating the public, including Bradenton’s South Florida Museum. Additionally, he is a former member of the Community Coalition on Homelessness and Local School Readiness Council.