BRADENTON, Fla. – The City of Bradenton is one year away from voting on city council members.

• Two candidates campaigning for Bradenton City Council seat
• Eleutario "Junior" Salazar, Keenan Wooten up for Ward 5 chair

Two long-time members are already campaigning, saying they are ready to take the Ward 5 chair. 

"I was born and raised here, I’ve been living in Ward 5 for quite some time now," candidate Keenan Wooten said.  

Wooten, a graduate of Southeast High School and now a Dean of Students at Lee Middle School, said education, creating more jobs, and smart growth in the community is exactly what the district needs. 

"This is an area I’ve grown up in my whole life," candidate Eleutario "Junior" Salazar said.

Salazar, a graduate of Lakewood Ranch High School said, he agrees with Wooten on the need for better education, but also wants to focus on creating a stronger relationship with law enforcement and add more affordable housing in the area.

"Ward 5 encompasses a lot of people like me," Salazar said. "Brown and black people who have been left behind, people who have been underserved, that's the community that I’m looking to serve." 

Ward 5 starts along U.S. 41 and stretches along Manatee Avenue, until 29th Street. 

Both candidates say many people in the area are considered low-income. 

"I feel like I can bring new jobs," Wooten said. 

Wooten said he’d do that is by adding a grocery store, which he says, has been promised for years.

"That’s what I feel like I bring to the table, hard-working, fiscal responsibility and smart growth," he said.

As for Salazar, he said growing up in a family of five, and living in a one bedroom apartment, has made him passionate to bring affordable homes to Bradenton.

"The district needs someone that has a backbone, ready to go against the establishment," Salazar said. "That’s what sets me apart."

They both have a long campaign ahead, but say they’re proud to be a voice for the community. 

Voting day for city council will be on November 3, 2020.