Jacob Ogles
Voters in Longboat Key elected Steve Branham to the Town Commission.
Election results after the close of polls showed Branham beating Debbie Murphy for an at-large seat on the Commission. With most votes counted in Manatee and Sarasota counties, Branham was leading with more than 68% of the vote. He received 1,079 votes to Murphy’s 498.
Branham, a real estate agent with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty St. Armands, previously worked as a Rear Admiral and Chief Financial Officer for the U.S. Coast Guard. He later served as Commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District, directing over 11,000 men and women in the Southeast United States and the Caribbean.
The Pensacola native has served in various capacities in the community, including Chair of the town’s Consolidated Pension Board of Trustees, President of the SunCoast Blood Bank Board of Directors, and President of the Longboat Key Kiwanis Club.
Murphy previously served on the Longboat Key Town Commission in the District 5 seat but resigned over a requirement for Form 6 financial disclosures that is no longer in effect, according to the Longboat Key Observer. She had previously been sworn into office in 2023.
Murphy told media outlets that her finances were private, and it wasn’t right for the Legislature to require disclosure for a volunteer position. She filed to run again after the requirement went away.
