Bill Bishop makes his case for Mayor in 2015

Jacksonville Councilman Bill Bishop tells WOKV News he’s planning to run for Mayor in 2015.

“It’s been a decision long time and coming,” he says.  “I’ve finally have realized it’s just something I need to do.  I believe that I’m the right guy to do this.”

Bishop cites his experience in business and city government, and says he understands how the two need to work together to “help make Jacksonville the world-class city that it can be.”

Bishop is an architect who recently served as president of the Jacksonville City Council.  He says Jacksonville has all the pieces to become an incredible city, but it needs a great leader.

"Downtown is a huge piece of Jacksonville's success," he says on revitalizing the area.  "It is not the only piece of Jacksonville's success, but it is a huge part of it."

Bishop says when he gets back from his overseas trip next week he’s going to work on getting his campaign up and running.

“And as usual in this business, you gotta raise money,” he says.  “So that’s gonna be the number one focus.”