Sumter County Commissioner Don Wiley was elected as the first new county chairman in four years as he and two other newly elected commissioners were sworn in Tuesday night by Judge Paul Militello.
Wiley rejoined the commission along with new members Deb Butterfield and Todd Coon.
He was elected chairman over Commissioner Jeffrey Bogue on a 3-2 vote. Commissioner Andrew Bilardello was elected vice chairman and Bogue was elected second vice chairman.
Commissioners also received their committee assignments.
Wiley replaces Craig Estep as chairman. Estep’s four-year tenure as chairman came to an end when he lost the August Republican primary to Coon.
Before Estep, it was routine to elect a new chairman every year.
Wiley’s off-and-on board service is emblematic of a chaotic period over the past several years.
He was appointed by Gov. Ron DeSantis to replace former commissioner Oren Miller when Miller, elected in 2020, was charged with perjury and suspended from his commissioner seat.
Wiley was elected to the seat in 2022 before Miller was found guilty and went to jail for 75 days.
Miller’s conviction was overturned and DeSantis reinstated him last May while ousting Wiley, who then defeated Miller in the August primary.
Wiley previously served as chairman of the Community Development District 10 Board of Supervisors and chaired the Project Wide Advisory Committee.
