A day after Warren County Judge-Executive Mike Buchanon announced his plans to retire from that job at the end of his current term, one of his associates on Warren Fiscal Court has stepped up to run for the office.

Doug Gorman, first district magistrate on Warren Fiscal Court since 2015, said Sunday he will be a candidate for the county’s highest office in the 2022 elections.

The window to file for elected office begins Wednesday, but Gorman said Sunday he has filed a letter of intent to run for the Republican nomination for judge-executive in the May 2022 primary election.

“I’m running to be the next Warren County judge-executive to help make this community the best place to live, work and play and to protect our conservative values and way of life,” Gorman said in a prepared statement. “Warren County families deserve top-tier infrastructure, beautiful parks and public spaces, safe streets and thriving workplaces.

“I’m ready to get to work to make them all a reality.”

Gorman, a 1985 Western Kentucky University graduate, has plenty of experience in Warren County business and governmental circles.

Owner of Bowling Green’s Booth Fire & Safety for 21 years before selling the business last year to Georgia-based Pye-Barker Fire & Safety, Gorman is a former chairman of the Bowling Green Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors and has served as chairman of the Downtown Economic Development Authority.

“I don’t shy away from the big jobs, whether that’s growing a small business or leading the $350 million revitalization of downtown Bowling Green,” Gorman said.

Gorman, who describes himself as a conservative small businessman, promised to be a uniter who will bring together leaders from the county, the city of Bowling Green and WKU to work for the betterment of the county.

He said he is seeking an office currently held by someone he considers a mentor.

“Warren County would not be what it is today without Mike Buchanon’s tireless work and leadership,” Gorman said. “I plan to build upon his pro-growth policies that support our families and our future.”

Buchanon, 69, has been judge-executive since he succeeded Basil Griffin as the county’s top executive in 1994 but has decided to retire from the job that pays about $120,000 a year after his current term expires in January 2023.

“I’m just at the point in my life when it’s time for me to focus on the things that are most important to my family,” Buchanon said Saturday.

Buchanon has served during a time of rapid industrial and population growth in Warren County, which has seen its population explode from less than 80,000 in 1990 to more than 134,000 today.

Candidates for judge-executive, magistrate and other county offices will begin filing to run on Wednesday. The window to file for office continues through Jan. 7.