Keys county commissioner Kolhage resigns.

Danny Kolhage, the Monroe County commissioner from Key West, resigned Thursday from the District 1 office, effective Nov. 30.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve Monroe County for more than 45 years,” Kolhage wrote in his Oct. 17-dated resignation letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Kolhage cited “personal commitments” as the reason he is leaving in the third year of his second term.

Commissioners serve four-year terms and are elected in even years.

Kolhage had previously said he would not seek re-election.

The District 1 seat is up for grabs on the Nov. 3, 2020 ballot and has drawn candidates.

Craig Cates, the former mayor of Key West and a Republican and Danise “Dee Dee” Henriquez, the county tax collector who is a Democrat, have already filed

Kolhage is the former Monroe county clerk, an office he held for 30 years.

According to Florida law, once DeSantis accepts the resignation he will appoint someone to fulfill the remaining term.

Gwen Filosa covers Key West and the Lower Florida Keys for FLKeysNews.com and the Miami Herald and lives in Key West. She was part of the staff at the New Orleans Times-Picayune that in 2005 won two Pulitzer Prizes for coverage of Hurricane Katrina. She graduated from Indiana University.