NICEVILLE — City Councilman Daniel Henkel defended his seat in Tuesday’s election, defeating challenger Armand Izzo 246 to 96.
The Group 4 council seat was the only contested race in Niceville this year.
Henkel was sworn in Tuesday evening along with Sal Nodjomian, who won the Group 2 seat without opposition.
Voter turnout was not very good, City Clerk Dan Doucet said. Typically, the city sees about 10 percent of its 9,600 registered voters come to the polls.
The city printed about 1,200 ballots.
Doucet blamed the rain, which fell hard all day.
Rain, or rather the mosquitoes that follow, was one of the issues people raised when he telephoned and met with them during the campaign, Henkel said.
“It gave them the opportunity to meet me face-to-face if they hadn’t already and for me to see if there are any issues and concerns,” said Henkel, an Air Force retiree who works as a program manager for a foreign military sales program. “You learn some things that you didn’t know before.”
Henkel, who was first elected to the City Council in 2008, said he heard everything from a desire for facilities for youths to promoting local business.
He said he is taking those ideas to heart and that he wants to balance growth with quality of life.
The council needs to be cognizant of the effects the community will feel from sequestration now underway at local military bases, he said.
“We need to keep taxes low to help the community,” Henkel said.
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Lauren Delgado at 850-315-4445 or ldelgado@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @LaurenDnwfdn.