Four people were assured seats on local government boards Friday after drawing no opposition when qualifying ended at noon.
James Bratton qualified for one of three open seats on the Cinco Bayou Town Council. In Shalimar, Mayor Gary Combs had no opposition for re-election.
In Fort Walton Beach incumbent Councilmen C.H. “Bull” Rigdon and Dick Rynearson also will retain their seats.
There will be 28 candidates running in five municipal elections in Okaloosa County on March 12.
“It’s good to see a lot of people interested in local politics,” Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux said. “I’m always fond of telling people … these are the races you need to be paying attention to.”
Lux said the field of candidates reflects the ups and downs of local government in the past year.
“With some of the goings on in Crestview, it shouldn’t come as a huge surprise that there’s some dissatisfaction with the current City Council,” he said.
In Crestview, three incumbents — City Clerk Betsy Roy and City Councilmen Charles Baugh and Ben Iannucci III — face at least one challenger.
In Fort Walton Beach, two-term Mayor Mike Anderson is being challenged by Al Stearns while City Councilman Bobby Nabors will face Amy Jamieson.
“In Fort Walton Beach, you can live anywhere in Fort Walton Beach and pick what seat you want to run for,” Lux said. “That means someone went to the trouble of saying, ‘I want to run against this particular individual for this seat.’ It’s the choice of the people running.”
In Cinco Bayou, there were not enough candidates to vie for three Town Council seats. Sitting council members will appoint residents to fill two vacant posts.
The following people qualified to run in the elections:
Cinco Bayou Town Council (3 seats)
- James Bratton
Crestview City Clerk
- Wanda G. Davis
- J. T. Kinsey
- Elizabeth M. (Betsy) Roy
Crestview City Council Precinct 1
- Joe Blocker
- Landrum “Lanny” Edwards
- Benjamin J. Iannucci III
Crestview City Council Precinct 2
- Bill Cox
- Shannon Devon Hayes
Crestview City Council Precinct 3
- Charles E. Baugh Jr.
- Mickey Rytman
Fort Walton Beach Mayor
- Mike Anderson
- Allan “Al” Stearns
Fort Walton Beach City Council Seat 3
- Mike Holmes
- John S. Mead
Fort Walton Beach City Council Seat 5
- Amy Jamieson
- Robert Nabors
Fort Walton Beach City Council Seat 6
- C. H. ‘Bull’ Rigdon
Fort Walton Beach City Council Seat 7
- Dick Rynearson
Laurel Hill Mayor
- Robby Adams
- Mike Blizzard
Laurel Hill City Council (2 seats)
- Larry Hendren
- Johnny N. James
- Joan Smith
Shalimar Mayor
- Gary Combs
Shalimar Town Commission (2 seats)
- Ricardo Dias Garcia
- Ray Morgan
- Jim Wilton
Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.