A candidate forum for the upcoming Destin City Council election is scheduled for October 1st at the city hall annex.
- The event, organized by the Destin Chamber of Commerce and the Emerald Coast Association of Realtors (ECAR), will run from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Although not officially a city event, it will be treated as a sunshine meeting due to the expected attendance of multiple council members.
All seven candidates vying for the five open council seats are planning to participate in the forum. The November election will fill four seats for full four-year terms and one seat for a partial two-year term, the latter resulting from a resignation in early January.
The candidate list includes incumbents Dewey Destin, Teresa Hebert, Kevin Schmidt, and John Stephens. Stephens was appointed in January 2024 to fill a vacancy left by Matthew Sweetser’s resignation. Former city officials Rodney Braden, Lance A. Johnson (former city manager), and Sandy Trammell round out the field of candidates.
In Destin’s electoral system, council members are elected at-large, with voters selecting their preferred candidates from the entire pool. The top four vote-getters will secure the full-term seats, while the fifth-place finisher will take the partial-term position.
- The city plans to treat the forum as a public meeting, with the city clerk taking minutes and the possibility of live-streaming the event under consideration.
According to the city charter, the candidate elected to the partial term would only be eligible to serve one additional four-year term afterward. This provision ensures rotation in council membership while maintaining continuity in city governance.
The forum offers Destin residents an opportunity to hear from all candidates before making their choices in the November election, providing insight into the perspectives and plans of those seeking to serve on the city council.
