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Fort Walton Beach begins process to fill council vacancy, Schmidt seeks return

Fort Walton Beach City Council began steps Tuesday to fill David Schmidt's vacant seat after his resignation to pursue school board bid.
David Schmidt (City of Fort Walton Beach)

The Fort Walton Beach City Council initiated steps Tuesday to fill a council seat left vacant by David Schmidt, who resigned by law to pursue a bid for the Okaloosa County School Board that was ultimately unsuccessful.

  • The council voted to adopt the same appointment process used to fill a previous vacancy left by Larry Patrick, which involves council members ranking their top three candidates before making a final selection.

“Being elected seven years and seven months ago for the first time, and being elected a couple of years ago again with a strong amount of voter support, I’m advocating to fill that vacancy,” Schmidt told the council during public comments, expressing interest in returning to his former seat to finish his remaining original term.

Schmidt’s resignation became effective Oct. 21, following his revised resignation notice submitted Oct. 17. The initial resignation had been set for Nov. 19.

City Attorney Kimberly Kopp explained that under the city charter, the council must accept nominations during at least two general meetings following the vacancy. The first round of nominations began Tuesday, with Council Member Nic Allegretto nominating Schmidt for the position.

  • “I think it’s important that it gives other people an opportunity to be a part of the process,” Allegretto said, while noting his support for Schmidt. He encouraged interested residents to come forward during the nomination period.

The council will accept a second round of nominations at their Nov. 19 meeting, with the final appointment scheduled for Dec. 17. The appointed member will serve until the next city election in March 2025.

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Community Comments

“Praying firvofficer and his family”
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“Wife and I were thinking of making an offer for the property. What a beautiful home site it would make”
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“No, buying the ship was a great idea and will be a wonderful place to snorkeling, and scuba diving.”
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“SPC beach bars have been successful for Decades. We have a large loyal and captive group! The Sand Flea family of restauranteurs have ways succeeded and will drawer other beach...”
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“I agree with the idea of making it an event place. Whether for weddings or parties or businesses that want to hold lectures or meetings.Also a place for groups like...”
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“I second that thought, please quit trying to make Fort Walton another Destin. And anything to do with that that 10 million dollar ship they bought to sink is ridiculous!”
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“I like the idea of it being an event rental space, it would be beautiful for weddings and receptions, but another "charter boat hub", please quit trying to make Fort...”
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“Why not fix the dog parks adjacent to red lobster?”
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“They spend 3.75 MILLION dollars of tax payer money and don't know what they are going to do with the property? If your child came in your home and said...”
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“If Walton County was not so greedy and decided to “TAKE” what they wanted instead of “buying” it like other areas (Destin/Okaloosa County)have, this might have never been a problem....”
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