DESTIN ELECTION: Local entrepreneur Kevin Schmidt announces his candidacy for Destin City Council. This afternoon we talked about his newly launched campaign and why he is running for this position in Destin, FL.

Transcription below:

Jared: Alright, joining me this afternoon is Kevin Schmidt. Kevin, how are you?

Kevin: I’m doing fantastic, Jared. It’s a beautiful day. And I’m happy to be here with you again.

Jared: Yeah, it was just a few weeks ago, that we were on here talking about BeMyShopper. And now, we are going to be talking about your run for city council.

Kevin: Yes. That is correct. In case you can’t tell, I got cleaned up a little bit, you know, beard’s gone, the hair’s been trimmed because we’re able to go take care of some of these things now. So, but yeah, I’m happy to be here.

Jared: Yeah. So coming out of quarantine, looking a little better, and now we’re going to go for Destin city council. So late last night, you officially made the announcement. Tell me a little bit about it. Tell me why, why are you running?

Kevin: Yeah. You know, we went live last night. This is qualifying week. This Friday actually is the deadline for, to qualify and get all that stuff done through the city and Supervisor of Elections.

You know, Jared, I have been involved in a local level with the Public Works and Safety Committee. I’m actually the vice-chair currently on that committee also with the LPA, which is the local planning agency. I’ve been involved in that, in those two organizations for almost four years now. And that’s where I’ve really got my hands in, in a direct way with the city government and, and things that are going on in the city.

As you know, and as many know, I’ve been here for many years as well. I mean, we’ve grown up here for over 30 years in this community, in this city. My wife and I with the kids, you know, we’re, we’ve moved a few times in Destin and we just keep moving around because we, we don’t want to leave. We love it here.

So, you know, it’s just been a combination of just, wanting to get involved more. I love to serve. I love to give back. I, I love my kids and I love all my friends’ kids and, and I want to see a continued movement in a, in the way that we’re going right now, for the future, you know, smart, smart changes and smart things happening for the future.

So we can continue as younger generations to continue loving and living in Destin, so our kids can, and then even for the people that come visit. You know, as you mentioned, I have a business, I have a few businesses that thrive off of the tourism industry and so we love the tourist. I love the tourist, so I want to continue making Destin what it has been.

The history is, is long and, and, and it’s, it’s fantastic. And I just want to continue having a part in that. So, you know, I, got the support of my family. That was the primary thing I had to get first. And after that, you know, we made the decision and, went live with it last night,like you said, We’re just, we’re pumped and excited to, to kick off a campaign for an election.

You know, this is my first time doing something like this, besides back in elementary and middle school or high school. So now it’s a whole new level. So, but yeah, that’s a little bit of info right there.

Jared: So last year we had Parker Destin on as he announced his candidacy for a County Commissioner District 5. And in the interview he had with Whitney, he said, you know, that as he was stepping away from the council, he was hoping that younger people would step up, fill the spots. There’s a few spots that are going to be available for Destin city council. What are your thoughts on kind of how Destin’s looking and the future of it?

Kevin: You know, that’s a great question. And what we have in Destin right now is a combination of things and events and, you know, things have been put in place for many, many years in the past. You know, that’s, that’s just, that’s how things, that’s how politics and government works. It’s how the infrastructure comes about, you know. Decisions 20 years ago are affecting what’s happening today in 2020. And, and what the city council has been doing over these last few years, I really agree with and the movement that they are, that they’re going with. You know, again, it’s about the smart changes and the smart growth that I think we can continue to do, and to continue to see that same direction, that they’re already going. And we want to keep that momentum going as well, I believe.

Jared: I think we’ll have you back on and talk more specifics on certain points as the campaign continues to kick off. But in the meantime, if somebody wants to get involved, find out more about you, get a sign, make a contribution, where can they go to keep up with everything?

Kevin: Great question, Jared. You know, I have Schmidtfordestin.com. That’s our website that we got going live, yesterday. Also Facebook, of course you can’t have anything without being on Facebook. So you can go there. My number’s on there, my contact information, you can request a sign. We’re going to need volunteers. We’re going to be waving, shaking hands, or maybe not shaking hands. Fist bumping, you know. Also to contribute, you know, because it takes money to do certain things, to buy the signs and, and do certain things for the campaign. So, SchmidtForDestin.com will probably be the best, best way to start.