Politics

Riley, Browning and Merrell win Fort Walton Beach council seats; Niceville splits on referendums

Voters in Okaloosa County municipal elections selected three new council members in Fort Walton Beach while Laurel Hill faces a tie requiring a recount.

Jared Williams

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Voters have elected three new members to the Fort Walton Beach City Council while Niceville residents approved one charter amendment but rejected another in Tuesday’s municipal elections.

Fort Walton Beach

Debi “Debra” Riley led all candidates in the Fort Walton Beach race with 878 votes (21.59%), followed by Logan Browning with 820 votes (20.16%) and Ben Merrell with 697 votes (17.14%).

Incumbent Travis Smith received 585 votes (14.38%), falling short of reelection. The remaining candidates — Brandon Bishop, Sonya Faison-Vazquez and Jason Harwell — received 445 votes (10.94%), 339 votes (8.34%) and 303 votes (7.45%) respectively.

A total of 4,067 votes were cast in the Fort Walton Beach City Council election.

Laurel Hill recount

In Laurel Hill, where two council seats were available, officials have announced a recount after two candidates tied for the second position. Amanda Rosen received the most votes with 25 (36.23%), while Mike Blizzard and Shawn Cogan each received exactly 22 votes (31.88%).

The tied result in Laurel Hill came from a race where only 69 total votes were cast.

Niceville

Niceville voters decided on two charter amendments with mixed results. Voters rejected a proposal to eliminate the city residency requirement for the City Clerk, with 416 “No” votes (53.82%) against 357 “Yes” votes (46.18%).

However, residents approved a second referendum granting the mayor authority to vote and break ties when filling City Council vacancies. This measure passed with 473 “Yes” votes (61.35%) compared to 298 “No” votes (38.65%).

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