Staff Reports
Incumbents on the Fort Walton Beach City Council and Laurel Hill Mayor Robby Adams won reelection Tuesday night, while Destin voters greenlit a referendum to change rules governing city parks.
The Fort Walton Beach election was a battle royale, with a dozen candidates vying for just three seats on the commission.
The slate included incumbent Councilmembers Nic Allegretto and David Schmidt as well as challengers Gloria DeBerry, Jason Floyd, Sean Murphy, Debra Riley, Brad Roehrig, Michael Rojas, Travis Smith, Gareth Stearns, Sonya Lynn Vazquez and T. Payne Walker.
With all precincts reporting, and a handful of mail ballots left, Schmidt had received the most votes. Smith followed in a comfortable second place while Allegretto appears to have survived in a nail-biter — just 75 votes separated him from Riley, the apparent fourth-place finisher.
In Laurel Hill, Adams cruised in a head-to-head against Travis Dewrell, earning 123 votes to his 79. His reelection came on the same night the town decided that it would, indeed, continue to exist.
A referendum on the ballot would have dissolved Laurel Hill, home to about 600. About 50 residents petitioned for the referendum. A score more took their side on Election Day, though nearly twice as many voted it down.
Also, Destin voters cast ballots on a referendum that would prohibit the city from selling, leasing or transferring its interest in a city park without the support of at least five members of the seven-member city council.
With 1,283 votes cast, the referendum passed with 89% support.
