Editor's Note: Voters of municipal elections on March 12 will decide several positions in Crestview and Laurel Hill city governments.
To help readers make informed decisions at the polls, the News Bulletin will publish profiles of each candidate running for office in each edition of the newspaper leading up to the election. Today, we profile two candidates running for Crestview City Council's Precinct 3 position.
Each candidate was asked to answer the same questions and received the same amount of space to respond. Candidates appear alphabetically.
CHARLES BAUGH JR.
Personal:Aerospace contractor; married to the former Roslyn Glenn; three children — Charles III, Nicholas and Candice, who is a USAF reservist stationed at Duke Field.
Retired USAF “Nomad” with 28 years of service. Member of Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church of Crestview. 2010 Crestview Chamber of Commerce Dr. W.J. “Doc” Burrows Citizen of the Year award recipient. President, Northwest Florida League of Cities, member of the Florida League of Cities board of directors, FLC Transportation and Governmental Relations Committee, Northwest Florida Regional Transportation Planning Organization and Okaloosa-Walton Transportation Planning Organization representative, All Sports Association Inc. of Fort Walton Beach.
Co-Chairman, 3rd Masonic District No Child Without Healthcare Fair and former president: Crestview Kiwanis Club International and Okaloosa County League of Cities.
Relevant experience:
As your council member, I was instrumental in facilitating the reduction of city property tax to 1996 levels.
Led efforts to improve residential and commercial retail development by removing impact fee obstacles.
First to conduct line-item review of entire city fiscal year budget.
Helped in the establishment of the FAMU Crestview Education Center. Four-plus years of council experience including serving as council president, vice president and Crestview Redevelopment Agency chairman and vice chairman.
Other education/experience: 96 semester hours, Nuclear Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Associate of Applied Science, Information Systems Technology: Community College of the Air Force, Graduate Senior Non Commissioned Officer School, Maxwell AFB, Ala., Associate of Applied Science, Aircraft Accessory Systems Technology, Maxwell AFB, Ala., Graduate of the John Scott Dailey Florida Institute of Government's Basic and Advanced Institute for Elected Municipal Officials course and Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Council Weekend Institute for Elected Officials.
Reason you seek this position: I have enjoyed my first term, but there is still much work required to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of local government.
Through teamwork with our economic partners, the groundwork has been laid to provide substantial retail opportunities within our city and provide logical steps for the expansion of our city.
I have the vision and drive to prepare our Hub City of Crestview for the future. I will continue to work to improve our city services, emphasize transparency and accountability, and foster an economic environment conducive to attracting jobs and higher education for our citizens.
Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: During my first term, we provided our children higher education opportunities through FAMU and Embry-Riddle.
Now, retail and restaurants within Crestview are the biggest problem on our citizens' minds. I worked to eliminate public school, transportation concurrency and proportionate fair share impact fees from the city’s ordinances and comprehensive plan.
Ordinance 1487, providing for a 24-month waiver period for the collection of the traffic impact fee, will be the conduit for a possible explosion of retail in Crestview.
The estimated 1,400 jobs and major retailers coming to the city will no doubt inject economic stimulus across the board.
MICKEY RYTMAN
Personal: Born and raised in Crestview; proud father of two daughters and grandfather to five grandchildren.
Newly appointed chairman for the Local Planning Agency for Crestview and sits on the Façade Improvement Grants Review Board for the CRA.
Has been involved with many other civic groups within the city. Member at First Baptist Church of Crestview.
Relevant experience:I currently chair the Local Planning Agency for the city of Crestview and serve on the Community Redevelopment Agency Grants Review Board.
I am a member and past president of the Main Street Crestview Association. I have years of experience dealing with city government through these positions.
I have attended many city council meetings and I am a concerned citizen.
Other education/experience:I attended Crestview High School and Okaloosa-Walton Community College with credits towards a degree in Industrial Management Technology.
I have attended Florida State Fire College and many building and trade schools.
I have been general manager for three government contractors and project manager, managing hundreds of employees.
I now work for Okaloosa Growth Management as a building/fire inspector.
Reason you seek this position: I want to bring the feeling of unity, trust and confidence back into the Crestview city government.
I want to listen to the citizens and let their voices be heard. I want the Crestview citizens to have confidence in their leaders and know that that their concerns will be heard.
I feel we need more industry, stores and jobs to support our rapid growth and I am prepared to put the wheels in motion to catch up with our rapid growth.
We need traffic problems solved and more jobs now.
Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it: I will research and apply for federal and/or state grants and federal emergency monies to alleviate our current traffic problems.
I will find new ways to encourage a wide variety of newer and larger industries and businesses to come to Crestview and look for ways the city can reduce initial fees for new developments.
I will play close attention to contracts with the city, reviewing contractor qualifications, reviewing the budget, and spending the city money wisely!
Our city morale is down, so I will also search for ways to stabilize and improve the morale among the employees and the citizens.
Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MEET THE CANDIDATES: Local Planning Agency chairman challenges Crestview incumbent