CRESTVIEW — Lifelong resident Landrum “Lanny” Edwards has qualified to run for mayor in the March 2015 election.
Edwards, a Crestview representative on the Okaloosa Walton Transportation Planning Organization’s Citizens Advisory Council, has long advocated for a bypass around Crestview to alleviate some State Road 85 traffic.
“I will work on getting a bypass around the city of Crestview even if I have to walk to Tallahassee and talk to the representatives and the governor,” he said in March 2013.
Edwards also strongly supports improving downtown parking and stopping what he calls “wasteful spending that does not benefit the people of Crestview.”
One of his biggest goals is boosting residents' interest in city government.
“When 500 people can elect a city councilman and there’s 26,000 people here, we need to have more participation,” he said.
He has owned Edwards Machine Shop for more than 20 years, is a four-year Navy veteran and is retired from civil service at Eglin Air Force Base.
He regularly attends City Council meetings and frequently comments on current issues during citizen comment periods.
Edwards unsuccessfully campaigned last year to unseat former City Councilman Ben Iannucci III. Joe Blocker won the Precinct 1 position.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview resident qualifies for mayoral race