LAUREL HILL — To fill three City Council seats, voters here chose city hall outsiders over an incumbent and a former mayor.
Among new council members is the current mayor’s wife.
Debra Adams, Daniel Lane and Scott Moneypenny will replace incumbent Willie Mae Toles, retiring Councilwoman Betty Williamson, and will fill a third seat vacant for more than a year and a half.
Former mayor and city councilwoman Joan Smith and resident Randy Tickle were also defeated.
“I am looking forward to working for the citizens of our city,” Councilwoman-elect Adams said.
In an interesting political twist, her husband is Laurel Hill Mayor Robby Adams.
“Maybe we’ll have to check our politics at the door,” Robby Adams said, laughing. “It’s a unique situation.”
He said while their relationship could lead to more cohesiveness on some city matters, it wasn’t necessarily a guarantee.
“How many husbands and wives always agree on everything?” Robby Adams said.
The couples’ boys, Dylan, 10, and Aidan, 6, were “real excited” that their mom was elected, he said.
“Debra told me our older son was calculating. He said, ‘Mom, if you serve two terms, I can vote for you on your third term.’ He’s already doing the math,” Robby Adams said.
While the mayor is a non-voting member of the council, under Florida’s Sunshine Laws, there would be some restrictions on kitchen table conversation, Adams said.
“I just can’t share with her what another council member’s thinking,” he said.
Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Issue most Laurel Hill couples don't face? Obeying Sunshine Laws