CRESTVIEW — Graham Fountain, Republican, retired state law enforcement director and former undersheriff, seeks election to the Okaloosa County Commission District 1 seat being held by Wayne Harris, who will not seek re-election.
He served in the administrations of Gov. Jeb Bush, Florida CFOs Gen. Robert Milligan and Tom Gallagher, Okaloosa Sheriff Larry Gilbert and Walton Sheriff Mike Adkinson, and is a seasoned legislative and regulatory advocate and public policy expert. He was commissioner of the Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation Commission and the State Historical Commission, and served on the USDOJ and Florida Homeland Security Advisory Councils.
He has managed over $400 million in budgets and work capital project program dollars, and has led more than 1,000 employees. While director (colonel) of Law Enforcement for the Florida Department of Transportation under Jeb Bush's administration, Fountain served on the department’s executive committee and was involved in the delivery of all statewide transportation projects and programs.
Directing a statewide build out of commercial vehicle inspection facilities and law enforcement and communications operations centers, Fountain gained experience in road building, building construction and information technologies. He also served on the ESG-16 support function in the state emergency operations center, making decisions on emergency management operations during activations and out-of-state deployments.
As financial investigations chief for Florida CFO Bob Milligan, Fountain directed the state’s Fiscal Integrity Program, which identified and investigated waste, fraud and abuse in state and local agencies receiving and spending public funds.
Fountain holds a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice/Political Science from Troy State University and received his master’s degree in Management and Leadership Studies from Liberty University Graduate School of Business.
He is a graduate of the American Association of Highway Safety and Transportation Officials’ Executive Leadership Academy, Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute’s Chief Executive Program at Florida State University, The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center at Glynco, and over 2,000 hours' advanced training in accreditation, quality assurance with Sterling Organizational Excellence Systems, leadership and management, homeland security, emergency management, and public safety technology.
Fountain plans to focus his campaign on the continued restoration of trust in county government; economic development; highway capacity issues; and making sure county government is well prepared for emergency management challenges in the future.
A strict constitutionalist and champion of full transparency in governance, Fountain will work with other board members and the Clerk of Court to fully implement a comprehensive website for the public to review all budget work, financial transactions and expenditures, and public employees’ salaries.
He also will propose a “county citizens academy,” similar to citizens academies held by the sheriff and local police departments." He pledges to donate a portion of his salary, if elected, to local charities and non-profits that serve the county.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Retired law enforcement director, former Okaloosa undersheriff eyes county commission