![Jennifer Jackson started the group Crestview Citizens for Change as a way to increase civic involvement and awareness for north Okaloosa residents. [PHOTO COURTESY OF JENNIFER JACKSON]](http://127.0.0.1/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ghows-DA-6d5912e7-e5cf-3743-e053-0100007f4f3c-cae0c9f4.jpeg)
CRESTVIEW — Jennifer Jackson never expected her Facebook group to become so popular.
“It took on a life of its own. This was not expected. It was kind of a knee-jerk reaction to even start the group,” Jackson said. “Then it just took off.”
Jackson and her husband, Terry, started Crestview Citizens for Change on Facebook in 2017, along with another Crestview resident, Matt Gates. They formed the group after the 2017 municipal election, in which Joe Blocker was re-elected to the city council with fewer than 600 votes cast in the race, a 3.8 percent voter turnout.
“That was appalling,” Gates said. “So the Jacksons and I got together with this idea that we were going to spur some involvement and get people involved in the city.”
Since then, the main focus for the group has been to push to amend the city charter to allow for a city manager. The city is in the process of crafting the ballot question that will appear on the August 28 primary ballot. If approved, it would allow the city council to appoint a city manager to oversee the various city departments.
Gates thinks that would be a good thing.
“I want a qualified professional to come in and set us up for success,” Gates said. “We don’t need a politician. We need a professional.”
One problem with the current form of government, Gates said, is that things move too slowly due to the city council only meeting two or three times a month.
“These guys are expected to run a city twice a month. I can’t do my job twice a month. If I can’t do my little thing over here that only has to do with me, how can they run a city effectively twice a month?”
The city council currently holds a regular meeting the second Monday of each month and a workshop the fourth Monday. Special meetings are scheduled as needed.
Gates said a major benefit of the city manager form of government is that the city manager is appointed, so he or she can be fired by the council for poor performance without having to wait for another election. The cities of Milton and DeFuniak Springs recently fired their respective city managers, leading to some controversy among Crestview’s neighbors to the east and west.
Jackson said she hasn’t thought much about what the group will focus on after the August charter vote, but she feels the group will find some way to push solutions to the problems that appear with Crestview’s growth.
“It’s growing. There’s nothing you can do to stop it,” Jackson said. “If we’re growing population-wise, then we need to be growing to support our population.”
Jackson and Gates both hope the group has an impact on voter turnout in the August 28 election and the upcoming municipal elections in 2019. Two city council seats and the mayor’s office will be up for grabs in that election, scheduled for March.
“If this whole move results in 20 percent voter turnout, I’m going to see it as a success,” Gates said.
Editor's note: While group members see membership numbers above 1,500, due to privacy settings, non members visiting the Crestview Citizens For Change page may only see a total of approximately 1,370 members.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview activism group tops 1,500 members