In the March 20 News Bulletin, you’ll see some blistering remarks for the 89 1/2 percent of Crestview residents who didn’t vote in last week’s municipal elections.

The message is simple: If you don’t vote, don’t complain.

It’s a catchy slogan worthy of a bumper sticker, but carries little weight. We Americans often like to have our cake and eat it, too, so the apathetic non-voter who wants to weigh in on the potential skateboard park or other public improvements can complain to his or her heart’s content without consequence.

The secret ballot doesn’t expose citizens, and they won’t implicate themselves as non-voters, so it’s a moot point. 

The truth is, Crestview could present a ticker-tape parade encouraging people to vote, a grassroots organization could convince dozens of residents to wear “Vote” T-shirts; and students could have relentlessly pestered their parents, brothers, sisters and other 18-and-up relatives to visit the polls.

It wouldn’t have made much difference.

Residents read about the election in the newspaper or on the Internet; they heard about it on the radio or television; friends talked about it; and even if they otherwise hadn’t heard about it, motorists doubtless saw the campaign signs throughout the city.

They knew — they just didn’t care. Because “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,” “Pawn Stars” or “Duck Dynasty” was more important.

That’s the culture. We can deconstruct it, call attention to it and maybe even make non-voters temporarily regret silencing their own voice. But it probably wouldn’t change much.

And even if it did, just for a moment, “NCIS” would return from commercial break and the thought would vanish.

We trust that our newly elected leaders in Crestview and Laurel Hill have their communities and residents’ best interests at heart.

However, we remind the non-voting public that some movers and shakers in this country get into politics to run roughshod with their agenda, using the uninformed citizenry’s apathy to win office.

Who’s to say, at some point in the future, it couldn’t happen here?

But enough of that unpleasantness.

In this week’s Editor’s Desk, let’s shift to a more productive group: Okaloosa County change agents who are making a difference.

Bill Robinson, the Okaloosa/Walton United Way president and CEO, is retiring after 25 years of service that certainly inspired numerous residents, over the years, to give back to their community.  Prior to his time at United Way, he served for the Boy Scouts of America.

Yvonne Wood, a Crestview military spouse and mother of two, has said her “destiny” is to help non-profit causes. Her latest effort is one of the most selfless things we have heard of: entering a contest to win a trip abroad — not to Paris, but rather to visit the poor and place canvas shoes on their feet. (See “Fulfilling her 'destiny,'” March 20, A1.)

Carson Caldwell, a Riverside Elementary student, was sick of bullying and decided to do something about it. He created a Bully Box for anonymous reporting of behavior that violates Okaloosa County School Codes. (See “Anti-bully Pulpit.")

But it doesn’t take as much effort as these residents to create change.

Jimmy Wrye wrote a letter to the editor criticizing heavy traffic on the left turn lane to John King Road. The letter published two weeks ago in the News Bulletin and he soon received feedback from county authorities who could relieve the situation, he said.

We will keep monitoring the traffic situation and will let you know of improvements.

Additionally, we will keep reporting on north Okaloosa County residents who make a difference in their community.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbEditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: Let’s move past apathy and celebrate change

A Crestview nursing home nurse accused of stealing patients’ prescription medications has an April 9 court date.

The woman was charged with larceny, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription, and opium or derivative 4 grams to under 30 kilograms following a Feb. 24 investigation and her admission to the crimes, according to police reports.

She had in her possession more than 100 pills intended for different patients, and said she needed them to relieve a previous surgery’s pain.

The News Bulletin’s website, crestviewbulletin.com, and its Facebook page, Crestview.Bulletin, reported the incident last week.

The comments, from our view, were more shocking than the case itself.

“Another piece of crap,” one Facebook reader said.

Another reader liked that comment. 

Some, like Deborah Meyers Steward — who earned this week’s Top Comment designation (See the print-exclusive "Hubbub" in the March 13 edition) — were the voice of reason.

“Addiction is a horrible disease; it does not mean you are a horrible person,” she said.

We are not doctors and cannot present a diagnosis; but hypothetically, the likelihood of drug dependence increases with easy access and risk factors like depression and anxiety disorders, according to U.S. National Library of Medicine.

In such a case, symptoms include practicing secret rituals to hide drug use, malnutrition, using drugs despite their harm to work and home life, and ultimately lacking control over drug use.

Lacking control over your body — being powerless in a hopeless battle you can’t win alone.

If someone admits to such a medically documented condition, and there’s no evidence to doubt his or her intentions, why cast scorn?

Alcoholics Anonymous’ Twelve Steps, the model for numerous compulsion and addiction recovery courses, state the first positive step is admitting you have a problem.

We often hear the phrase “so and so was arrested without incident”—which means no resistance, no obstruction of justice. Knowing this information may soften, however slightly, the public’s perception of the suspect. After all, someone willing to face the charges must be certain of his or her innocence, or at least respects due process.

However, facing consequences and doing the hardest thing an addict can do — admit there is a problem — particularly is notable and, in the absence of other evidence, is laudable.

Too often, readers see arrest reports and mug shots and react passionately, assuming the worst.

Though we share concerns about the region’s drug problems, particularly the seemingly ubiquitous methamphetamine labs, let us remember two things: people are innocent until proven guilty and to err is human.

Readers sometimes speak harshly about suspects in arrest reports, but such publication satisfies the press’s and government’s transparency and shouldn’t denote guilt. That’s for a court to decide.

Further, people are human.

Okaloosa County’s Drug Court requires substance abuse treatment and couples sanctions with incentives to help rehabilitate residents and break addiction.

The state court system does not give up on people so why should their neighbors?

As reader Laurie Ryan Peterson writes on our Facebook page, “Addiction is insidious. Many are lost in it until they hit bottom.”

A compassionate word from someone who understands that this could happen to your son, daughter, mother, father, husband, wife, best friend, lover, or anyone else close to you.

And it’s beyond their control.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: Show compassion for people with addictions

A reader in today’s Hubbub refers to the city of Crestview’s attempts to attract businesses with incentives as a “sweetheart deal.” However, this carries an unnecessarily negative connotation because it happens all the time.

Part of the Okaloosa County Economic Development Council’s job is to explain the benefits of locating businesses here and informing industries of incentives that might sweeten the deal.

County tax exemptions for property improvements, limited tax refunds per job created and capital loan options for manufacturers are among such incentives.

Reporter Brian Hughes and I recently sat down with Kay Rasmussen, the EDC’s interim president, who explained the organization’s drive to bring businesses that complement tent pole industries to the county — and to attract new industries when one tent pole needs replacing.

Can big businesses afford to move here without perks? Many people believe they can. However, as the Supreme Court taught us in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission: corporations are people. And like people, they shop around for good deals, too.

Other counties and states use incentives in a virtual bidding war for businesses that will enhance the area’s prestige and stimulate the local economy. It’s legal — and in the EDC’s case, it benefits the greater good, putting more Okaloosans to work.

Our reader says, “Whatever the policy is needs to be even and fair across the board.” It typically is, since all areas bid for these businesses and know the rules.

 However, what’s questionable is the deal — or no deal — that occurred between the city and developers of two residential projects and a retail and restaurant center. Developers said they were promised waived sewer impact fees, though that didn’t appear in a written agreement; the city says that’s not the case since sewer impact fees, by law, can’t be waived.

We’re not pointing fingers, but such confusion does raise questions.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 850-682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: Developers’ confusion raises questions

A local election is coming March 12, and some candidates have outlandish ideas about what this city needs for “entertainment.”

Dr. G. Sieber Pancoast, a former state senator in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, once said that the “duty of municipalities is to provide for the population those things that they cannot provide for themselves.” He cited the need for police and fire protection and for infrastructure and roadways.

Conversely, in an economic democracy, he suggested that the population should provide whatever the population wants.

This is where the entrepreneur enters the picture.

Some candidates — and regrettably I have not heard all speak — have grandiose ideas of what the city should do for relatively small groups of residents. 

How much is a skateboard ramp going to cost? Aside from building the ramp, how about the cost of land, utilities, policing and parking? How many individuals will use the park, and what will be the cost?

Another idea expressed over the past several years has been a city-created series of baseball/softball diamonds that would attract traveling teams to come to Crestview for tournaments that will bring added revenue to several merchants.

Did you read that these fields would be made available for use by local youths?

I think not. 

Therefore, and using Pancoast’s idea, let some citizen, or group of citizens, expend the dollars for such a project, and then they can enjoy the profits, if any.

Several months ago, I walked into City Hall and asked for a specific employee, and I was told that the employee’s services were determined to be no longer needed because of a budget cutback.

Let’s see, cut well qualified employees because of a lack of funds, and then go out and build a skateboard ramp, or a collection of ball diamonds?

Perhaps we need politicians who understand the role of government.

Bob Allen is a retired city council member who lives in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MY VIEW: Some council candidates have 'outlandish' spending plans

The sequester goes into effect Friday if Congress can’t come up with a sensible budget both sides of the aisle can agree on.

Which means it’s probably going to happen.

Spending cuts of $1.2 trillion over 10 years were ordered a year and a half ago if a budget deficit reduction plan couldn’t be reached.

“Those automatic, across-the-board spending cuts were supposed to be so painful it would force the president and Congress to make a deal,” as Chris Wallace explained on Fox News.

Not so much.

We’re a day away, with no sign of reprieve. So 700,000 civilian defense workers nationwide would have to take off one day a week — a 20 percent pay cut. Okaloosa County’s civilian workers face significant hits to their household incomes.

Private businesses that contract with civilian workers, lacking necessary government oversight, may consider furloughs themselves, as reporter Brian Hughes learned from InDyne General Manager Jim Heald.

Florida’s federally funded senior meal programs face a $3.8 million cut and 1,700 low-income college students will lose their work study positions, according to the Panama City News Herald.

Watch the dominoes fall.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi proves herself hopelessly tone deaf when asked whether the same lawmakers who made this all possible should take a pay cut.

"Most of my colleagues are the breadwinners in their families,” Pelosi told CNN. "A pay cut, to me, doesn't mean as much."

Earth to Pelosi: A 20 percent pay cut for a Congress member earning $174,000 annually pales in contrast to hacking, say, a $40,000, $20,000 or even $17,000 salary, just some of the amounts on the civilian pay scales, according to the Defense Finance and Accounting Service website.

The country’s median household income — which includes not just one earner, but anyone more than 15 years old — is around $50,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. One Congress member earns more than three times as much.

Everyday folks working 40-hour grinds or stacked part-time jobs are the true breadwinners; lawmakers who take a vacation when this country needs them most — particularly those with a 15 percent approval rating, according to the latest Gallup poll — are overpaid slackers.

It takes a law to change Congress’ compensation, according to the 27th Amendment, and the change wouldn’t occur until the next election anyway, but Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Rep. Mick Mulvaney, R-S.C., used a loophole to promote good morale. Paul returned $600,000, or 20 percent, of his office budget to the U.S. Treasury; Mulvaney plans to return $160,000, or 12 percent, of his office budget to the federal government, CNN reported.

Some bright spots amid appallingly poor optics.

Like President Barack Obama’s golf outing with Tiger Woods and First Lady Michelle Obama’s media blitz that included a dancing appearance on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” and schmoozing, via satellite, with the 1 percent during Sunday Night’s Academy Awards.

Okaloosa civilians facing unexpected pay cuts, it’s safe to say, don’t care who wins that Best Picture award, Mrs. Obama. That’s the fantasy world. We’re in the real world.

And congressional Republicans and Democrats need to play "Let's Make a Deal."

 I’ve always believed that you should avoid not just impropriety but the appearance of impropriety, which this nation’s leaders have exhibited in spades.

Change out of the dresses and leisurewear, cancel the talk show appearances, get into some business attire, roll up your sleeves, and for goodness’ sake, get to work.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 850-682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: Poor optics surround nation’s leaders prior to sequester

Sunday, I watched “Demolition Man,” a 1993 science fiction action film that occurs in San Angeles, a hybrid community of San Diego and Los Angeles, circa 2032.

The film — which stars Sylvester Stallone and Sandra Bullock, among other Hollywood heavyweights — follows the 20th century’s top risk-taking police officer, John Spartan (Stallone), after he is thawed out from a cryogenic prison to fight crime in a futuristic world devoid of violence. 

The filmmakers must have anticipated radical changes within the next 40 years, as San Angeles, its architecture, technology, public servants and services, residents and their attire starkly contrast those of the 1990s.

All vices have been outlawed — public swearing even violates a so-called verbal morality statute; the police force can’t counter rare violent acts; most residents wear robes; and human sexuality has become digitized, lacking — what Lt. Lenina Huxley (Bullock) cringes to say — “fluid transfer.”

Spartan encounters quite a culture shock when the San Angeles P.D. thaws him from that ice cube.

But that’s a theatrical illusion that requires us to suspend disbelief — all while thinking, “Still, why couldn’t they have set the movie in 2200 or 2300?”

In reality, change takes time. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and San Angeles’ cultural shift likely wouldn’t have occurred after four decades.

Crestview residents can bet that the Hub City, its architecture and infrastructure likely won’t change as fast as things do in the movies.

Proposals for a sports complex and a pedestrian-and-bicycle corridor joining Main Street with Twin Hills Park give residents hope that more amenities are on the horizon.

However, widening P.J. Adams Parkway, which experiences a steady stream of rush hour traffic, would cost $100 million and likely won’t happen before 2030, county officials have said. County Commissioner Wayne Harris called a 2012 study for the project “pie in the sky.”

We hear that some shoulder work and widening will occur sooner than expected between State Road 85 and Ashley Drive, so that's a start. 

Still, a perfect example of how unrealistic movies can be.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 850-682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: In Crestview, progressive change will take time

Today, husbands, wives, and couples young and old received jewelry, chocolates and other thoughtful gifts.

High school sweethearts received concert tickets or exchanged music playlists.

Secret admirers in middle school dropped cards and candy hearts in bags taped to the objects of their affections’ desks.

It’s a familiar scene each year as Feb. 14 approaches.

We all know the story. Valentine’s Day rolls around and greeting card companies and other merchants make a ton of money while countless Americans inevitably fall further into debt — after all, love isn’t true till it’s expressed with a diamond necklace, charm bracelet or gold wristwatch, right?

This year, the News Bulletin isn’t concerned with the materialistic, bank-breaking part of Valentine’s Day.

Nor are we interested in its antagonistic counterpart, Singles Awareness Day.

Rather, we wanted to focus on a less publicized relationship: not between husband and wife, boyfriend and girlfriend, other lovers or “It’s complicated” pairings.

This week, we will celebrate puppy love.

No, not the instant relationship between angst-filled, adoring high-school students with raging hormones and drama in spades.

Not the Paul Anka song, either. (But yes, to the 17-year-old in that song — and the one in the Donny Osmond cover, for that matter — your situation actually is “puppy love.” Get over it.)

But I digress.

Instead of those familiar cases, we use the term quite literally, as high school students’ revolving door of instant crushes can’t match the bond between a dog and its owner.

Love at first sight

We all know someone who treats his or her canine companion as more of a family member and less of a pet.

Carly, my brother’s English springer spaniel, receives constant cuddling, rubbing and affection when she enters the room. She’s allowed to eat her kibble in the kitchen and sleep in his bedroom. He shows her off around town, talks about how she stole the show when he showed her off, and instantaneously sings songs about her.

We didn’t grow up that way — sure, we had countless dogs and cats over the years, but they all lived outside. Mom wanted it to stay that way, too; a house was no place for an animal.

But with Carly, it was love at first sight.

I realized that on the day my brother adopted her from a breeder who used her for seven years to produce purebreds. Part of the satisfaction in adopting a dog — especially one whom we insist is special, like Carly — comes from knowing we show her more affection in a weekend than she probably ever received during her time on that ranch. 

Parenting dogs

I have friends who treat their dogs as they would their babies. One woman says caring for her pint-sized, extremely hyperactive Maltese provides valuable training for future parenthood; she even calls the dog her “boy,” her “child” and her “heart.”

Who can blame her?

Spend just a few minutes with them and it’s clear that the pair share something special. I’ve spent countless hours with them and know it’s a bond I’d hate to see broken — inevitably — by a canine’s short life expectancy.

She had him since he was a pup. Since then, she’s been his sole provider, feeding him, sheltering him and maintaining his health. She fulfills his needs and, by definition, parents him.

A mystical bond

What is this connection between humans and canines that makes these animals inseparable from their owners?

This bond spurred attorney George Graham Vest to argue for judgment against a sheep farmer who killed a Missouri man’s foxhound in 1869.

He stated in his landmark closing argument, "The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog."

These words became immortal, inscribed on a historical marker in Owensboro, Ky., Vest’s birth state.

The phrase “man’s best friend” purportedly precipitated from the closing argument.

A statue commemorating Old Drum, the foxhound who met the business end of a neighbor’s gun, stands before the Johnson County Courthouse in Warrensburg, Mo.

All this for a dog — or, more important, for the love of dogs.

That’s some bond.

But Vest’s speech told half the story. Canine companionship extends well beyond company for the lonely when it becomes a healing modality.

Dog therapy

“Dogs truly can heal,” The Saturday Evening Post reported in its November/December 2011 issue. A patient’s heart rate slows and blood pressure drops with just one look at a therapy dog. The human-canine connection decreases dementia patients’ agitation, and “corrosive hormones generated by stress that damage arteries and play a part in so many diseases and disorders plummet,” the magazine reports.

Crestview resident Janice Marcus has experienced such healing qualities with her collies, Jasmine and Shane, whose companionship played a significant role in her recovery following a life-threatening condition, reporter Brian Hughes learned.

Crestview’s own Dozer the Therapy Dog is a Great Dane who regularly visits assisted living facilities and local organizations and buildings — like the Crestview Public Library — specifically to help people.

And we haven't forgotten about you, Jada, a border collie-golden retriever mix and licensed therapy dog, who will  appear at the library on Feb.  26. 

We don’t have all the answers.

Some things, like the powerful bond between a dog and his human, are worth a special look.

The newspaper would like to spotlight this mystical, life-saving kind of puppy love this Valentine’s Day.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: Let's celebrate puppy love this Valentine's Day

Beauty fades, but true love lasts forever.

So much in this world is fleeting, which is why clinging to things that matter is so important.

Marrying someone for superficial reasons — including physical attraction or social standing — is fruitless because looks and money can go away.

However, the soul stays constant, and that’s what matters most.

You wouldn’t know that from interviews with celebrities who usually celebrate the superficial side.

Cosmopolitan’s March cover girl Miley Cyrus — a 20-year-old actor and musician engaged to actor Liam Hemsworth — recently said a mouthful on how she sees her fiancé.

“Do you ever have these moments when you're still struck by how hot he is?” the magazine’s interviewer said, as quoted on the publication’s website.

“I'll literally look at him and be like ‘You are hot, dear god!’ The other day, I turned on the pool heater and it was steaming, and he walked outside and took off his clothes and jumped in the pool,” Cyrus said.

“I was like, ‘I'm gonna faint — the hottest guy of my life is in a steaming pool. This looks like a Playgirl shoot.’ So I took a photo and made it the background on my phone. My best friend grabbed my phone and was like, "Who's that? He is so hot!’ That's my hubby!”

And that’s all Hemsworth’s fiancée said about him, according to the magazine's website.

Nothing about the couple’s friendship, her fiancé's spirituality or his good nature.

Just a sound bite from a girl who sounds more like a groupie, less like a woman considering a lifelong commitment.

Maybe that’s all the magazine chose to use. It doesn’t matter, either way, because impressionable readers will equate “hot” with love, based on this isolated description of the relationship.

The well-circulated interview is an example of modern values.

Though we laud freedom of speech, and should, constant, widespread spectacles of opposing values and worldviews is relatively new. No time before rivals today, with the barrage of celebrities, their lifestyles and causes constantly appearing on television, in print, on computers and phones.

Often, these messages rival children’s morals or values from their upbringing.

Distractions, whether from a magazine interview or hip-hop music, undermine attention toward current affairs and world events.

Beyonce Knowles — and any other pop star — will come and go, but helping to form a perfect union in this country, working toward equality and sound governance, should always be in fashion.

Bob Sikes Elementary fourth-grader Justice Livingston understands that.

After the News Bulletin’s Jan. 19 and 26 editions reported on her Inaugural Day trip to Washington D.C., readers’ unanimous online response matched our initial impressions of the well-spoken and informed student.

I met Justice and her grandmother last week, just after she returned from her trip, and gained greater insight beyond words on a page.

Proudly wearing a “Barack Obama: 43rd President of the United States” T-shirt from his first inauguration, she recounted her experience, a dream come true for a girl who twice wrote the commander in chief: first in kindergarten in 2009 and just last November.

Knowles’ performance was a passing mention as she spoke with reporter Brian Hughes. The student was more excited about the historical Inaugural Parade, the president she supports, and the goals she hopes his administration can achieve.

Many children her age develop obsessions with video games, TV shows and other entertainment that becomes mindless in extreme doses.

But that’s not the case for Justice, whose grandparents keep her grounded, occasionally finish her sentences to reinforce their values, and teach her the importance of civic involvement.

Put down the magazines, girls and boys, and find real role models.

Contact News Bulletin Editor Thomas Boni at 850-682-6524 or tboni@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbeditor.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: EDITOR'S DESK: Kids today need enduring role models

Editor's Note: The Crestview City Council election is March 12. The News Bulletin has sent questionnaires to office candidates and plans to publish their information leading up to the election so you can make an informed decision.

It has been less than three months since the last general election and, for the most part, the campaign signs have all but evaporated — except for about a half-dozen that still decorate our landscape.

Just when things start returning to normal, a fresh crop of colorful signs, much like mushrooms or fire ant mounds, seemingly pop up to catch our eyes and convey a simple message: vote for me!

If you see enough of these signs, you’ll know who has qualified for the campaign. You will learn the candidates' names, and if you slow, or stop to read them, you’ll learn which office an individual hopes to secure.

However, if you rely on the campaign signs to learn each office seeker's identity, I am sorry to state that these signs leave much to be desired. Unless the sign incorporates a photo of the candidate, you won’t even know on which side he or she parts his or hair — assuming the political hopeful has hair.

Here is a suggestion: learn something about those wanting your vote. What you have is highly desired by office seekers; a sufficient number of votes will put them in office for the next four years, while just one less than some other seeking the same office will put him, or her, into the “also ran” category.

Nationally, and even statewide, candidates will visit innumerable sites and make countless speeches, supposedly telling voters what they will do once elected and sworn into office. 

Typically, this is not the case in local elections.

Most candidates are employed and must be at their jobs most days. They rely on door-to-door campaigning on weekends, a couple of ads in the newspaper, or taking part in various organizations' meet-and-greet sessions.

If you do not participate in these opportunities to learn something about an otherwise total stranger, what would be the basis for casting your vote?

Some organizations, or their representatives, will make a valiant attempt to persuade you to vote for a certain candidate. Frankly, they may be backing a well-qualified individual, or they may be backing an individual whom they feel will be easily manipulated and swayed once sworn in.

It is your responsibility to learn about the candidates and make an educated decision concerning who should be in office.

You are a part of the electorate, and allelected officials are in their positions because of votes cast by a majority of electorate members who have cast ballots.

It is up to you. 

Don’t waste your vote on an individual because of gender, skin color, religion or any other distinguishing feature. 

Learn about the candidates and vote for the ones you feel are best qualified to lead this city for the next four years.

Bob Allen is a former city councilman who lives in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MY VIEW: Study each city council candidate before voting