Editor's Note: Voters of municipal elections on March 12 will decide several positions in Crestview and Laurel Hill governments.

To help readers make informed decisions at the polls, the News Bulletin will publish profiles of each candidate running for these offices over the next six editions, beginning with today's profiles of the three candidates for Crestview city clerk.

Each candidate was asked to answer the same questions and received the same amount of space to respond. Candidates appear alphabetically.

WANDA G. DAVIS

Personal:Single/Divorced. Two sons, Larry Roberts Jr. and Jason Roberts, reside in Crestview. My parents, grandparents, great grandparents — all resided in north Okaloosa County.

Relevant experience:

I have 20-plus years of management in the medical field, as well as the past 10-plus years as a Realtor/broker. I have experience in accounts receivable, accounts payable, book keeping, budgets, insurance filing, personnel, payroll, maintenance of all records, negotiating contracts, state and local audits as well as medical audits, quality control, hiring subcontractors (IT personnel, transcriptionist, maintenance, etc). Responsible to make sure all personnel were licensed, certifications and (continuing education) were current. Responsible for making sure all patients and customers were satisfied.

Other education/experience: Florida notary, real estate and broker license with the continued education that is required.

Reason you seek this position:

To give the city back to the citizens.

I want to give the citizens back their voice in our local government as well as their confidence in our local elected officials. I want to put transparency, integrity and accountability back into our elective positions and make the citizens of Crestview proud of our community once again.

The city of Crestview has been a wonderful place for families to raise our children and future leaders of not just this city, but our state, as we have in the past.

Our local citizens were proud of where we lived and not ashamed of what goes on in our local government.

Our citizens could stop our elected officials on the streets, in our restaurants and discuss the topics and issues as well as their concerns and knew that they would get honest answers.

I want to help make Crestview a place to be proud of once again.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it:

To earn the trust of our citizens.

As your city clerk, there will be an “open door” policy, total transparency, accountability for the actions of myself and staff to our employer, the city of Crestview — you the citizens.

I will work diligently to make you proud of our city and be accountable to you, the people of this fine city. To be able to accomplish this, I need your votes.

Everyone talks how Crestview’s citizens do not go to the polls to vote; let’s prove them wrong with this election on March 12. I am counting on each registered voter to make their voice heard this election.

Go vote and I will gladly put your voice back into your city!

J.T. (JOHN THOMAS) KINSEY

Personal: Married to the former Drew Henley of Clarksdale, Miss. They have two daughters, two sons and seven grandchildren. Kinsey is a member of the University of Georgia Alumni Association, the Disabled American Veterans Auxiliary Chapter 57, the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce and co-owner, with his wife, of Elite Yarns, LLC. He is a member of Allapattah Baptist Church. He and Drew attend multiple churches throughout Northwest Florida.

Relevant experience:

I have over 31 years of increasingly responsible management and leadership experience working for the Department of Defense in the Defense Commissary Agency.

I held a variety of junior, middle and senior executive management and administrative positions in stateside and overseas environments at field, regional and headquarter levels.

My extensive management experience enabled me to develop exceedingly strong administrative, operational and leadership skills in human resources, acquisitions, budget execution, program management and strategic planning.  

Other education/experience:

Upon earning a bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia, my professional career has been in public service, serving active duty, reservists, veterans and retirees of our military departments in a variety of increasingly responsible management and leadership positions.

My qualifications are the result of a broad scope of assignments I excelled in throughout my career.

The knowledge, skills and abilities I attained enabled me to be the recipient of numerous performance, leadership, meritorious and distinguished-service awards during my career.

Reason you seek this position:

I seek this position because my qualifications and leadership abilities are superior to those of my opponents and that enables me to best represent the citizens of Crestview.

More importantly, my career of public service clearly demonstrates I am more than capable of serving the citizens of Crestview.

A candidate elected by the citizens serves those individuals by carrying out the duties of the position in the best interest of the majority of the constituents.

Based upon previous incidents that have occurred within the office, I am better able to serve the citizens than the incumbent or the other opponent. 

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it:

The largest issue this position faces is to restore the citizenry’s faith and trust in the office of city clerk.

Utilizing integrity as the cornerstone, this will be addressed by requiring a concerted effort on the part of all personnel associated with the city clerk’s office to conduct themselves in the utmost ethical, honest and professional manner in all endeavors they undertake.

The citizens of Crestview will be provided the optimum in transparency and customer service by all departments and personnel that fall within the purview of the city clerk.

ELIZABETH "BETSY" ROY

Personal: Crestview resident since 1995; member of First United Methodist Church; manager for Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc. for 25 years.

Secretary/past president of the Kiwanis Club of Crestview; recipient of the James E. Plew Community Ambassador Awardfrom Eglin AFB; former honorary commander at Eglin AFB and Duke Field; and Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce member.

Recipient of the Bob Sikes Patriot of the Year Award and recipient of the Doc Barrows Citizen of the Year Award.

Married to local businessperson Mike Roy.

Relevant experience:

Have spent my entire adult life in the business world and feel that my experience is what the city of Crestview needs to move forward.

I was appointed to the position in December of 2011 and was sworn in on Jan. 2, 2012. Every situation that has come up in the last year has been carefully researched to make sure we are giving the best answers for the city of Crestview and its citizens.

Other education/experience:

I was a department store manager and buyer for 10 years prior to becoming a manager at Cracker Barrel Old Country Store Inc.

During my 25 years with Cracker Barrel, I was both a manager and a district manager. Fortunately, my career path brought me to Crestview in November of 1995.

Reason you seek this position:

We have accomplished a lot in the last year, but there is even more that I can see that needs to be done.

I would appreciate the opportunity to build on the foundation we have started and continue to make Crestview the city of choice for Northwest Florida.

Biggest issue this position faces and how you plan to address it:

The biggest issue I see is maintaining a strong fiscal foundation for the city.

There are a lot of tough decisions that have to be made and addressed by the city council, and this position needs someone who is not afraid to bring those issues to light.

I believe I have proved that I have been that person for the last 12 months.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes at 850-682-6524 or brianh@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbBrian.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: MEET THE CANDIDATES: 2 challenge incumbent for Crestview city clerk

Okaloosa County Commissioner Wayne Harris has hired a Tallahassee attorney to represent him before the state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee next week.

The Auditing Committee voted Monday to subpoena Harris when he didn’t attend a hearing at which he and other commissioners had been asked to appear.

“I was not there (Monday) on the advice of my attorney,” he said.

Harris said he plans to consult with his lawyer, Ronald Meyer, to determine whether he will respond to the committee’s subpoena. He declined to make other comments on the Auditing Committee’s actions.

Several current and former Tourist Development Council members also face subpoenas. None of them attended Monday’s hearing despite being asked to by the Auditing Committee.

The promise of subpoenas didn’t sit well with TDC Chairman Warren Gourley or former TDC chairwoman Kathy Houchins. They told media outlets Tuesday at Seacrest Condominiums on Okaloosa Island that they are being unfairly blamed for the misuse of public money under Mark Bellinger, who led the TDC from May 2010 to May 2012.

Gourley and Houchins said they do not plan to hire attorneys and have no problem going to Tallahassee to testify before the Auditing Committee.

“I’d be more than happy to testify,” Houchins said. “I would have been there (Monday), but … I was told there was no reason to go to a public flogging.”

VIDEO: TDC Board member discusses resignation.

Houchins said she is angry that TDC members are being held accountable for Bellinger’s thefts when no county employees have been disciplined in connection with the fraud scheme.

The TDC was an advisory panel that didn’t have the authority to sign checks and never saw invoices for Bellinger’s purchases, she said.

“It was all processed through the Clerk of Court,” Houchins said. “Whoever over there who has been assigned that authority should be gone or held accountable.”

Fort Walton Beach City Councilman Bobby Nabors, who has served on the TDC for almost four years, shared Houchins’ frustration.

He said he didn’t attend the Auditing Committee’s hearing because he wasn’t “directly asked” to go.

“No one from the state ever contacted me and said, ‘Hey, Bobby, we want you to come,’ ” Nabors said Monday evening. “I heard it was just going to be a lot of political grandstanding.”

He said the committee’s decision to subpoena TDC members doesn’t make sense.

“They’re subpoenaing the volunteers who met once a month or once a quarter,” Nabors said. “But what about the full-time employees who spent 40 to 60 hours a week working hand in hand with Mark Bellinger?”

Nabors said he would have legal representation as a city councilman and would testify before the committee if subpoenaed.

The Auditing Committee, which is made up of six state representatives and five senators, questioned county officials about the TDC scandal for more than two hours Monday.

VIDEO: County officials appear before Florida auditing committee.

The committee also ordered a countywide audit of Okaloosa County’s finances as well as the Clerk of Court’s office.

Houchins and other TDC members said they never approved Bellinger’s illegal or unauthorized expenditures.

“Yet we’re the only ones who are asked to resign,” Houchins said. “Isn’t that amazing?”

County commissioners requested the resignations of the county-appointed TDC members on Feb. 5. The nine-member board is comprised of six county-appointed seats. a County Commission liaison and two seats appointed by the Destin and Fort Walton Beach City Councils.

Two of the county-appointed seats were vacant. The other four were held by Houchins, Gourley, Nick Nicholson and Patricia Hardiman.

Houchins, Nicholson and Hardiman have resigned. Gourley, who owns Venus and Seacrest condominiums on the island, has refused to step down.

“There’s no reason for me to resign or the other (members),” Gourley said. “We did nothing wrong but contribute our time and our talents.”

County Administrator Jim Curry said Tuesday he will notify county commissioners of Gourley’s decision. The board will then have to decide whether to remove him from office, he said.

Tim Edwards and Lino Maldonado, two TDC members who resigned before the county’s Feb. 5 request, still could be subpoenaed by state lawmakers.

The Auditing Committee said it would finalize a list Wednesday of county officials and employees to be subpoenaed to appear in Tallahassee.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: TDC members sound off on state subpoenas (VIDEO)

TALLAHASSEE— The state’s Joint Legislative Auditing Committee on Monday ordered a countywide audit of all Okaloosa County finances as well as an audit of the Clerk of Court’s Office.

The action came during a hearing in Tallahassee attended by four of Okaloosa County’s five commissioners as well as Clerk of Court Don Howard.

Commissioner Wayne Harris did not attend the hearing and will be subpoenaed to appear before the committee next week, members indicated. Also facing subpoenas are a majority of the county’s Tourist Development Council members, none of whom attended Monday’s hearing despite being requested to by the Auditing Committee.

Auditing Committee Chairman Sen. Joseph Abruzzo told the county that on Wednesday it would finalize a list of people who are to be subpoenaed to appear before the committee next week.

County Commission Chairman Don Amunds told the committee that four of the TDC members likely did not attend because they were asked by the county to resign Feb. 5 and are no longer on the council.

Abruzzo, D-Wellington, said he was skeptical of the county’s timing and questioned why the board waited until last week to ask for the TDC members’ resignations.

“It seems like a deliberate attempt by your board to ensure they didn’t have to come up and (testify) today. … To me, it looks extremely disingenuous.” Abruzzo said.

Amunds disagreed.

“It was not a deliberate attempt at all,” he answered.

The audits of the county government and clerk’s office will be conducted by the state Auditor General’s Office, the same entity that documented mismanagement of millions of dollars in TDC bed taxes and BP oil spill grants. The Auditing Committee, composed of six state representatives and five senators, has direct oversight of the Auditor General’s Office.

The committee questioned County Administrator Jim Curry, Commission Chairman Don Amunds and Commissioner Dave Parisot about the misuse of the bed tax money and BP oil spill grants for more than two hours during Monday’s hearing. The county officials who spoke at the hearing were sworn in before they were questioned.

Two members of the Northwest Florida legislative delegation — Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Doug Broxson — also attended the hearing and participated in the questioning.

Amunds summarized for the committee the timeline of events that have occurred in Okaloosa County since May 2012, when officials discovered the fraud scheme put in place by former TDC head Mark Bellinger. But his presentation, which included a list of policy changes commissioners have implemented in the past nine months, was interrupted by Abruzzo, who began taking questions from lawmakers.

Many of the committee members questioned county officials about which specific county employees and attorneys approved various expenditures, checks and other payments that later turned out to be illegal or unauthorized. They expressed surprise and frustration when Curry confirmed that no employees have been fired or suspended in connection with the fraud scandal.

“How could this happen? It’s just incomprehensible to me,” said Rep. Gayle B. Harrell, R-Stuart.

In response, Curry said there had been “a catastrophic failure of controls at all levels, across the board” within Okaloosa County government, allowing Bellinger’s fraud to take place.

Gaetz told the committee that the county’s response to the scandal — especially the corrective action plan it submitted to the auditor general — has been inadequate.

“It’s inadequate to the people in my community and to me as a legislator,” Gaetz said.

He said he and Okaloosa County residents have been left to wonder if the fraud is the result of “complete and utter incompetence” or if it indicates “criminal culpability.”

Abruzzo and other committee members said they wanted to understand the broader impact of the scandal on Okaloosa taxpayers.

“We would like to get an overall economic impact of what this cost the residents of Okaloosa County,” he said.

Gaetz questioned Amunds and Curry about the $1 million in promotional debit cards provided to the county by BP after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

“What human being made the decision to give Mr. Bellinger (the debit cards)?” he asked.

When Amunds referred the question to Curry, Gaetz said he found it “somewhat disconcerting” that Amunds didn’t have an answer.

Curry told the committee that he believed the Clerk of Court’s Office received the debit cards and gave them to Bellinger.

“That may have been the route,” he said.

Gaetz asked Amunds about a debit card that was provided to the Special Olympics as a prize for a golf tournament fundraiser. Amunds works part-time for the Special Olympics. He said he didn’t direct Bellinger to give the organization a debit card and didn’t find out about it until after the Sheriff’s Office began investigating Bellinger’s tenure at the TDC.

Gaetz also asked Amunds to explain what he thinks his responsibility should be in the fraud scandal.

Amunds said he and the rest of the board have a responsibility to “oversee Okaloosa County.”

“If you see an issue and you believe it’s wrong, you come up with an action plan, as we have done,” he said.

Abruzzo ended the committee meeting with a harsh rebuke of Okaloosa County leaders, telling them they had an obligation not to take advantage of the “national tragedy” that was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of April 2010.

“What has occurred here is really a travesty,” Abruzzo said.

Contact Daily News Staff Writer Kari C. Barlow at 850-315-4438 or kbarlow@nwfdailynews.com. Follow her on Twitter @KariBnwfdn.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: State orders audit of Okaloosa finances, clerk's office

Okaloosa County’s Water and Sewer Department is seeking to win a 50-year contract to operate the water distribution and wastewater collection systems at Eglin Air Force Base.

County commissioners last week approved submitting the bid by the Feb. 19 deadline.

“This is probably the most massive, most complex project I’ve been involved with,” Water and Sewer Director Jeff Littrell told the board.

Littrell and his staff are working with Constantine Engineering and Environmental Services Group to draft the proposal.

Okaloosa already handles wastewater treatment for Eglin.

Still, the scope of the latest proposal is huge, and is expected to come with multiple volumes of documents.

“Eglin Air Force Base is a very large base. It occupies a lot of land,” Littrell said.

If it wins the contract over other bidders, the county would provide water and wastewater service to the main base, Santa Rosa Island, Duke Field, Camp Rudder, the Poquito Bayou Housing Area, Camp Pinchot, the Gunter Recreation Area on White Point Road, the Army 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and numerous test sites and ranges.

The water system would include more than 652,000 feet of pipe, 747 fire hydrants, 82 water wells and 17 elevated tanks.

The wastewater collection system would include more than 398,000 feet of pipe, 1,058 manholes and 83 pumping stations.

Littrell said his department will submit three proposals — one to provide water distribution, one to provide wastewater collection and a third to provide both services.

County Commissioner Nathan Boyles praised Littrell’s team for its work on the proposal.

“I really see you guys looking big picture, and I appreciate that … You’re ultimately saving our rate payers down the road.”

Commissioner Kelly Windes agreed. He said he initially was “worried about the largeness” of the project but was reassured after speaking with the project engineers.

Commission Chairman Don Amunds said he likes the economic development aspect.

“It’s back to creating jobs and it’s a public-private partnership,” he said. “I think this is a step in the right direction.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Okaloosa to bid on water, wastewater contract for Eglin