CRESTVIEW — Okaloosa County Commissioner Graham Fountain was a guest speaker March 12 at the Shoal River Republican Club’s monthly meeting.

Fountain, who represents most of the city of Crestview, spoke mainly on the issues of school safety and traffic.

He talked about multiple ideas that he thinks could help the traffic problem but said one of the biggest obstacles was a lack of funding. One potential solution he talked about was extending the bed tax to the north end of Okaloosa County in order to justify using more county funds for building roads around Crestview.

Fountain said that with more people carpooling and buying smaller cars, the revenue from gas taxes has fallen in recent years, reducing the amount of funding available for some road projects.

“We’ve been working as well together on that as anything I’ve seen,” Fountain said, referring to cooperation between the city and county to resolve the traffic problem. He also talked about a potential upcoming workshop with representatives from the city, county, state and Eglin Air Force Base.

He also brought up the topic of school safety, discussing the recent shooting in Parkland and the school safety bill the Florida legislature passed.

In addition to Fountain, three candidates for Okaloosa County School Board attended. Bran McAllister and Diane Kelley are running for the district five seat, and Joe Slusser is running in district three.

Each school board candidate offered their take on how best to address school safety. McAllister cited his military experience as a qualification for securing schools. Kelley talked about the need to make schools more secure without making them feel confined and unwelcoming. Slusser said more fencing was needed to allow for a single point of entry, citing schools in more densely-populated areas.

The Shoal River Republican Club meets on the second Tuesday of every month at Hideaway Pizza in Crestview.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fountain talks traffic, school safety

CRESTVIEW — The first candidate to enter the race for mayor of Crestview made his announcement this week.

City Council President J.B. Whitten announced his candidacy for mayor at the March 13 meeting of the Shoal River Republican Club. Whitten began by saying he would not seek re-election for city council in 2019. Then he announced he will run for mayor.

“I had goals when I was on the city council. I’ve fulfilled those goals,” Whitten said. “The one goal I had, to change the form of city government, if I didn’t fulfill that goal then I don’t want to be in the city government in the legislative branch, because I don’t feel as though I can do what I need to do.”

Whitten referred to the upcoming referendum on the city government in August, where the city of Crestview will vote on whether to change the city’s charter and form of government.

Crestview’s current mayor, David Cadle, completes his third term as the city’s chief executive in 2019. Whitten said Cadle, who has not yet announced if he plans to run for another term, was one of the first people he reached out to when he decided to run.

Whitten first ran for city council in 2015 as an at-large candidate after retiring from the U.S. Air Force, and later from teaching high school. He said he was motivated to get involved in local politics after teaching classes on American government.

Communication

Communication is the main issue Whitten plans to focus on in his campaign.

“Transportation is the biggest issue we have in Crestview, but I think what I’d like to be able to run on is the fact that we in government don’t communicate very well,” Whitten said. “I see a lack of communication within the city government, between the city government and the people, and between the city and the sister cities. We should be out there leading the pack as the largest city in Okaloosa County, and I think a lot of times we’re not taking that charge.”

Whitten cited his background in psychology, which includes a degree in counseling, as a key qualification to be able to address that issue.

August referendum

Whitten said he will continue to focus on the August referendum and changing the form of government.

“To me, the key element to the whole referendum is education,” Whitten said. “You can’t ask people to vote on something to change if they don’t even know what they have and what you want to change to.”

If the citizens of Crestview vote to adopt a city manager form of government in the referendum, which Whitten favors, the mayor would have a reduced role in the city government.

“It’s a whole different role, but it’s a role that I think I could do very well based on my background,” Whitten said.

The municipal elections in Crestview are scheduled for March 2019, but Whitten chose to announce his candidacy a full year ahead of Election Day. He said the reason for announcing so far in advance was to be able to raise money in what could be a race against a popular incumbent.

Whitten is entering the last year of his city council term, leaving his seat available in 2019.

“I feel like I’ve done what I need to do and I’m ready to move on,” Whitten said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Whitten announces run for mayor of Crestview

CRESTVIEW — The field for next year’s race for mayor of Crestview just got a little bigger Tuesday.

City Council President J.B. Whitten announced his candidacy for mayor at the March 13 meeting of the Shoal River Republican Club. Whitten started the announcement by saying he would not seek re-election for city council, and then dropped the other shoe, announcing he would run for mayor.

“I had goals when I was on the city council; I’ve fulfilled those goals,” Whitten said. “The one goal I had, to change the form of city government, if I didn’t fulfill that goal then I don’t want to be in the city government in the legislative branch, because I don’t feel as though I can do what I need to do.”

Whitten referred to the upcoming referendum on the city government in August, where the city of Crestview will vote on whether to change the city’s charter and form of government.

If the city votes to move to a city manager form of government, which Whitten is in favor of, the mayor would have a reduced role in the city government.

“It’s a whole different role, but it’s a role that I think I could do very well based on my background,” Whitten said, referring to his background in psychology and counseling. “Those are the kind of things that mayors get out there and do.”

The municipal elections in Crestview are scheduled for March 2019, but Whitten chose to announce his candidacy a full year ahead of Election Day. He is entering the last year of his city council term, leaving his seat up for grabs in 2019.

“I feel like I’ve done what I need to do and I’m ready to move on,” Whitten said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Whitten announces run for mayor

CRESTVIEW — If you run a red light in Crestview, you may get a ticket in the mail.

The City Council voted March 12 to allow the city to employ red light cameras at some intersections. The measure passed on the second reading by a 3-2 vote, with Councilman Joe Blocker and Council President J.B. Whitten voting against the ordinance.

Police Chief Tony Taylor calls the program an “all-around approach” to Crestview.

“The red light program is a holistic approach to the traffic problem,” Taylor said. “When people know there’s red light (cameras) up, they drive more carefully.”

Whitten issued a lengthy dissent, citing a number of issues, including a potential increase in rear-end collisions, a low percentage of accidents caused by motorists running red lights and other red light camera programs facing legal action.

The Florida State Supreme Court heard arguments in February over the legality of state laws allowing municipalities to deploy red light cameras. That case involved a suit brought by Luis Jimenez, who alleges the city of Aventura, a Miami suburb, delegated too much responsibility to monitor the cameras to a private company that contracted with the city’s police department. The court has yet to rule on the case.

A bill to repeal provisions allowing for the use of red light cameras in the state of Florida was approved in the Florida State House of Representatives by a vote of 83-18 in January. The bill was then sent to the Senate, where it was withdrawn from consideration prior to the end of the legislative session on March 11.

Whitten suggested as an alternative increasing the length of time for yellow lights to allow drivers more time to stop before a traffic light turns red.

Councilman Doug Faircloth, who voted to approve the measure, disagreed.

“I’m wondering if most drivers know what a yellow light means,” Faircloth said. “Most people think it means nail it and beat it. What it actually means is slow down and take caution. Prepare to stop.”

Councilman Blocker said he was weighing pros and cons, and asked if the program could be run for a trial period, but his question came after the motion to vote on the ordinance had been made.

Three members of the public took the opportunity to speak out against the proposal in the public hearing portion of the meeting.

“I don’t think it’s fair that the lowest bidder is going to have the right to send me a ticket, and I cannot confront my accuser,” Michael Lango said. “That red light camera, I don’t trust them.”

Lango and the other members of the public who commented all questioned where the money would go, alleging the majority of the ticket revenue would go to enrich the companies contracted to run the red light cameras.

“There’s a lot of misconceptions about the red light program. There’s a lot of fears out there,” Taylor said. “It’s a public safety program. It’s not a money-making program. We’re not in it to make money. We’re in it to save lives.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: City Council approves red light cameras for Crestview