City Councilwoman Prebble Ramswell is looking for your input. She has been serving on the Destin city council for just over a quarter of her four-year term, but now she has a new opportunity on the horizon.
“For the past few months, I have been asked a certain question with increasing frequency,” she stated in her monthly newsletter, “Are you going to run for Rep. Matt Gaetz’s seat?”
Ramswell said she has been asked the question of whether or not she wants to run for the Florida House of Representatives seat not only by her constituency, but also by senate committee members, state public officials and even Matt Gaetz himself.
“I have been approached by several people and obviously it’s something I’ve thought about myself,” Ramswell said. “Matt Gaetz has encouraged me because he’s going to be running for his father’s senate seat.”
Although she has ample support, Ramswell said she is dedicated to those who have elected her to the council and is torn by this new opportunity.
“I certainly don’t want to leave work undone here in Destin,” she said. “I honestly had several folks here in the community say to me, ‘We really need someone like you to move forward and represent the community as a whole,’ but then I have had others say, ‘You are doing so much for Destin you need to stay here for awhile and then see what happens.’ It’s one of those things I really want to do it, but I don’t want to let anyone down.”
Voting for the House of Representatives seat is not slated until late 2016, but Ramswell said she will make her decision to run by August.
“I think it’s important to try to get something out there early that way I can really start to build momentum and raise funds,” she said. “The earlier you enter a race, the better it is.”
Ramswell has already posted the question to her social media outlets and covets feedback.
“I’ve been reaching out to people in the community because there are a lot of factors,” she said. “Timing; It all comes down to timing, and where people think I could be the most beneficial.”
Looking to the future, Ramswell said she would like to run for House of Representatives, if not now, than definitely in the next election cycle.
“I think that even though I’ve been on the city council for a short time, I’ve been able to see how many things have slipped through the cracks. That’s what I like to do, I really jump on board and sink my teeth into those issues that really haven’t gotten any play and I think I could really bring that to the table on a larger platform in the House Of Representatives. You start looking at the bigger picture and think, ‘Wow, if I could help the community here, maybe I could help on a greater scale.’”
If you would like to give your input visit www.prebbleramswell.com.