With the election just weeks away, the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce and The Destin Log invite you to come hear your candidates for Destin City Council express their varying views and visions.
From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 11, the Chamber and Log will host a candidate forum at the Destin United Methodist Church’s Life Center at 200 Beach Drive in Destin.
“I think it’s important for citizens to come out because we do have the unique opportunity to choose three candidates from a pool of eight — and eight gives you a very broad choice of individuals with many different opinions and thought processes,” said Shane Moody, president and CEO of the Destin Area Chamber of Commerce. “Destin truly is at a crossroads. Development-wise and economic development-wise. It’s important now to set Destin’s future and what we want to be when we grow up.”
Candidates in the running on the March 11 ballot are a mix of familiar faces and newcomers. Those that have either held office in Destin or ran before include current Councilman Jim Foreman, former councilmen Larry Hines and Tom Weidenhamer, and Rodney Braden, who previously ran for office in 2012. New faces include Matthew Pace, Prebble Ramswell, Skip Overdier, and Scott Jacobs.
The format of the forum will be similar to the forums of recent years and will be moderated by Log Editor William Hatfield. Candidates will each deliver an opening statement, followed by questions from the Chamber and The Destin Log, as well as those submitted by audience members. Questions will be directed to all candidates. The forum will conclude with a 90-second closing statement from each candidate.
Audience questions can be submitted on an index card to the moderator before the forum begins. You can also submit your questions directly to The Log by e-mailing Editor William Hatfield at whatfield@thedestinlog.com. You can also post questions to our Facebook Wall at facebook.com/thedestinlog or Tweet them to @DestinLog.
“In this kind of election, one vote can truly make a difference,” Hatfield said. “Don’t miss this opportunity to get to know the candidates, who will steer our future course in Destin.”