By DOTTY NIST The candidates that Walton County voters will have to choose between for local offices in the Aug. 23 Primary Election have been identified. The official candidate qualifying period ended at 12 p.m. on June 17 for local office candidates other than judicial candidates. (Qualifying for judicial candidates had been completed on April 29.)
It had appeared that Danny Glidewell, Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) District 2 incumbent, would have late challengers in his bid for re-election. On June 14, Cindy Meadows, a former Walton County commissioner, had pre-filed to run for the District 2 seat in the primary—and a write-in candidate, Margaret Bishop, qualified on June 16 to run for the seat. However, Bishop withdrew the following day, and Meadows failed to officially qualify for the election.
With no opposition as of the end of the qualifying period, Glidewell becomes the winner in the District 2 race and will have a new four-year term. Unopposed candidates’ names do not appear on the ballot. Walton County Judge David Green also ran unopposed and will continue to serve, and all special district candidates are unopposed in 2022. Trey Nick is the incumbent for District 4, the other BCC seat up for election in 2022.
Nick is not running for re-election. Voters will have a choice of three candidates to fill the District 4 seat. Those are: home building company owner and real estate agent David Buchanan; web and mobile app developer Charles (Chas) Galloway; and Donna Johns, a U.S. Air Force veteran and South Walton Mosquito Control District commissioner. All are Republicans. Realtor Michael Harbin (also a Republican) had pre-filed, as well, for the District 4 seat but has since withdrawn. Walton County Supervisor of Elections Bobby Beasley explained, “Since only one party is fielding candidates for the District 4 County Commissioner’s seat, this race will be determined in the August 23 Primary, in a ‘Universal Primary Contest’ in which all registered voters (all parties and NPA’s) will be eligible to vote.
Since all are voting and it is a partisan race, the winner will be the candidate with the most votes (majority is not required, just plurality to win).” Other local offices up for election in 2022 are Walton County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) and District 2, 3, and 5 seats on the Walton County School Board. Beasley, the SOE incumbent, is not running in the election, and Primary Election voters will choose between Republicans Dan Curry and Ryan Messer for the supervisor of elections office. Kim Kirby, Walton County School Board (WCSB) District 2 incumbent, did not face opposition and will receive a new term. For the WCSB District 3 seat, voters will choose between incumbent Bill Eddins, Jr., and challenger Gordon Michael Porter.
For the WCSB District 5 seat, incumbent Jason Catalano and M.H. Carr will face off. All WCSB seats are nonpartisan. The contested WCSB seats will be on the 2022 Primary Election ballot, with all registered voters eligible to cast their votes for these seats, and winners of those races will be determined in the primary. The winner in the Supervisor of Elections contest will also be determined in the primary since both candidates are of the same party.
Beasley provided the following additional information regarding the primary: “The Walton County School District will have the 1/2 Mil School Referendum on the Primary Ballot in August. They usually have a Special Election in May every four years, but new state law requires this election to be on the General Election Ballot every four years.” He continued, “Since this new law doesn’t take effect until October 2022, the School Board chose to place the 1/2 Mil Referendum on the Aug. 23 Primary Ballot this year. This must pass by a ‘majority vote’ or 50% + 1 vote for the referendum to pass.” Election and voting information is available on the Walton County Supervisor of Elections website, www.votewalton.com, or by calling (850) 892-8112 or (850) 622-0744.
The candidates that Walton County voters will have to choose between for local offices in the Aug. 23 Primary Election have been identified.
The official candidate qualifying period ended at 12 p.m. on June 17 for local office candidates other than judicial candidates. (Qualifying for judicial candidates had been completed on April 29.)
It had appeared that Danny Glidewell, Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) District 2 incumbent, would have late challengers in his bid for re-election. On June 14, Cindy Meadows, a former Walton County commissioner, had pre-filed to run for the District 2 seat in the primary—and a write-in candidate, Margaret Bishop, qualified on June 16 to run for the seat. However, Bishop withdrew the following day, and Meadows failed to officially qualify for the election.
With no opposition as of the end of the qualifying period, Glidewell becomes the winner in the District 2 race and will have a new four-year term.
Unopposed candidates’ names do not appear on the ballot.
Walton County Judge David Green also ran unopposed and will continue to serve, and all special district candidates are unopposed in 2022.
Trey Nick is the incumbent for District 4, the other BCC seat up for election in 2022. Nick is not running for re-election.
Voters will have a choice of three candidates to fill the District 4 seat. Those are: home building company owner and real estate agent David Buchanan; web and mobile app developer Charles (Chas) Galloway; and Donna Johns, a U.S. Air Force veteran and South Walton Mosquito Control District commissioner. All are Republicans. Realtor Michael Harbin (also a Republican) had pre-filed, as well, for the District 4 seat but has since withdrawn.
Walton County Supervisor of Elections Bobby Beasley explained, “Since only one party is fielding candidates for the District 4 County Commissioner’s seat, this race will be determined in the August 23 Primary, in a ‘Universal Primary Contest’ in which all registered voters (all parties and NPA’s) will be eligible to vote. Since all are voting and it is a partisan race, the winner will be the candidate with the most votes (majority is not required, just plurality to win).”
Other local offices up for election in 2022 are Walton County Supervisor of Elections (SOE) and District 2, 3, and 5 seats on the Walton County School Board.
Beasley, the SOE incumbent, is not running in the election, and Primary Election voters will choose between Republicans Dan Curry and Ryan Messer for the supervisor of elections office.
Kim Kirby, Walton County School Board (WCSB) District 2 incumbent, did not face opposition and will receive a new term. For the WCSB District 3 seat, voters will choose between incumbent Bill Eddins, Jr., and challenger Gordon Michael Porter. For the WCSB District 5 seat, incumbent Jason Catalano and M.H. Carr will face off.
All WCSB seats are nonpartisan.
The contested WCSB seats will be on the 2022 Primary Election ballot, with all registered voters eligible to cast their votes for these seats, and winners of those races will be determined in the primary.
The winner in the Supervisor of Elections contest will also be determined in the primary since both candidates are of the same party.
Beasley provided the following additional information regarding the primary: “The Walton County School District will have the 1/2 Mil School Referendum on the Primary Ballot in August. They usually have a Special Election in May every four years, but new state law requires this election to be on the General Election Ballot every four years.”
He continued, “Since this new law doesn’t take effect until October 2022, the School Board chose to place the 1/2 Mil Referendum on the Aug. 23 Primary Ballot this year. This must pass by a ‘majority vote’ or 50% + 1 vote for the referendum to pass.”
Election and voting information is available on the Walton County Supervisor of Elections website, www.votewalton.com, or by calling (850) 892-8112 or (850) 622-0744.
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