Niceville council election heads to runoff
NICEVILLE — It didn’t take long to hand-count the ballots cast for five people seeking a seat on the City Council.
Including absentee votes, only 515 out of some 9,100 registered voters in Niceville took part in Thursday’s election.
“We will have a runoff,” said Dan Doucet, Niceville’s city clerk.
Roger Noel was the top vote getter with 170. His opponent in the Jan. 17 runoff will be Daniel Henkel, who collected 166 votes.
David Branscome got 82 votes, Lynne Waltz collected 70 and Fred Jones followed with 27, according to Doucet.
The candidates were running for the seat left vacant after longtime Councilman Terry Tislow died.
Henkel and Noel welcome the opportunity to run again.
“I’m pleased that I’m in the runoff, but I’m really disappointed that only (515) people turned out,” said Noel.
The two contenders plan to campaign before the runoff election because they see the council seat as another way they can serve the community.
“I’m pleased,” Henkel said of the election results. “It was my first venture into something like this.”