These three candidates want to replace Trey Nick on the Walton County Commission

Three candidates are running to replace outgoing Trey Nick as the Walton County's District 4 county commissioner.

Donna Johns has experience as an elected board member, having served on the South Walton County Mosquito Control District's governing board since January of last year. She ran a Walton County business for 21 years after retiring from the Air Force, where she served as an administrative specialist and special agent.

David Buchanan owns Buchanan Builders Inc., a business focused on the construction of single family homes. He holds a real estate sales associate license and a state certified general contractors license.

Charles Galloway was born in Grayton Beach and, prior to running, worked for Walton County.

Each of the candidates provided answers to three questions to the Northwest Florida Daily News.

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What does the Walton County Commission need to do to ensure that issues like those found in the audit conducted by the Walton County Clerk of Court's Office do not reoccur?  

Johns — In a well-run, professional organization, there should not be an issue with irregularities related to travel expenses because the rules and policies would be in place, be fully communicated, understood and enforced.  Walton County should have internal processes in place to catch any potential irregularity quickly.  It's about having the right rules and policies in place and checks and balances to make sure everyone is following the rules.  Beyond that, rules and policies must apply to everyone, and commissioners must model adherence.

Buchanan — To insure these issues do not reoccur, we must first know whether the issue was with the commission, county administration, or the audit. I believe the state is looking into the audit and will let us know what was done wrong. Until then it would be unwise to assume the answer before we know all the facts.

Galloway — The best thing the BCC can do to ensure that so-called “mistakes” like the ones “supposedly” found in the so-called “audit” conducted by the County Clerk’s office don’t reoccur is to make sure that the main organizer of the Donna Johns Campaign does not have control of the county administrator and the county clerk’s office like she has had in the past. I will be discussing this issue in great detail in the coming weeks.

Walton County is currently functioning with an interim county administrator and an interim county attorney.  Do you feel any need to fill the positions on a permanent basis and how would you recommend going about doing that?   

Johns —   Yes, I would like to see both of these positions filled on a permanent basis by qualified people.  Our "interim" County Administrator also serves as the head of Code Compliance. Both of these demanding positions require 100% attention. Because we need highly qualified, professional people, I recommend we engage a professional search firm to identify top notch candidates to fill these important positions.

Buchanan — I am very thankful to the interim county administrator and interim county attorney for stepping into those roles until they could be filled permanently. My recommended way to fill these roles would be through resumes,  interviews, and a vote from the BCC. I believe the experience that the current interims have in each of their roles would put them at the top of the list if they chose to stay on.

Galloway — Yes I would like to see these jobs filled on a permanent basis, however, I do feel that the current people in those positions now are doing a phenomenal job.

What is one issue facing Walton County that you feel needs to be prioritized and what plans might you offer to tackle that issue? 

Johns — Walton County needs a county-wide plan that fairly balances livability, tourism, development, infrastructure, and the environment.  We need such a plan based on input from citizens who live and work here. Competent professionals should be hired to review the Land Development Code and make recommendations. Our land development code says, “The purpose of the land development code is intended to enable Walton County to respond uniformly and consistently to development proposals and to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of Walton County."  We must ensure this purpose is our top priority.

Buchanan — Our infrastructure (roads, water and sewer, and storm water) are greatly behind our current needs. With 4.2 million yearly visitors, we need additional funding from Tallahassee along with a way for our visitors to help with these costs. While the county brings in millions of dollars, we are in need of billions to get caught up. I will work with Tallahassee to do what we can there but we as citizens must decide whether we want the upcoming 1cent tax or to do something else.

Galloway — The main organizer of the Donna Johns Campaign is one of the major issues that this county has faced for the last couple decades, however she will no longer be a problem once I am elected. As stated in a previous question I will be discussing this in great detail in the coming weeks.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Walton Commission: Donna Johns, David Buchanan, Charles Galloway vie