📬 A Crestview resident’s complaint about Councilman Ryan Bullard’s residency prompted a review by the Mayor and the Supervisor of Elections.
📄 Days later, Bullard submitted a resignation letter citing work, personal, and health obligations.
🏛️ The city will now accept applications and aims to appoint a new Precinct 2 council member in January.
CRESTVIEW — Crestview City Councilman Ryan Bullard has resigned from his Precinct 2 seat effective Dec. 31, days after city and elections officials were alerted to concerns about whether he lived within his district and began looking into the matter, according to emails obtained by Mid Bay News.
Mayor JB Whitten announced the resignation Monday night, reading from a letter Bullard sent him Sunday evening. In the letter, Bullard said he was stepping down due to “increasing professional obligations, personal responsibilities, and ongoing health consideration.”
“Serving the citizens and residents of Crestview has been an honor, and I’m deeply grateful for the trust placed in me,” Bullard wrote.
But an email dated Dec. 2 shows Bullard was under investigation after a resident raised concerns that he did not live within Precinct 2.
Whitten told the resident in an email that he was looking into the issue. Okaloosa County Supervisor of Elections Paul Lux also said in an email that his office was investigating after being notified of the allegation.
Whitten later said he deferred to Lux’s review after learning the matter had been reported to the Supervisor of Elections.
The resignation triggers the city’s appointment process, the same procedure used last December to fill the Precinct 1 vacancy created when Councilwoman Dusty Allison was selected.
City Manager Jessica Leavins said the city will post the Precinct 2 vacancy on its website early next week and begin accepting applications.
Candidates must live within city limits south of Interstate 10.
Leavins said the city intends to conduct interviews before the first council meeting in January, to seat a new council member by the second meeting of the month.
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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