The qualification period for Okeechobee County elected offices closed June 14.
Join our family of readers for as little as $5 per month and support local, unbiased journalism.
Already have an account? Log in to continue. Otherwise, follow the link below to join.
Please log in to continue |
OKEECHOBEE – The qualification period for Okeechobee County elected offices closed June 14.
Sheriff Noel Stephen is challenged by John Folbrecht and Stephen J. Weikert II. All are registered Republicans. Jesse Hert has withdrawn from the race. Stephen was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Supervisor of Elections Melissa Arnold withdrew from the race prior to the qualifying period. Demetre Riles registered as a candidate but did not qualify. David May is running unopposed for the Supervisor of Elections seat. All three are Republicans (REP). Arnold was elected in 2020.
Three Okeechobee County Constitutional officers are running unopposed.
Jerald Bryant is unopposed as he seeks re-election to the office of Clerk of the Circuit Court. He previously served as Okeechobee County Judge for 12 years.
Mickey Bandi is also unopposed for re-election as Property Appraiser. He was elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020.
Celeste Watford is unopposed as she seeks re-election as Tax Collector.
Okeechobee County Judge William Wallace is also running unopposed. He was first elected to office in 2018.
In the County Commission District 1 race, incumbent David Hazellief (REP) is unopposed. He was challenged by Gregory Thomas Jr. , No Party Affiliation (NPA), but Thomas did not qualify.
In the County Commission District 3 race, incumbent Bradley Goodbread (REP) is challenged by Keith White (REP). Demetre Riles withdrew from this race.
In the County Commission District 5 race, there is no incumbent. Commissioner Kelly Owens did not seek re-election. Four candidates qualified to run: Glenn Attaway, Democrat (DEM), Austin Harvey (DEM), Billy McCullers (REP) and Michael Sumner (REP). Deanna R. Foriere (REP), John William Smith (REP) and Clifford Story (DEM) withdrew from this race.
In the two school board races, the incumbents are unopposed. Malissa Morgan seeks re-election in District 2. Amanda Riedel seeks re-election in District 4. School board races are currently non-partisan. An amendment on the November ballot seeks to change that. Florida had partisan school board races until voters passed an amendment to the Florida Constitution in 1998 to make the races non-partisan.
