The City of Destin welcomed its new Council on March 17th with the inauguration of new Councilmembers Prebble Ramswell and Rodney Braden, re-elected Jim Foreman, and new Mayor Mel Ponder.
Braden overcame a few hurdles in his bid for a seat. With only one vote separating him and Tom Weidenhamer, a recount was held on March 14th. Those results yielded a tie, as did a follow-up manual recount. Pursuant to Florida Supervisor of Election rules, the seat would then come down to a game of chance, with Braden and Weidenhamer each selecting a card. Braden came out on top after drawing a Queen to Weidenhamer's five. It was a tough loss for weidenhamer who also faced and lost a recount in 2012 to Cyron Marler.
Before the ceremony, the City bid farewell to Mayor Sam Seevers and Councilmen Jim Bagby and Larry Williges.