Coin flip decides Doug Stauffer as newest member of Niceville City Council after tied vote

NICEVILLE — After a deadlocked 2-2 vote on whether Doug Staufer or Doug Tolbert should fill the seat left vacant by former Councilman Abner Williams, the Niceville City Council was left to use a coin flip. Stauffer won and now is Niceville's newest council member.

Here is what we know:

How did we get here?

During the Niceville City Council meeting on Jan. 9, then-Councilman Williams abruptly resigned effective immediately, citing "personal circumstances."

On Jan. 29, the City Council chose the final four candidates from a pool of 11. Those chosen were Doug Stauffer, Kristen Shell, Doug Tolbert and Suraj Patel. Last week, Shell withdrew for an undisclosed reason.

Monday's meeting was held as a public interview for the three remaining candidates. As interviews began with the final three candidates, each current council member and Mayor Dan Henkel had the opportunity to ask two questions each.

After an hour of questions, each candidate was asked to wait outside the council chambers as a subsequent vote was then called for by Henkel.

Deliberations begin

As Henkel began the voting proceedings, Councilmen Sal Nodjomian and Carl Donahoo voted for Stauffer, while Councilwoman Cathy Alley and Councilman Bill Schatzle voted for Tolbert. With the two-way tie, Henkel opened the floor for deliberations.

Nodjomian was the first to offer his thoughts on his vote for Stauffer by referencing that he did a "fantastic job" answering a question that referenced the city's biggest concerns.

"He's the only one to talk about affordable housing, workforce housing," said Nodojomian. "No one else brought that concept up. He talked about the daycare issue, which is one of the largest issues. Both of these issues are the number one issues for Eglin Air Force Base, which is the single-largest influencer of our community."

Other positives Nofojomian found in Stauffer were how well he represented the community and how in tune he was with residents of the city, referencing his involvement in the Chamber of Commerce and his experience mentoring various youth programs in Niceville.

Donahoo was asked if he would have something to add to his support of Stauffer and added he likes how Stauffer would drive the city's inclusivity moving forward.

Moving on to the argument for Tolbert, Schaetzle felt that Tolbert's experience with the Niceville Planning Commission and his poise during questioning gave him confidence not to change his vote. Alley also echoed these feelings and then further expanded her reasoning.

"I like the integrity, humble attitude, resonance," said Alley. “He also was on the latest city Charter Review Committee. He chaired that. So I think that he would do a great job. He’s very passionate about what he does. He’s very engaged. He does the research. He wants to know what’s going on and he does all of that before coming to a meeting.”

After a brief discussion, a second vote was called for by Henkel, with all council members steadfast in their decisions. The result was another two-way tie.

The coin flip

"First of all, do we have a coin?" asked Henkel.

According to Section 7.05. of the Niceville City Charter, "any candidate receiving the highest number of votes cast shall be declared elected. In cases when a tie vote occurs, the winner will be determined by lot, i.e., flip a coin, draw a straw, etc."

As laughter erupted from the audience and Nodojomain asked those in attendance if they were entertained, a quarter was delivered to Henkel by City Manager David Deitch, with City Attorney Dixie Powell verifying the coin was legal U.S. tender. Satuffer and Tolbert were called back into the council chambers for the flip.

To determine the call, each candidate was asked to select a number 1 through 10, with the decision of calling the coin flip to be determined by whichever candidate was closest to a number that Henkel selected. Tolbert selected No. 5, with Stauffer selecting No. 6. The number selected by Henkel was 9.

As Henkel shook the coin in his hands, Stauffer called tails. The anticipation was palpable as Henkel bent over to read the result. After a pause, Henkel said the result was "tails," granting Stauffer the position as Niceville's newest council member.

"Unbelievable. Unbelievable," laughed Stauffer. "You are a worthy opponent, I can tell you (while shaking Tolbert's hand). Your credentials are big."

Before entering a brief recess, Henkel urged Tolbert to stay involved with the city of Niceville, as two seats will open during the next election cycle. As the recess period ended, Henkel swore in Stauffer as Niceville's newest council member.

Stauffer will hold the position on the council until the end of Williams' term in 2025.

To see the coin flip in action, check out this video made by Christopher Saul of Mid-Bay News