Daniel Raffield - Seeks to be District 1 Bay County Commissioner

As a resident of Gulf and then Bay County for 20 years, Daniel Raffield is seeking the best for Bay County. Daniel is a husband, father of 2 and a real estate agent in Bay County. The Raffield name is well known for the commercial fishing industry but also for their care for the marine life and environment. When asked why he was interested in politics he goes back to his youth and watching and listening as his grandfather had to lay off nearly 400 employees because of a Florida law that banned net fishing. Seeing how a law, meant for good, can have adverse effects on the local people. He also saw how advertising can manipulate facts and how important it is for people to have representation. He believes he is a good listener and can take the feedback he receives and use it to make a difference. His second motivation is the cost of living in Bay County. His own daughter had to find a place beyond Bay County to live because a single bedroom apartment was running $1400 a month. He fears we are going to lose too many of our sharp young people because they can’t afford to live here. He wants to research ways to keep them local. As a commissioner, he can represent the people in Lynn Haven and Panama City and serve the wider county for change as he works making decisions that impacts all the people. He plans to be present at bi-monthly commissioner meetings, soccer games, baseball games, local events, town halls, craft nights, just anywhere the people are. He is concerned about the infrastructure of our county. He noted that when you look around there are not a many straight power poles in the county since Hurricane Michael and places that are still eye sores. We are growing and expanding North, and we need to be sure our utilities are ready for the future as well as the present. We have done strategic planning, but we can do better. He knows how important the .5 sales tax is to those who live in Bay County. Tourists and residents alike pay that tax, but the money stays here and is used on our infrastructure. It saves the residents money with so many tourists spending their dollars here. Raffield believes he is a far better communicator that the incumbent. Daniel is not scared to talk to people, look them in the eye and answer their questions. He will been in the community and people will know who he is. He will thoughtfully vote for each issue and not just agree to what the rest of the group votes as his rival does. He will consider the people he serves and the effects of his decisions on them. As a real estate agent his time is more flexible allowing him to focus on the role of commissioner. (Bay County. Coastal does not endorse candidates.)