Judy Tinder resigns as Lynn Haven commissioner; plans to run for mayor
LYNN HAVEN − With her sights set on another position, Judy Tinder has stepped down as a city commissioner.
Tinder, 72, officially resigned as a Lynn Haven commissioner on Tuesday. She said she now plans to run for the city's mayor in the 2023 municipal elections in April. Tinder will take on Mayor Jesse Nelson, who is running for re-election.
Tinder served as commissioner since 2017, and she resigned with about two years left in her second four-year term.
"I have been wrestling with the thought of running for mayor for a couple of months," she said. "I feel that things can change. I think that we can be a little more open, a little more honest about things that go on in the city.
"The city belongs to the people. It does not belong to the employees ... and I really do just want to give the city back to the people, and want them to have a say and not be afraid to say anything. I (would) welcome their input."
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Tinder said she resigned Tuesday to give time for candidates to qualify to run as her replacement in the April election. Municipal candidate qualifying for the election begins Feb. 6 and ends Feb. 10. If Tinder would have waited until the end of next week, there might not have been enough time for interested candidates to qualify.
This would have led to her full-time replacement being appointed, rather than elected by residents.
"I could have made the choice to do a surprise attack, so to speak, and waited until next Friday to do all this, but it was important for me to get it done so that my seat would be open ... and people could vote for that seat," Tinder said.
Along with giving the city "back to the people," Tinder said part of the reason she decided to run for mayor stems from the way officials handled a recent controversy surrounding text messages between Lynn Haven Police Chief Ricky Ramie and former City Manager Michael White.
The texts came up at court hearings in December for the ongoing Lynn Haven case on the misuse of Hurricane Michael relief funds. They also sparked a lengthy discussion at a commission meeting in January, when Tinder read aloud from a leaked copy of the messages.
Tinder said Ramie sent homophobic and vulgar texts about her to White. She also said other texts between them show Ramie sent racist jokes, belittled city employees for their weight and was insensitive to people with mental disabilities.
Ramie ultimately was able to keep his job despite the texts. It should be noted commissioners cannot fire the police chief, and that authority belongs to City Manager Vickie Gainer. During the January meeting, Nelson said he supports Gainer's decision and still has faith in Ramie's leadership.
"I would be lying if I didn't say that yes it had something to do with it," Tinder said of the controversy. "I just feel like that was so grossly inappropriate ... I feel like it was totally mishandled."
This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Judy Tinder to run for Lynn Haven mayor in municipal election in April
