Mahute plans to improve infrastructure, protect local waters

Editor’s Note: The Santa Rosa Press Gazette will feature Santa Rosa County candidates running in the Aug. 28, 2018, primary election and Nov. 6, 2018, general election.

MILTON — Wallis Mahute of Milton is running for county commissioner of District 2 as a Republican. The Pennsylvania native has lived in East Milton since 1999 and has been married to her spouse, Howard, for 43 years.

Mahute has two children — Howard Wallace, who lives in Milton with his wife, Nicole, and their three children, Hannah, Elise and Samuel; and Nichole Andrea Mahute, who is married to Lance Schultz and lives and works in Houston.

Mahute is involved in many community organizations, including the Imogene Theatre, Santa Rosa County Fair, Blackwater River Foundation, Santa Rosa County Wellfield Protection Project (founder of Environmental Justice Grant Funding, workgroup organizer and ordinance creation participant) and WSRE. She is a Santa Rosa County poll worker, is involved with the Panhandle Butterfly House and is a member of the Santa Rosa Central Republican Club and Blackwater Conservative Women’s Club.

"I have attended county commission meetings since 2008," Mahute said. "I ran for county commissioner, District 2, in 2014. I lost the election, but gained a great education on the process."

Tell us about yourself.

During my husband’s time in the military we lived in Gurnee, Illinois; Bath, Maine; Vallejo, California; Oahu, Hawaii; and San Diego, California. We settled in the Dallas area when my husband left the Navy.

My son joined the Navy after high school, and was a corpsman at NAS Pensacola. We fell in love with this area on our trips to visit him.  When he married and he and his wife gave us a precious baby granddaughter, we relocated to this area.

I have extensive experience dealing and working with others. At Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Inc., I started out as a secretary interacting with employees every day. Within five years, I was in a management position, dealing with many departments at the company. 

I was in desktop publishing during that time, working on printed brochures, mailings, etc. Telephone recording system tapes, and voiceover ads were also in my job description. I had tripled my salary by the time I left.

Why are you running for county commissioner?

I am running for county commissioner, District 2 to be a voice for the public. I do not want to be a politician, I want to be a public servant.  In any decision which would come before the board, I will work for the people, always try to do the right thing, and be honest.

I can be a full-time commissioner, I have no other business where my time would be necessary.

If elected, what would you like to accomplish?

My focus will be on infrastructure, transportation, economic development, protection of local waters, homelessness, spay-neuter programs, as well as no-kill options for animals and upgraded/new parks. Infrastructure is a building block for any community.

The past 10 years I have seen local flooding issues emerge into a crisis situation. Why are so many homes being flooded, or as in one case I know of, a home being washed off its foundation? It is past time to deal with this issue and it needs to be fixed yesterday.

Recently, I have been participating and educating myself on local neighborhood stormwater issues and I am working with the president of … SRC Stormwater Management.

Enhanced transportation options can contribute to economic development and job creation [opportunities]. With so much to offer, Santa Rosa County should be able to usher in better-paying jobs.

Homelessness is something I would like to work on. There are 1,700 homeless children in our county. I want to find out why.

I would support community efforts from organizations like A HOPE for SRC, which educates folks on responsible pet ownership. Certainly, with proper care, rescue support and community outreach, reduction in overpopulation and prevention of unnecessary euthanasia could be achieved.

I [also] would like to see better parks in the north end of our county and a splash pad for local young people in our community which would include safe activities for the disabled to enjoy.

How did you get involved with local government?

I saw a need to protect all aquifers from Yellow River to Blackwater River in 2008, found the grant and worked with a few concerned citizens and the county as a 501c3. We were awarded the grant, biospatial research was funded and completed, and then myself, the county and public participated in meetings to develop ordinance.

It became a reality five years later at no local tax needed. Protection covers aquifers supplying public drinking water to Holley, Navarre, Midway, Gulf Breeze and East Milton, about 51 percent of drinking water for Santa Rosa County.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Mahute plans to improve infrastructure, protect local waters