The Honorable J.B. Whitten
Mayor, City of Crestview

I grew up in a small New England town and after leaving college, joined the United States Air Force, where I traveled around the world in such exotic places as Turkey, the Philippines, Japan, Italy, Scotland, and Iceland. In between these tours, I was able to live in the Florida cities of Pensacola, Niceville, Panama City, and Tampa, where I retired in my 30th year. I served in the top enlisted position in four separate locations, advising the commanding officers on all matters related to our enlisted force. I stayed in the Tampa Bay area for sixteen years, working as a teacher in Hillsborough County for twelve of those years.

My teaching career was exceedingly rewarding with my being promoted from a special education [ESE] teacher to the ESE specialist for the whole school. In that position, I was responsible for the proper placement of all students who needed special services, monitoring their needs, ensuring all federal record keeping was accurate and timely, and recommending appropriate disciplinary action on these students to the assistant principals for students.

When I retired from teaching, my wife Ann and I returned to the Florida Panhandle to be near our two daughters and our grandchildren. We have been here since 2010 and in 2015, I was elected to the Crestview City Council. Although it was a part time job, I was able to throw myself completely into the position because technically I was retired. With my encouragement to the council, we appointed a Citizens’ Charter Review Committee and began changing our government form. Based on the feedback I was getting from the citizens, I was quite sure this time, a proposed change would take place; therefore, I wanted to remain in the government, but in a different role, as the Mayor.

Once approved, the “New View” as I labeled it, took off like a rocket and the city made significant changes that were long overdue. This happened only because our leadership team came together and worked for the present and the future, not the past. As we ended 2019, I proposed that the theme for 2020 should be “A Community Coming Together” to ensure the citizens felt part of the team. With each ensuing year, I have developed a theme that represents where we as a team are. I am up for re-election this year [2024] and have garnered no opponent. Since qualification has ended, I am assured a second term beginning in November of this year.

I have served on at least one FLC Legislative Committe each year since 2020 as well as the Advocacy Committee, the FAST Team, and the FLC and FLM Boards of Directors. I believe this involvement in all these functions makes me eminently qualified to remain on the Florida League of Mayors’ Board of Directors.