With two Republicans only qualifying to run for the Santa Rosa County Commission District 4 seat, the race between Ray Eddington and his challenger Dean Light is a Universal Primary Contest. That means it is open to all registered voters in the county and will be decided on Primary Election Day on Tuesday. WUWF’s Sandra Averhart reached out to the candidates to discuss some of the big issues facing the county.
Incumbent Ray Eddington moved to Navarre, following numerous vacations there, after he and his wife retired from their jobs in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
In 2022, he defeated then incumbent Dave Piech to win the District 4 seat.
Dean Light, who served 26 years in the U.S. Air Force, has lived in the region for more than four decades. He and his wife have owned and operated an art and antiques shop in Navarre for the past seven years.
One of the primary issues facing Santa Rosa and every other county in Florida is the current push for a major property tax reduction, led by Governor Ron DeSantis and other Republican leaders. It will appear as Amendment 3 on the November 2026 ballot.
The candidates were asked what their budget priorities would be if the amendment passes and what services or obligations they would protect first.
“My first one is protecting roads and bridges, because we’ve got to have our roads. We got to have safety,” said Eddington of his goal to protect infrastructure and public safety. “We got to have people that work for the county; we got to have people in order to do the job. If they vote the property tax away, we got to watch what we protect and what we can do with what we got.”
When it comes to the potential loss of property tax dollars, Light takes the approach of first determining what is constitutionally required.
“If it is, then we’ll have to do it, right? And then other things that we don’t have to provide, we’ll have to ‘rack and stack ‘em’ and go is this
… does it have to do with safety or other factors and we have to prioritize that verses improving a park or something like that,” Light stated. “If this property tax thing goes through, we’re going to be very limited and will probably have to cut positions at the county level and the whole works.”
On the issue of growth and infrastructure and how they would deal with major development proposals, Light said he would reverse the county’s decision several years ago to take the transportation concurrency rule out of the Land Development Code and comprehensive plan.
“When they did that, it took the teeth out,” he said. “We couldn’t say ‘No you can’t develop it because that road is at 125% capacity,” said Light. “So, what that transportation concurrency would do is, if that was to happen, they could say you either have to increase the capacity of the road by adding turn lanes or lanes, or whatever.’ There are things you can do, or you can pay a proportional fee on what it would cost to upgrade that infrastructure.”
Eddington agreed that developers who want to construct big neighborhoods should bear the cost.
“The builders should put the roads in, the holding ponds, they should pay for all that,” Eddington said. “Because if we don’t make them do that, it’s going to be on the taxpayers; is that right, no it’s not. If that builder wants to build a subdivision, they should pay for the roads and all, and the holding ponds and the ditches. They should be able to take care of it.”
In terms of the most pressing issue facing their district, both candidates said the traffic congestion on U.S. Highway 98 is their top priority, with both looking to speed up expansion of the roadway. Eddington and current members of the County Commission are also pushing for federal help with a connector road.
In making their pitch for voters to choose them, Light began with what he’s learned as a long-time resident and business owner.
“We do outdoor markets, so I talk to the people in the back, you know, small businesses. I talk to visitors that come into town. So I sort of have a thumb on what’s going on in Navarre,” said Light. “And I have the background. I’ve had all kinds of military professional education. I’ve had education on how to be a supervisor, a manager, budgeting, money, the whole works.”
In his final pitch for votes, Eddington pointed to the budget experience he’s gained by serving on the county commission during the last four years and the desire to move forward some of the projects he’s started.
“Like I said, I need a new bridge going to the (Navarre) beach; we’re already working on it.,” he said. “We are working on the connector when I go to D.C. in a few weeks, for the military people. We’re trying to get it started and get it going to get some of this traffic off 98, because they’re so many wrecks and we got to protect our people here in Navarre.”
Ray Eddington and Dean Light are candidates for Santa Rosa County Commission District 4. This is a Universal Primary Contest that will be determined on Primary Election Day, Tuesday, Aug. 18.
Early voting in Santa Rosa County continues until Saturday, Aug. 15.
To learn more about where the candidates stand on the issues, visit the WUWF Voter Guide online at wuwf.org.
