By Ed Offley
Panama City Beach City Council this month will have a new face following a stunning election upset in the April 19 municipal election.
Retired urban planner Mary Coburn, 70, handily defeated incumbent Councilman Geoff McConnell in the city’s Ward 3 by 1,294 votes to 900, a 58-percent majority. The upset was accentuated by the fact that McConnell outspent Coburn by nearly seven to one, raising $37,800 against the challenger’s $5,580, according to the Bay County Supervisor of Elections.
Describing herself as “totally overwhelmed” by the unexpected win, Coburn in a text to PCB Life said that she encountered many residents while campaigning who voiced unhappiness with the city’s priority of promoting tourism over residents’ needs. “I found that there are a lot of frustrated residents that would like to change the direction the city is going,” Coburn said. “I think folks are ready for change.”
Chronic traffic gridlock was by far the most visible issue in the election, said former City Councilman Ken Nelson, a 1970 Bay High School classmate and close friend of Coburn’s. “I thought she had a really good chance, but I didn’t know she would win by that margin,” Nelson said.
However, the April 19 election was not a total repudiation of incumbents. City voters gave Ward 1 Councilman Paul Casto an even larger victory over challenger Mark Meade. The retired city utility director won 1,497 votes to Meade’s 718, a 67-percent landslide.
Both Casto and McConnell received substantial backing from area business leaders. McConnell netted $5,000 in contributions from the Cramer family, who are planning to open a major auto dealership off US 98 in the city, as well as multiple contributions from various Hilton businesses and the St. Joe Company. Casto also received backing from an array of local business leaders.
“I was just happy for a win,” Casto told PCB Life. “I was really, really blessed to have that much support from the community.”
In joining City Council, Coburn brings three decades of experience in urban revitalization to the government. A longtime resident of Long Beach, California, she served on that city’s downtown revitalization committee before her retirement and return to Panama City Beach in 2015. She and her husband, Walter, were married for 43 years prior to his death in 2019.
During her campaign, Coburn drew a line between business interests in the city and the needs of residents.
“It’s about respecting our residents, respecting our quality of life and respecting our environment,” Coburn said. “I feel that the focus [of City Council] has been put on developers and contractors and consultants without listening to what the people want. And I won’t wait to make our people priority one again.”
Coburn also called for ensuring the city has adequate public safety resources to handle both the needs of residents and the outsized crowds of tourists who visit the beach each year. However, she also signaled that she plans on taking a measured pace once sworn in.
“I look forward to meeting with {city] department heads and getting briefed on the projects currently in progress,” Coburn said. “I have a lot to learn and many questions that came up during my campaign that I want to better understand.”
Nelson said while Coburn will bring a fresh voice to City Council, she will be a newcomer where the majority remains a business-friendly group. “You’re probably going to see a lot of 4-1 votes,” he said.
All in all, the City Council races sparked a turnout of about 23 percent of the city’s 13,535 registered voters, a relatively strong participation, officials said.
Coburn was scheduled to be sworn in as a Council member at the panel’s meeting on May 12.
