I believe we’re seeing Sheriff Larry Ashley beginning to distance himself from the issue of consolidating the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Walton Beach Police Department.
He reminded us in a Tuesday story about the city revisiting the consolidation issue that “This is not a Sheriff’s Office initiative.”
He’s right, of course, this isn’t a Sheriff’s Office initiative … unless we recollect that the Sheriff’s Office council member, Bobby Griggs, son of Ashley hire Stan Griggs, was the one that brought it to the table.
And sheriff, some of us do recollect that.
We also recognize that the idea of consolidation wasn’t as popular when it was floated as some obviously had hoped, and in an election year, candidates for office want everything that isn’t good and popular to be kept at arms length.
But now we have a dilemma on our hands.
In 45 to 60 days Ashley intends to turn over his agency’s study of the consolidation issue to the Fort Walton Beach City Council.
Sometime after that the council will vote up or down on the issue and consolidation of the two agencies will either occur or it won’t.
That will leave us probably a couple of months on the other side of Councilman Griggs first year anniversary as a member of the Fort Walton Beach governing board.
Wondering what one-issue Bobby is going to do for the next three years.

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