Daniel Schultz For Panama City Commissioner Ward 1

02/10/2026

A few weeks ago, the Charter Commission — established to review our city charter for the first time in over 60 years — made the decision, after months of thoughtful deliberation, to include moving our local election dates to align with the general election in November.

As many of you know, I’ve made my stance clear on this. I’ve been advocating for the board to consider this change since they first began meeting, so this moment is especially meaningful to me.

Under this proposal, municipal elections would be aligned with the August primaries, where the top two candidates in each race would then advance to the general election in November. This ensures there are always two candidates on the November ballot and that the final decision happens when voter turnout is at its highest, giving more residents a voice in our local government.

I want to thank the board for allowing me to sit in and be an active part of these conversations over the past several months. I’d also like to give a special thank you to our very own Brandon Henderson-Jansenius, Ward 1’s voice on the Charter Commission. He has sought public input on this issue and, as always, continues to advocate for the wants and needs of Ward 1.

So what happens next? This isn’t an automatic change. Now that it’s been added to the proposed charter revisions, the full package of updates will go before the City Commission once the review process is complete. The Commission must vote to place these changes on the ballot — and then the final decision will be in your hands.

We still have a journey ahead. Let your commissioners and the mayor know you support this initiative. And when the time comes, the most important step of all will be simple: VOTE.

01/22/2026

Last night’s marina charrettes were a huge success. What stood out most to me was how genuinely representative they were of all viewpoints on the marina, with multiple, accessible ways for residents to share their opinions.

Pictured below are the different potential uses discussed: marina-direct uses, civic and open spaces, commercial, and housing. You can clearly see how residents felt — green for yes, red for no. That kind of visual, community-driven feedback is powerful.

I was very pleased with the turnout, and from the photos I’ve seen, it looks like today’s afternoon charrette was just as successful. Dover Kohl did an excellent job facilitating the process. Their presentation on the history of our marina and its many past uses was thoughtful and informative, and hearing it directly from Victor Dover himself really set the tone.

One quote he shared stuck with me: “No one will get everything they want, but everyone will get something they want.” That’s an important reminder for a project of this scale — this is a true community effort.

As many of you know, I’ve been vocal about the importance of reopening the marina and seeing it function as a marina first. What comes alongside that should be decided by the citizens.

This project matters deeply to our community, and getting it right means making sure every voice is heard.

If you haven’t attended a charrette yet, you’re in luck — tonight is the final one, from 6:00–8:00 PM at City Hall in the Rotunda. I hope you’ll come out and be part of the conversation.

I love this city so much, and last night made me incredibly proud of it. Thank you to everyone who showed up and made their voices heard!

01/21/2026

Today’s the day! 🌞

The Marina Charrettes give us a real opportunity to shape the future of our waterfront. Local government is listening, now it’s on us to participate and make sure community voices lead the way to restoring our marina. 🛟

I’ll see you there! ⚓️

01/14/2026

Looking ahead to next week, the City of Panama City will host a series of public charrettes for the downtown marina, and I strongly encourage folks to attend.

About a month ago, the City Commission voted 3–2 to go out for bid on the first 50 slips at the marina. Since then, there’s been a lot of conversation about what comes next, so I want to share some context.

For several months, the city has been in discussions with a local development group, City Marina Partners (CMP), who have presented ideas for rebuilding the marina. More recently, the conversation expanded to include the uplands — the area where the Civic Center once stood, along with former downtown businesses extending Harrison Avenue toward the marina. CMP has reported that we have around 300,000 square feet of uplands to consider.

CMP has indicated that some level of upland development would be necessary to make a partnership financially viable. This discussion led to a split on the City Commission.

Mayor Allan Branch has been clear that he does not support entering into any agreement with an outside partner until the public charrette process is complete and we have confidence in what the community wants. Our Ward 1 Commissioner, Mr. Hughes, expressed concern about potentially leaving partners behind after months of good-faith discussions.

I tend to agree with Mayor Branch. Nearly eight years after Hurricane Michael, what I consistently hear from residents is simple: we want the marina done right, not rushed. Taking the time to gather public input before locking in long-term decisions is the right approach.

You may remember that the city previously held marina charrettes with Dover Kohl, an urban planning firm that works with communities to design people-centered spaces. We’re holding these charrettes again because Panama City has changed significantly in recent years, and city leadership wants this process to reflect who we are today.

Dover Kohl Marina Charrettes (Next Week):

• Wednesday, January 21
Community presentation & open house
5:00–7:30 PM | City Hall Rotunda

• Thursday, January 22
12:00–2:00 PM | City Hall, Room 010
6:00–8:00 PM | City Hall Rotunda

This is a real opportunity to help shape the future of our marina and downtown. I hope you’ll take part.

12/25/2025

Merry Christmas Panama City 🎄❤️☮️

11/03/2025

This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend the monthly Town Hall meeting at City Hall. I want to thank the City Charter Committee for making themselves available and for engaging with residents on these important issues.

I came out specifically to advocate for changing our municipal election dates to align with the Governor’s and Presidential races, a move which could dramatically increase voter turnout.

City Manager Jonathan Hayes recently released a memo (which I’ll share in a separate post) showing that our highest turnout in a municipal election over the last decade was just 25%. In comparison, no Governor’s election year had less than 50% turnout, and Presidential elections never dipped below 70%.

That’s a substantial difference. By aligning our election dates with the general election, I believe we’d see a similar rise in participation here in Panama City.

At the end of the day, the number one goal of elected officials should be to increase participation in local government. This change wouldn’t solve voter apathy entirely, but it would be a strong step toward showing our citizens: we want your voice to be heard, and we’re making it easier for you to do so.

I want to hear from you, what do you think about this idea?

P.S. Forgive the sunglasses… I think I still had a little Blues Brother left in me from the night before, and that early morning meeting light wasn’t exactly my friend. 😎

10/25/2025

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of attending a meeting for our Panama City Charter Review Board.

Did you know this is the first time in 60 years that our city’s constitution — known as the charter — is being reviewed? It’s an incredibly important process to ensure our city’s foundation reflects modern needs and values.

Here’s how it works: the citizen-led Charter Review Board, appointed by the City Commission, studies the charter and recommends updates. Any proposed change must first pass the board, then the City Commission, and finally go to a vote of the people on the ballot. It’s a long process, but an important one.

This week, the board discussed several key topics, including:
✅ The structure of the City Commission and its relationship with the City Manager
✅ The Mayor’s term length
✅ Moving our municipal election dates to align with the August primary and November general elections

The board voted to extend the Mayor’s term length from two years to four, while the discussion on moving election dates remains ongoing.

I believe shifting our local elections to coincide with state and federal races would increase voter turnout and give more citizens the opportunity to have their voices heard.

The Charter Review Board will also be present at the next Panama City Town Hall on Saturday, November 1st at 8:00 AM at City Hall in Downtown Panama City.

I hope you’ll take a moment to share your thoughts in the comments below — what do you think about these proposed changes? And if you can, I encourage you to attend these meetings in person or watch them online (I’ve linked the channel below!)

(At this time, it does not appear that the full meeting video has been published yet on the City’s YouTube channel, but I’ve linked their channel below. Once the full recording is available, I’ll update this post with the direct link.)

Welcome to the official YouTube channel for the City of Panama City, Florida. Here you will find the live stream of all public meetings along with video archives of past public meetings.

10/22/2025

6 months ago I had the honor of running to be your next commissioner for Ward 1.

Though the outcome was not what I hoped for, the experience deepened my understanding of our city and my commitment to serving it has never been stronger.

Since the election I have been continuing the work as a citizen advocating for our community. The campaign may be over, but the mission to build our community is still very much alive.

To me it’s not about the role, it’s about the goal. Getting to meet so many of you and hear so many of your concerns, is something I think about on a daily basis.

There is still so much work to be done, and I’m not finished yet.

05/30/2025

📣 Today is the official cutoff for political yard signs in Ward 1!

If you still have a Schultz sign out, please go ahead and take it in. You’re welcome to hang onto it—we’ve got plenty saved for the next 4 years—or feel free to dispose of it if needed.

I believe we’ve picked up all the large signs around town, but if you spot one still standing, let me know and we’ll come grab it!

Thanks again for all the incredible support over these past few months. I’m so proud of what we built together—and this is only the beginning. ❤️

— Daniel

05/21/2025

Thank You.

Tonight, we came just 39 votes short—810 people believed in this grassroots movement, and for that, I am beyond grateful.

Since August, I’ve had the honor of meeting so many of you—at your doors, on street corners waving signs, through your donations, and at community events. To every single person who believed in this campaign, thank you. You helped build something special.

This is just the beginning. At 22 years old, we made history—and I have no plans of going anywhere. I intend to stay actively involved with this new commission and continue fighting for the issues that matter most to our community. I fully intend to run again, and I’ll see you all soon.

Congratulations to Mr. Hughes on his victory tonight. I wish him success in his upcoming term as Commissioner.

If you have one of our yard signs, please feel free to take it in—we’ll be coming by over the next few days to collect the remaining ones.

From the bottom of my heart—thank you, Panama City.

– Daniel Schultz❤️🇺🇸🗳️