Meet our District 3 Okaloosa County Commission Candidate

(Republican) Wade Merritt

Website: https://vote4wademerritt.com/vote4wademerritt.com/

Meet Our Destin City Council Candidates


Meet our candidate for Okaloosa County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller

My name is Brad Embry, candidate for Okaloosa County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller. My wife,
Sarah, and I have been married for over 25 years. We raised our 3 children in the Niceville area and feel
extremely blessed to live and work in such a great county.

I earned a master’s degree from the University of West Florida in administration with a specialization in
government acquisition and contract administration. I earned a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice
from Troy University and an associate degree from Northwest Florida State College. I have also earned
five professional certifications, to include: Certified Fraud Examiner, Certified Economic Crime Forensic
Examiner, Certified Inspector General, Certified Inspector General Investigator, and Certified Inspector
General Auditor.

I have over 25 years of public service experience in Okaloosa County. Prior to joining the Okaloosa
County Clerk of Court’s Office, I gained 17 years of experience working in various capacities of law
enforcement and criminal investigations with the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement.

I joined the Okaloosa County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller’s Office as an investigator and
accreditation manager in 2015 assigned to the newly established Office of Inspector General. In this
role, I was tasked with establishing investigative policies and procedures, implementing industry best
practices for investigations, and seeking accreditation by the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement
Accreditation. Accreditation is a voluntary process in which external assessors evaluate the office every
three years for adherence to industry best practices as well as compliance with agency policies and
procedures. I successfully led the Inspector General’s Office to accreditation three times (2017, 2020,
and 2023). In 2018, I was promoted to the position of Inspector General and served in this role for a
little over five years. During this time, I managed agency operations related to audits and investigations,
evaluated policies and processes of county operations, evaluated internal controls, and consulted with
various county departments to help improve operations.

I currently serve as the Chief of Staff for the Okaloosa County Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller’s
Office. In this role, I work with our staff and various stakeholders to find innovative ways to make the
office accessible and transparent. I help ensure we are fulfilling all the constitutional and statutory
responsibilities required of the office. I also work with our various county partners in the advancement
and implementation of technology to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of government
operations.
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My goal as Clerk is to operate the office in a fiscally conservative manner, ensuring proper and effective
internal controls are in place over county finances, leveraging advanced technology for ease of access to
records and services and improved data security, and to work with our justice partners to develop
innovative ways to share needed information more efficiently.