Tony Amaral Jr. won the Palm Coast City Council District 2 election on Tuesday, defeating Jeani Duarte. When he’s sworn in later this year, Amaral will take the place of Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri, who chose to run for County Commission instead of seeking re-election.
Amaral and Duarte advanced to the general election as the top two candidates in the August primary election. A nonpartisan race, Palm Coast citizens had three choices on their initial District 2 ballot. Jimmy Hengy was the odd man out, falling short by just over one thousand votes.
“We ran a great race,” Amaral said Tuesday. “We kept it clean, and that’s what we should do as residents and neighbors. Now we just have to get together on the Council and move forward, and decide how we’re going to shape Palm Coast. The next four years and two years are going to be very, I think, pivotal on which way we go so I just hope everyone shows up and does the work that we’re asked to do.”
Having shown interest in a Council seat for multiple years, Amaral placed first in both the primary and general elections. He scored exactly 45.00% in August, falling five percentage points short of winning the election outright. Duarte placed second in August with 30.17%.
Tony Amaral Jr’s winning campaign highlighted economic vitality and quality of life. His communication centered around ‘high-quality’ job creation, infrastructure, and economic responsibility. Duarte emphasized water quality, responsible growth, fiscal accountability, and government transparency. She also rallied for a strengthening of the city charter, which she repeatedly alleged the current and former Council of violating in relation to the appointment of Councilman Charles Gambaro.
“I fought the good fight and I’m continuing to fight the good fight. This isn’t over, this is just somebody else having to take the heat up there,” Duarte said with a laugh. “I get to come and go and enjoy my life and not get stuck to the meetings. But I am definitely right there alongside the citizens and I’m fighting the good fight continually. This is my home, this is what we invest in. Just because I’m not sitting up there doesn’t mean I’m a different person and doesn’t mean I changed my mind about anything I stand for. I bring out the facts and I stand with the facts.”
