Andy Dance is the incumbent candidate running for re-election in District 1 of the Flagler County Commission. He faces one challenger, Fernando Melendez, in hopes to earn a second term on the Commission. Prior to serving as a commissioner, Dance was elected to several terms on the Flagler School Board.
Melendez and Dance will appear on the August 20th primary ballot, in an election that’s open to all Flagler County voters regardless of voter registration. The winner of that election will win the seat outright, with no runoff elections taking place due to the presence of only two qualified candidates.
Other Candidate Interviews
Flagler County Commission:
- Andy Dance – Flagler County Commission, District 1
- Fernando Melendez – Flagler County Commission, District 1
- Kim Carney – Flagler County Commission, District 3
- Bill Clark – Flagler County Commission, District 3 (Did Not Complete)
- Nick Klufas – Flagler County Commission, District 3
- Ed Danko – Flagler County Commission, District 5
- Michael McElroy – Flagler County Commission, District 5
- Pam Richardson – Flagler County Commission, District 5
Flagler School Board:
- Derek Barrs – Flagler School Board, District 3
- Janie Ruddy – Flagler School Board, District 3
- Lauren Ramirez – Flagler School Board, District 5
- Vincent Sullivan – Flagler School Board, District 5
East Flagler Mosquito Control Board:
- Julius ‘Jules’ Kwiatkowski – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 1
- Perry Mitrano – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 1
- Lance Alred – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 3
- Ralph Lighfoot – East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, Seat 3
Palm Coast City Council:
- David Alfin – Palm Coast Mayor
- Peter Johnson – Palm Coast Mayor
- Alan Lowe – Palm Coast Mayor
- Cornelia Downing Manfre – Palm Coast Mayor
- Mike Norris – Palm Coast Mayor (Did Not Complete)
- Kathy Austrino – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
- Shara Brodsky – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
- Ty Miller – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
- Jeffery Seib – Palm Coast City Council, District 1
- Dana ‘Mark’ Stancel – Palm Coast City Council, District 3
- Ray Stevens – Palm Coast City Council, District 3
- Andrew Werner – Palm Coat City Council, District 3
Interview Criteria
- The object of the interview is not to grill the candidate, nor to give them softballs. Ideally, in their answers the candidates provide to voters a useful insight into their ideology, their priorities, and their knowledgeability and preparedness for office.
- These questions are sent to each declared candidate in Flagler County’s local elections. All candidates running for the same office received the same exact questions.
- The only edits made are for spelling, formatting and basic grammar (i.e., ‘their’ when it should be ‘there’). Censorship of profanity may also be applied if it were applicable. Otherwise, answers are presented in their full form as the candidate provides them.
- Answers are subject to fact-checking if they contain information that’s blatantly misleading or untrue (misrepresenting factually verifiable information, misquoting a statistic, etc). Clarifications will be added underneath the candidate’s answer if applicable. The answers will still be presented as given even if a fact-check or clarification is needed.
Candidate Interview
Date of Birth: August 2nd, 1963
Hometown: East Islip, Long Island, New York. My family moved to Flagler County in 1972.
Career/Educational Resume: Click to View Resume
1. Do you believe your national political views are relevant to Flagler County voters? If so, explain what you hope those beliefs will communicate to residents about what kind of commissioner you’d be.
“National politics are relevant because it forms public opinion on local issues. For example, debt and balancing a budget. The federal government is in debt up to its eyeballs and can’t prepare a balanced budget. Unfortunately, many residents believe local government operates the same way. However, our local government must prepare a balanced budget every year and the County’s debt is low, as evidenced by the County’s S&P rating increase from AA to AA+. As Commissioner, it is imperative that we communicate effectively with residents to tell our story.”
2. What personal qualities do you possess that you believe would make you effective in forming consensus in a group with diverse viewpoints and philosophies?
“Consensus building starts with effective listening. You must understand the issues from all sides in order to bring everyone together toward a common goal or issue. Here is one example during my time as Commissioner where I was able to reach consensus on a delicate issue: School impact fees. Raising the impact fees was a contentious issue two years ago, as four members of the commission were opposed to raising the fees and I stood with the school district and their findings. AskFlagler.com even commented in their reporting that the final approval ‘was largely the result of the efforts of Commissioner Andy Dance’. Additionally noting that, ‘As for the final vote, it wound up unanimous in favor of a compromise in large part hashed out by Dance’.
3. In the long term, how much of Flagler County should remain undeveloped? Are local elected officials doing enough to prioritize conservation?
“Many counties have a rural development line…a boundary where urban development remains on one side, and on the other, rural agricultural areas can continue to operate without the pressures of development. To not deprive farm owners from accessing the value of their land, programs (such as the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program) are available for agricultural landowners to sell their development rights to protect their land. The time to review preservation and conservation is now, while the County has opened the Comprehensive plan for review.
“In the last two years, the County was able to bring $20 million dollars through state appropriations for preserving lands associated with the Florida Wildlife Corridor and for conserving ‘floodplain corridors’ to enhance water quality, preserve wildlife habitat and protect tree canopy.”
4. How do you view residential versus commercial development in terms of importance to Flagler County’s economic future? Is the county falling behind on either?
“Commercial and industrial development is critical for the future sustainability of Flagler County. Diversifying the tax base in order to relieve taxing pressure from residential property owners is essential. The county is crafting incentive programs, suggested by commercial experts and site selectors, that will make us more competitive with surrounding counties and will bring in clean, high-tech, high-wage jobs and reduce the migration of workers out of the county.”
5. Flagler County Commissioners are not bound by any term limits. If not compelled, do you believe in voluntarily relinquishing a seat after a certain number of years? How long would you serve in office if it were up to you?
“From my experience, term limits are positive. Establishing term limits would allow for an effective transition in leadership and would allow the community to effectively create training programs for prospective candidates to coincide with open seats (no incumbents).”
6. A 2016 study by the New York Times found that coastal flooding in Flagler County had more than doubled since the 60’s and 70’s. What actions can the county government take to help protect its coastal residents from this trend?
“Expanding stormwater capacities, preserving coastal and wetland habitat and fortifying critical infrastructure are all areas the County can, and is, taking action. Working with the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council, Flagler County has developed a draft Vulnerability Assessment Report, identifying flooding scenarios for different critical assets (I sit on the NEFRC Board of Directors). Additionally, the County is in the middle of the Comprehensive Plan update and will undertake a complete revision of the Land Development code this fall, providing an opportunity to incorporate resilient best practices.”
7. Give your evaluation of these county administrative leaders: County Administrator Heidi Petito, City Attorney Al Hadeed, and Special Projects Chief Holly Albanese.
“My evaluations of the County Attorney and Administrator are public record. I give the administrator high marks on her collaboration with other municipal administrators and ‘needs improvement’ in the areas of external communications. The County Attorney is extremely effective in all items concerning the beach and short-term vacation rentals. Evaluating Ms. Albanese is the role of the administrator. However, I will add that Ms. Albanese is a team player, filling in for any role or vacancy where the administrator needs help!”
8. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in your professional career, measured by how it impacted others? What were your next actions?
“Professionally, my most impactful life lesson was early in my career when I had a project deadline and was late turning it in. My boss at the time, took the late project and proceeded to immediately put it in the trash. He got the work done by an alternative method. I learned that deadlines are deadlines for a reason, and quickly learned the economic reality for not meeting deadlines.”
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
