AskFlagler County Commission Interview: Kim Carney

Kim Carney is one of four candidates filed to run for the Flagler County Commission in District 3. She faces fellow Republican candidates Nick Klufas and Bill Clark on the August 20th primary ballot open only to registered Republican voters. The winner of that primary election will go on to face write-in candidate Jose Rodriguez Fabiani in the general election this November.

This is Carney’s second bid for County Commission, after narrowly losing to David Sullivan in 2020. With Sullivan retiring, Carney is running again. Previously she served as a member of the Flagler Beach City Commission.

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: March 27, 1956

Hometown: Ayer, Massachusetts

Career/Educational Resume: Click to view.

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.

“As a conservative Republican my political views align with a large portion of Flagler County citizens. My goal is to represent the citizens of Flagler County where I will continue to support the principles of lower taxes, smaller government, fiscal responsibility, individual freedom and traditional family values, focus on the needs of the people so I can be the voice of the people I serve, support local businesses as a major contributor to economic development in Flagler County, use critical thinking and research to obtain information I need to make informed decisions, and fight to maintain our quality of life while keeping our taxes in line with our needs.”

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?

“Research and data are very important to me. I will be able to address issues using critical thinking and support my remarks with data and how I arrived at my decision. The truth is I will not have support on every decision I make. That is why we have representatives for five different areas of the county. I will present and support my position and, using my negotiating skills, reach consensus. I have participated in subjects where I knew I did not have the votes to move my idea or my project forward; but I spoke up anyway. When citizens have issues I believe they should be presented and discussed.”

3. In the long term, how much of Flagler County should remain undeveloped? Are local elected officials doing enough to prioritize conservation?

“I am in favor of acquiring land for the purpose of protecting the environment. The undeveloped area of Flagler County lies mostly on the west side of the County near US-1. If there is a need to support economic development I would work to develop properly zoned land for that purpose. I love our parks and beach access areas of Flagler County. Having natural areas is a major player in our economy.”

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?

“The make up of Flagler County is not the same as Palm Coast. I feel the county government should have more economic development. I would like to see a more active department. I believe the defunding of the ED several years ago was a major mistake on behalf of the BOCC.”

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?

“Elected officials are voted into office. They are also voted out of office. When the voters of Flagler County believe I am not doing my job the election process will decide who the representative from District 3 will be. I served nine years (three terms) on the Flagler Beach Commission. In my case, my family and my quality of life will decide how many terms I serve.”

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?

“Flagler County and Flagler Beach studied the critically eroded coastline in Flagler County using the USACE Feasibility Study program. Once found to be critically eroded the County, non-federal government sponsor, signed an agreement with the Federal Government to help to maintain this area. Unfortunately, due to cost, and the amount of protected assets, the only program that the county qualified for is S 7th – S 27th St in Flagler Beach with a dune restoration program. The current need is to assure funding to continue to participate in dune restoration and to work to protect what is now critically eroded areas in the northern 12 miles. Unfortunately there is no ‘protection’. There is no fix. There is sand harvesting. The county has engaged in this process and is poised for additional projects. They need to have a funding source to get this done.”

7. Give your evaluation of these county administrative leaders: County Administrator Heidi Petito, City Attorney Al Hadeed, and Special Projects Chief Holly Albanese.

“I cannot evaluate any leaders at this time. I have years of experience doing performance reviews for employees. In Flagler Beach we evaluated the City Manager and the City Attorney. I am prepared to do that when the time is right. I am also prepared to hire any vacancies while I serve on the BOCC.”

8. What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made in your professional career, measured by how it impacted others? What were your next actions?

“I cannot recall a situation that is asked in this question. I prefer not to make one up; however, in order to answer the question I would comment that no one is perfect. I will most likely make a mistake; with the help of four other board members it is more likely that I will not impact my constituents negatively. When this happens I will be the first to apologize and take accountability. I will also pledge not to make the same mistake again.”