AskFlagler Palm Coast Mayor Interview: Mike Norris

Mike Norris is one of five candidates running for Palm Coast Mayor. He faces incumbent David Alfin, along with fellow challengers Peter Johnson, Alan Lowe, and Cornelia Downing Manfre. This is Norris’ first campaign for public office in Flagler County. Norris did not submit answers to AskFlagler’s candidate interview before the submission deadline.

The primary election for Palm Coast Mayor will take place on August 20th and will be open to all Palm Coast residents. If any candidate obtains one more vote than 50.0%, they will win the mayoral election outright. If none reach that threshold, the top two candidates will move on to the general election in November.

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: [Mike Norris did not answer this question]

Hometown: [Mike Norris did not answer this question]

Career/Educational Resume: [Mike Norris did not answer this question]

1. Name three issues in Palm Coast you see as most pressing right now, and what you see as the first steps in addressing them under the new City Council.

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

2. One of the key duties of a mayor is chairing City Council meetings. Describe your temperament in ways that are relevant to that responsibility.

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

3. With what you know now, give your evaluation of these city leaders: interim City Manager Lauren Johnston, Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo, and Stormwater & Engineering Director Carl Cote.

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

4. Are there any new or underutilized revenue streams you can name that Palm Coast could tap into to support its operating budget? If so, expand upon your plan for implementation.

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

5. In recent months some residents have broached the idea of having a forensic audit, a practice typically undertaken due to reasonable suspicion of financial misconduct. Do you see a forensic audit as being necessary for Palm Coast?

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

6. One of the duties of Palm Coast’s mayor is to lobby Tallahassee for state funding. What experience do you have that would prepare you to execute this duty effectively?

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

7. Adults under 25 in Palm Coast have a median income of $34,663, against a median annual rent of $24,156. Can Palm Coast take any additional steps to provide affordable housing to keep FPC and MHS graduates in town? Could doing so threaten to create a potentially excessive pace of residential development? 

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]

8. What does the long-term solution for public safety in Palm Coast look like? Do you think the city’s future growth will create enough tax revenue to fund indefinite, incremental additions of Flagler Sheriff’s deputies? If not, how does Palm Coast make ends meet to facilitate adequate law enforcement coverage?

[Mike Norris did not answer this question]