AskFlagler Palm Coast Mayor Interview: Peter Johnson

Peter Johnson is one of five candidates running for Palm Coast Mayor, alongside Cornelia Downing Manfre, Alan Lowe, Mike Norris, and incumbent David Alfin. The election comes at a time when Palm Coast is greatly expanding, the effects of which have proven conflicting for local residents.

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: July 6th, 1993

Hometown: Plainsboro, New Jersey

Career/Educational Resume:

• I’m a graduate of Daytona State College – AA, AS, Paramedic
• Flagler Technical Institute – EMT
• Self Employed Handyman
  

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.

• “Overdevelopment: stop rezoning and adjust the Land Development Code.
• “Infrastructure: make it a priority to address water, road, and emergency services.
  
• “Cutting wasteful spending: No more self-appointed pay raise and a top down assessment of each department to better align with our budgetary constraints.”

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.

“Out of the four types of temperament I would consider my attributes to coincide closest with sanguine (being optimistic and social). One of the most critical roles as Mayor is to effectively bridge the gap between government & residents while being able to effectively communicate and engage my counterparts on the dais. I must ensure that residents feel represented properly as the next Mayor of Palm Coast.”

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.

“City Council’s responsibility is limited to hiring / firing the City Clerk, the City Manager and legal counsel. Carl Cote and Jason DeLorenzo are ultimately staff who do not take direct direction from the City Council. The new city manager which the next administration is responsible for performance evaluations on city employees and will make determinations based on their performance levels. Lauren Johnston is the ACTING City Manager and upon the hiring of a new manager will return to her original position as Assistant City Manager. This is why it is so critical to hire a city manager who shares the same vision for Palm Coast as the residents do and will make the critical decisions pertaining to staff performance.”

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.

“Palm Coast does not have a fund generating issue – it has a fund allocation issue. A source of revenue that we can tap into is simply our tax dollars, that we already collect. We need to curtail city spending habits and address wasteful spending inside of each department. The last thing we should do is ask our residents to cover the cost associated with the reckless over-development of Palm Coast and we must work diligently to explore every and all potential sources of revenue to help alleviate the tax burden on our existing residents, starting with impact fees for new construction.”

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?

“The City Council has recently taken steps to further and better educate the Council and residents alike. I am looking forward to the presentation from the subject matter experts and would not have any objections as long as we are mindful of spending and ever-increasing budgetary constraints. I remind people that I am in favor of this simply as a trust-building exercise, to better the strained relationship between the current and prior councils with residents. I also remind people that frivolous spending of your tax dollars is not a crime – although it should be, which I believe will be the ultimate conclusion of any such audit. The fact that there is even a discussion about a forensic audit is troubling enough and shows the distrust and lack of representation residents experience with our current mayor. It goes without saying that scrupulous behavior in the city will not be tolerated and will be immediately addressed.”

You stated ‘I am in favor of this simply as a trust-building exercise’. To clarify, in this statement are you saying you’re in favor of the existing transparency initiatives you referenced just prior, or that you’re in favor of a potential forensic audit? Is an undertaking that is by your judgment ‘a trust-building exercise’ worth the six-figure expenditure it would almost certainly incur upon the city?

“I’m in favor of both, but we don’t have a number or estimate yet. It could potentially be costly but the rift between residents’ trust in the council and local government can also be more costly in order to achieve any meaningful goals. While I have my personal opinion, it takes other votes and we must be mindful of spending. So it would truly be a discussion to be had on the dais with the other council members input as well.”

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?

“Being someone who intimately understands the issues of Palm Coast is my biggest strength. Being able to articulate the basic needs of our city regarding appropriations and working directly with our lobbying group is essential to success. The major complaints about the state appropriations this year were based on the fact that we requested money for inappropriate projects, in addition to important funding requests that were ultimately denied. There are inevitably going to be areas where we need assistance, it’s why the state has appropriations to begin with. I will actively lobby Tallahassee and our state representatives to bring money back home to Palm Coast to fund any shortfalls created by prior administrations.”

You stated that ‘we requested money for inappropriate projects’. Could you point out which of Palm Coast’s funding requests you’re referring to?

“The westward expansion loop – the only thing we received state appropriations for. We should not be expanding the city’s footprint before addressing the concerns of Palm Coast as it exists today.”

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? 

“Instead of talking about affordable housing, we should be talking about fostering economic opportunities and attracting better employment opportunities for the city, making the housing options affordable. Cities do not dictate prices on real estate – the market does. The future council can and should work to implement strategies to address the issue, but ultimately housing is affordable based on income as you correctly mentioned. Spending 50% plus of your income on your housing expenses is unsustainable, coupled with inflation, is a major obstacle for our workforce-age residents that we desperately need to retain. This is not just a local issue.”

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?

“The long term solution for public safety is to continue to provide the high quality of service that Palm Coast residents expect and deserve. I will be making it a top priority to ensure we have the necessary and proper funding for law enforcement, EMS, and fire services. The rapid pace of growth that Palm Coast has recently experienced highlighted the need for additional deputies, firefighters, and EMT/ paramedics as well as the support staff needed to effectively handle the increasing amount of calls for service. We must ensure FCSO can continue keeping our roads and community safe and can handle the increase in call volume that is directly linked to the council’s approval of extensive residential development. We must work together and coordinate as a council to ensure these critical services remain up to the standard our residents have come to know and love.

“One option to discuss for funding additional deputies in the future would be to consider a ‘Sin’ Tax if Amendment 3 (Marijuana Legalization) passes. Another option that should be better utilized is adjusting impact fees to cover the needed additional deputies.”