Not even four months after he was elected to office, Ray Stevens has resigned his District 3 seat on the Palm Coast City Council. Stevens’ resignation was submitted to the City of Palm Coast on Friday, due to health concerns. He had missed multiple meetings before his resignation, and attended part of Tuesday’s workshop remotely before signing off during the meeting. FlaglerLive, who first reported the news, said that Stevens is in ‘critical condition’.
Stevens won a three-way race for the City Council’s District 3 seat in 2024. He advanced out of the August primary election having received the second most votes, beating out third place candidate Dana ‘Mark’ Stancel by just two votes. Stevens then went on to beat Andrew Werner in the November general election.
“It is with great regret that I find it necessary to resign my position as City Council member of Palm Coast City Council District 3 effective today February 28th, 2025,” Stevens said in his resignation letter. “This decision has been difficult as it has been an honor to serve our community and to the important work we have undertaken together, however I have made the decision to resign due to my health. I want to express my sincere gratitude for the opportunity to serve on the City Council and
for the support I have received during my time here. Thank you once again for the trust and confidence you have placed in me.”
Prior to running for City Council, Stevens made one bid for Flagler County Sheriff in 2012, losing that race to Don Fleming. His second campaign started slow, but gained momentum after an impactful performance at a candidate forum last year.
The City Council will now be tasked with appointing an interim Council member within 90 days of Stevens’ resignation. That member will serve until the 2026 election, at which point a new member will be elected (it may be the same member who was first appointed). The winner of the 2026 election will serve until 2028, at which point another race will be held to elect a Council member for a full four-year term. The City Council has term limits of two four-year terms, but a member who is appointed to less than one full term, as this one would be, would be able to serve for more than eight years if they’re subsequently re-elected.
From the time of the new appointment until the 2026 elections the City Council will have two out of five members who were not elected, but instead appointed by the City Council. Charles Gambaro was appointed following the resignation of Cathy Heighter last year. Two other members, Mike Norris and Ty Miller, have only been on the job for a couple months. Theresa Carli Pontieri was before and is still the senior-most elected official in Palm Coast, having been voted in during the 2022 elections.
As a recent transplant (from New York), This does not bode well for the council at large. Not disparaging anyone but the lack of depth in the positions currently held combined with the narrow experience of council members concerns me. In business, we surround ourselves with experts in one area for the purpose of making sound decisions based on facts. Having expressed that thought, what is the plan to move forward?
With the issues, costs and delays of the water treatment project, how will the vacated position influence the future of Palm Coast residents? There is no acrimony in the aforementioned. I appreciate the work being done