The Flagler Women’s Club held its 2024 local candidate forum on Wednesday, bringing together most of the candidates running for County Commission and School Board in Flagler County, plus City Council in Palm Coast. Only a select few candidates missed out, some with substantive reasons.
Ed Danko, a County Commission candidate, had a family member in an accident. Jose Fabiani, a write-in County Commission candidate, claimed he was on ‘FEMA deployment’. The absence of County Commission write-in Michael McElroy was not explained. City Council candidate Ty Miller later said he had conflicting obligations. But one candidate missed out due to particularly unfortunate events: Fernando Melendez never got an invite.
Why Fernando Melendez Wasn’t Present
During the County Commission portion of the evening, placards were set up for every candidate who hadn’t expressly said they wouldn’t be attending. Danko and McElroy had one (Danko’s absence was last-moment). Melendez did not. His opponent, incumbent Andy Dance, sat alone with no arrangements having been made for Melendez. The absence was not addressed aloud by moderators as Danko’s was, and he was not mentioned at all during the event. It took reaching out to both parties afterward to find out what happened.
County Commission Candidate Fernando Melendez did not receive the invitation to attend. ⓒ AskFlagler
“I did have the wrong email address,” explained Women’s Club Chairperson Joann Soman. “I’m going to send him a note of apology.” She then sent an apology message. Along with her remorse for the error in contacting Melendez, however, Soman did contest that the forum was well-publicized enough that Melendez had the opportunity to reach out on his own accord. He did not. He claimed he hadn’t heard about it until the day before.
“I saw it the night before on Facebook and I had already planned to attend the Black Entrepreneurs’ kickoff,” Melendez said, referencing a separate event across the county. “If I had that invite weeks ago, I would’ve made plans to be there.” David Alfin, the incumbent Palm Coast Mayor who’s also a candidate this year, attended that same event and rushed to make the second half of the Women’s Club forum when City Council candidates were participating. Even if Melendez had left at the same time as Alfin, he’d have missed the county candidates’ portion entirely. Some other candidates, like Dance, attended part of the other event and made the entire forum. Melendez maintained he was not happy with the circumstances of his absence.
“It’s sad. The wrong email, to me, is the lamest excuse,” Melendez continued. “You know how many people called me up and sent me emails and text messages asking what happened?” Though it’s true he might’ve seen the event in time to make his own accommodations, he was still deprived of a communication that every other candidate received. His opponent had the chance to deliver his message unchecked. Melendez was frustrated to the point of speculating malice, saying he hadn’t been invited during his 2022 City Council campaign either.
County Commission & School Board Candidates
L-R: County Commission candidates Andy Dance, Kim Carney, Bill Clark, and Nick Klufas. ⓒ AskFlagler
The question-and-answer session was divided up into sections: first the candidates for County Commission and School Board were given their opportunity to introduce themselves and explain their priorities. Then the Palm Coast City Council hopefuls were given the same opportunity. The county portion was the less eventful of the two, and no candidates were particularly thorny with one another. One issue, however, did come up that united most County Commission candidates against a few individuals.
The first question of the evening asked for County Commission candidates’ opinions on the write-in entries of Michael McElroy and Jose Fabiani. Their entries required no fee or petition threshold, and effectively closed off the District 3 and 5 races to Republican voters only, with the winner of the GOP primary going on to face a blank line in November. Most candidates condemned the practice, with candidate Nick Klufas directly calling out Dennis McDonald in the audience for ushering Fabiani in to close off District 3. Kim Carney, Klufas’ opponent, and Andy Dance whose primary remains open to all voters, both put some impetus on local Democrats to run so they too could have a competitive primary for their own voters.
L-R: School Board candidates Derek Barrs, Janie Ruddy, Lauren Ramirez, and Vincent Sulilvan. ⓒ AskFlagler
The School Board candidates then received a question which seemed teeming with angst, but which ultimately produced four mostly similar answers: stances on book-banning. Once the epicenter of the nationwide controversy thanks to a former member’s crusade against one book in particular, Flagler County now has a process in place for parents to monitor what content their kids can access in school libraries. All four School Board candidates (Derek Barrs, Janie Ruddy, Lauren Ramirez, and Vincent Sullivan) agreed this sufficed.
The candidates were then asked to give five top priorities in a comically short one-minute window. Most, understandably, did not have time to get to five. Their answers were as follows, summarized:
- Andy Dance (County Commission District 1)
- Completing beach renourishment
- Completing comprehensive plan and land development code updates
- Retention of first responders
- Economic development
- Environmental protections
- Deferred maintenance
- Kim Carney (County Commission District 3)
- Infrastructure
- Beach erosion
- Public safety
- Budgeting
- Keeping green areas green
- Bill Clark (County Commission District 3)
- Quality of life
- Preserving natural landscapes
- No frivolous tax increases
- Nick Klufas (County Commission District 3)
- No speculative rezoning
- Joint collaborative economic development team between city and county governments
- Quality of life
- Septic to sewer conversions
- Pam Richardson (County Commission District 5)
- Public safety
- Environmental protections
- Holding the line on taxes
- Commitment to the entire community
- Derek Barrs (School Board District 3)
- School safety
- High-quality education
- Working with staff
- Working with the community and state legislature
- Long-range planning
- Good governance
- Janie Ruddy (School Board District 3)
- Return Flagler Schools to an A rating
- Reducing student mental health incidents
- Age-appropriate reading material
- Evaluate funds of ESE program
- Lauren Ramirez (School Board District 5)
- School safety: physically, mentally, and emotionally
- Resources for students and teachers, particularly ESE
- Vincent Sullivan (School Board District 5)
- Return Flagler Schools to an A rating
- Increase student safety
- Fiscal responsibility
Palm Coast City Council Candidates
District 3 City Council candidates Dana ‘Mark’ Stancel, Andrew Werner, and Ray Stevens. ⓒ AskFlagler
Usually one of the more contentious races in the county, the Palm Coast City Council portion was tense if mostly measured on Wednesday. The dominant theme of the discussion was growth, funding for new versus existing infrastructure, and the influence of developers and builders on the election.
That last element in particular pressed candidates when each one was asked whether they’d accepted any money from realty associations or PACs funded by developers. The candidates who denounced developer influence were noticeably excited about the chance to contrast themselves from some of their opponents. Two candidates in particular attempted, with tough crowd reception, to reconcile their support from the development industry with their own integrity.
City Council candidate Jeffery Seib, along with County Commission candidate Bill Clark, both touted their Sierra Club endorsements. ⓒ AskFlagler
Andrew Werner said he had received such donations, and volunteered the fact that he’d been endorsed by the Flagler County Association of Realtors. This proved not to be what the room was hoping to hear but he justified it by emphasizing what he considers a diverse group of donors and numerous interactions with residents while campaigning. Incumbent Mayor David Alfin, likely the man who the question was tailored against, also volunteered his FCAR endorsement but claimed that donations do not make one beholden to those who give them. His claim also didn’t go over well, predictable given the current public perception of money in politics.
The evening briefly became contentious during remarks by Peter Johnson, a challenger for Palm Coast Mayor. Johnson made the claim that he had personally collected every one of the signatures he needed to qualify for the ballot. Someone in the crowd, apparently the son of his opponent Mike Norris, appeared to accuse him of dishonesty. Johnson snapped back, saying that someone had visited his own door on behalf of ‘your dad’, to collect signatures for Norris. The son stormed out of the building, slamming the door behind him. Norris said afterward he wasn’t sure what his son had said but made it clear he wasn’t happy with Johnson over the incident.
City Council candidates were also asked for their top priority, but candidates were only asked for one this time around. Some opted to list multiple anyway. Their responses were as follows, summarized:
- David Alfin (Mayor)
- Balancing demographics, tax base, infrastructure
- Cornelia Manfre (Mayor)
- Finding quality city manager
- Peter Johnson (Mayor)
- Curtailing residential development
- Alan Lowe (Mayor)
- Infrastructure
- Mike Norris (Mayor)
- Revitalize infrastructure to attract jobs
- Kathy Austrino (City Council, District 1)
- Public safety
- Transparency
- Shara Brodsky (City Council, District 1)
- Water treatment plant problems
- Jeffery Seib (City Council, District 1)
- Secure natural resources
- Secure infrastructure to meet population growth
- Dana ‘Mark’ Stancel (City Council District 3)
- Bringing jobs to balance tax base
- Retain younger people
- Ray Stevens (City Council District 3)
- Slowing ‘uncontrolled or poorly planned development’
- No tax increases until all other options are exhausted
- Andrew Werner (City Council District 3)
- Economic vitality by diversifying tax base
