Volusia County Council Dist. 4 candidates Post and Bonarrigo disagree on 'effectiveness' - Daytona Beach News-Journal
Volusia County Council Dist. 4 candidates Post and Bonarrigo disagree on 'effectiveness' - Daytona Beach News-Journal |
| Posted: 30 Sep 2020 02:33 AM PDT  Voters' feelings about District 4 Councilwoman Heather Post seem to be a measure of extremes. Everywhere one turns, people either like her or dislike her, with little nuance in-between. So when Ormond Beach resident and local manufacturing business owner Barbara Bonarrigo decided to run against Post last year, their respective camps were easily recognizable. Those who don't like Post are in the Bonarrigo camp. The goal of ousting Post from the seat was made clear by one of Bonarrigo's first phrases during a Citizens for Ormond Beach candidate forum last week. "Currently we have an ineffective person on the county council in District 4," said Bonarrigo. "As a business owner of a manufacturing company in Volusia County, I know firsthand how to lead, unite and work together with the city and the businesses for the betterment of Volusia County." Bonarrigo, in a phone interview, said Post has difficulty drawing any support on the dais. Post did not make time last week for an interview with The News-Journal. But in a review of the 2020 County Council meetings, Bonarrigo's assertion that Post often lacks support on the council seems true. Post sometimes takes a lengthy amount of time to make her point at council meetings, and her ideas tend to get shut down before they are fully formed — most often by the person running the meetings, County Chair Ed Kelley. But Post also has spurred change and drawn consensus on some issues, including distribution of federal CARES Act funding to a greater number of middle-income homeowners for coronavirus mortgage and rent relief. Post, for her part during the forum, dismissed the suggestion that she is ineffective. "I think I've proven very effective to anyone that has followed along in politics over the last four years," responded Post during her introduction. "I have absolutely proven that I am making policy decisions based on people and not politics, I have absolutely put boots-on-the-ground people who work and play in Volusia County as my No 1 priority." Both candidates have sizable support from their respective backers, which is reflected in their campaign contributions. Campaign finance Of the $70,430 Bonarrigo raised in campaign donations as of Thursday, $36,000 came in the form of $1,000 individual donations. $10,000 of which came from the address associated with ICI Homes and developer and businessman Mori Hosseini. Bonarrigo also received at least $11,000 from addresses associated with Hyatt Brown and P&S Paving. Bonarrigo might have had another $10,000 in her war chest if she had not returned as much from potential Avalon Park developer Beat Kahli. Post's $25,782 in campaign donations came largely from the public safety sector and law enforcement communities, with 60 out of 251 contributors showing a protected address. Protected addresses in public records indicate a government employee whose address is undisclosed under law. Post, on social media, has been proud of her endorsements from the Volusia County firefighters union and the Volusia County deputies union as well as numerous other public safety organizations. "She fights for public safety at every turn," said Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood in a video endorsement of Post that was published last year when Post launched her reelection campaign and which she re-shared recently. "She's a change agent. That doesn't go over really well in a county full of good old boys." A deputy from 2008 to 2010, Post's departure from the Volusia County Sheriff's Office came amid charges of workforce discrimination, allegations of untruthfulness, and a wrongful termination lawsuit that was dropped after the county agreed to pay $44,000. The letter of termination in 2011 was retracted by then-sheriff Ben Johnson after the settlement and Johnson then accepted a letter of resignation from Post. Johnson is now a county council member. Her campaign finances in 2020 are a far cry from her first council run in 2016, when she raised $175,284, much of it from large donations from some of the county's developers and owners of hospitality businesses. Most of those interests are not helping her this time around. Also during her 2016 campaign against Al Smith, Post was dogged by a record of a lie detector test she took earlier in her law enforcement career, in which she indicated she tried marijuana and cocaine when she was younger. Post, in a press conference, claimed the record of the lie detector test was fraudulent. More: Cocaine use, work history targeted in county council race More: Historic: Women take charge of Volusia council With that history on her record, why has she garnered so much support from the public safety sector? Volusia County Professional Firefighters Association president Justin Hughes cites Post's enthusiasm and tenacity. "We feel the enthusiasm and passion Councilwoman Post brings to the issues is highly valued and respected," wrote Hughes in an endorsement of Post. "More importantly, Councilman Post has demonstrated a tenacity and an unwillingness to back down or be intimidated. This has led to numerous significant positive changes to our community. Chitwood, in a text message this week, said he feels the same way about Post now as he did then, adding that he feels she is the "hardest working member of council." As sheriff, he is "out and about all over the county" and said he sees Post, whose husband is a Volusia deputy, out and about all the time, engaging with the community. "I see her everywhere," said the sheriff. More: Volusia Councilwoman Heather Post demands county change record of her departure as deputy Of those in the Bonarrigo camp, outgoing County Chair Ed Kelley is a vocal supporter. Despite rumors that Kelley encouraged Bonarrigo to challenge Post to the seat, Kelley said this week that's inaccurate. "She reached out to me," said Kelley. "I explained to her what was involved." But Kelley definitely supports Bonarrigo's effort. "She had shown leadership in the organizations she was in," said Kelley of Bonarrigo's presidency in the Atlantic Federated Republican Women's club, her membership in the Volusia Manufacturers Association and in the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce. Peggy Farmer, who retired as executive director of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce in 2005 after serving seven years in the position and who has been involved in the area political scene for years, is another one of Bonarrigo's advocates. Farmer said she was trying to back away from the political scene, but when she attended a town hall hosted by Post on the Ormond-by-the-Sea septic-to-sewer issue, she dove right back in. "(Post) scared everyone and frightened all the Ormond-by-the-Sea residents," said Farmer. She added that when Post stopped Ormond Beach City Commissioner Dwight Selby from speaking at that meeting, Farmer decided Post needed to go. "I was so disappointed (in Post)," said Farmer, saying that Bonarrigo "always wants to learn" and wants to work with city officials instead of against them. "I really like that fact, that she's a good listener," said Farmer. After four years on the dais, Post has acquired the institutional knowledge that comes with holding office. Bonarrigo's knowledge of county politics and governance is more limited. Her forte, she admits, is more focused on the business community at large — and manufacturing in particular. She said it's critical for Volusia County to increase manufacturing jobs. The News-Journal reached out to Post several times last week by phone and email to secure an interview for this article, but she was unavailable for comment. Post did send an email saying she was available at a specific time one day, but that email wasn't seen until that time had passed. She did not return messages from The News-Journal seeking another time for an interview. While Bonarrigo replied to all questions from a News-Journal reporter this week in a phone interview, questions and answers from a Citizens for Ormond Beach candidate forum that both candidates attended on Thursday were quoted for this article. Here are some of the candidates' responses: The questions Q. The Avalon Park project is planned for 10,000 homes west of I-95 in the Daytona Beach area. The development has the potential to impact the northeast Count Council district and particularly residents of Ormond Beach. The developer has indicated interest in requesting a $75,000 million bond from the county to support roadwork and infrastructure for the project. Would you support a bond funding request or any monetary or legal incentives for the Avalon Park developer? "Avalon Park certainly would have a great impact on the area, not just for Ormond Beach but obviously Daytona," said Post. "Another area where I believe it will have a tremendous impact, which a lot of people aren't necessarily focusing on, is the wildlife corridor and the environmental impacts there." Post, the first to answer the question, pointed out that the developer never officially asked the County Council for a bond. "There was no specific ask from the council or for that," said Post. "However, I think I've made it very, very clear that I am not in favor of agreeing to a bond." But Post did not rule out incentives for a variety of business in Volusia County "across the board." "But I really think when we're looking at incentives — whether it's development, small business, whatever — we really need to look at the incentive versus the return on investment." Post said the county has not been good about that in the past. Bonarrigo echoed Post's remark about the bond request being in the "preliminary stages." "It all would have to make sense for everyone, for the citizens and the county to move forward," said Bonarrigo. "And that's something that I would have to look at. Not only look at, but also work with the developers, with the city." Bonarrigo said since the project is in Daytona Beach's territory, that city's rights to develop as it sees fit have to be taken into consideration. "We have to take it into consideration and work together," said Bonarrigo. "And that's one of my strengths that I have." Q: Do you feel like you can really control growth in Volusia County, and how would you accomplish that? "The overall sentiment from citizens I hear, is that they're not really against growth, but they want (Volusia) to grow in a smart, managed way," said Bonarrigo. "They want high paying jobs and to grow responsibly." Bonarrigo said that's something she is "all for." Post said she has been mentioning growth management for the past several years. "I've mentioned that we really need to be working collectively, beyond jurisdictions, to talk about smart growth and smart development," said Post. "I know that sort of scares everyone, because everyone has a different definition of what that means. I can tell you that I'm not against development, but I am for doing it, and ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of the community." The candidates NAME: Barbara Bonarrigo AGE: 56 OCCUPATION: Owner, CJ Manufacturing in Daytona Beach. POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Former president of the Atlantic Federated Republican Women's Club. TOP 3 PRIORITIES: High-paying jobs; quality of life and natural resources; public safety. NAME: Heather Post AGE: 47 OCCUPATION: Public speaker, business owner and instructor; former public safety officer POLITICAL EXPERIENCE: Current Volusia County Councilwoman for District 4 since 2017 TOP 3 PRIORITIES: Post did not reply to a request for a list of her priorities for this article.  |
| You are subscribed to email updates from "lie detector test online" - Google News. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google, 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043, United States | |
Comments
Post a Comment