Campaign Phone
404-316-0797
Upcoming Property Tax-I am currently working in my current role of Mayor of Daytona Beach Shores on revisiting our upcoming budget and what services can be cut. I respect the decision our voters will make on this upcoming Bill that will be placed on ballot in November.
Flooding- I am current co chair of Volusia Storm Water and Flooding commission. Collaboration with all 16 cities in discovering solutions, grant options and sharing best practices.
Yes the county and cities have been impacted by SB 180. What started out a a basically good bill protecting residents after Hurricane, added language that limited control cities have in fixing storm water issues. I was not part of the campaign “to sue the state”, but instead used diplomacy and relationships I have built to advocate for changes in language to remove sections of the Bill that invaded home rule. I fully expect to see changes in this bill in the next session.
We can always DO MORE, more proactive storm water maintenance before Hurricane season. On the storm water committee, we are urging cities to apply for the Transform 386 grants, storm water upgrade and focus on city resilient programs. Congratulations to the Council for approving 400 million in funds to assist out cities and residents in flood recovery.
Our lovely beaches have greatly suffered during the past few hurricanes, I support any plan that supports restoration of our greatest asset, economic driver and tourist draw to Volusia County.
I am past Chair of the Roundtable of Elected Officials, current President of Volusia League of Cities were we collaborate with all 16 cities to discuss these issues, share Best Practices and find solutions thru previous lessons learned. In these roles, I understand the unique opportunities each of the cities in Volusia County face.
Great Programs that have added greatly to conservation, funding of programs that have added quality of life for our communities and residents.
Campaign Phone
3863161120
Property Tax Reform by far is the number one issue facing voters. Leaders now must start preparing for this eventuality. If it passes then cuts must be made. If not, then savings that were identified must be implemented. Our seniors and first time home buyers need relief, now! Comprehensive Storm Water Management must be achieved through a County Authority that mandates coordination and unified funding that would ensure that storm water management is handled in a way that storm water is managed from where it begins all the way out to the river/ocean and not into our homes and businesses. We can no longer be waiting on tides and winds to allow us to rid ourselves of flooding waters. It must be pumped out and away from our properties.
SB 180 was an affront to Home Rule. It removed all the innovative flood controls put in place after the lessons learned from Hurricanes Ian, Nicole and Milton because they were deemed to be "more restrictive and burdensome" to land developers. This was no help to those who continue to flood as a result of overdevelopment, like myself and my neighbors in the Tomoka Farms Village. We must fight to either have those terms removed from the bill in an amendment, have the bill repealed in total or wait for the bill to sunset in August of 2027. We must have the unabridged authority to do what is right for our constituents based on our local experiences. A governing body 4 hours away does not know what is best for us. Home rule must be preserved!
Decades of building, sprawl, and lack of maintenance or intuitive design have left residents knee deep at times in flood waters from rains and storms across our great county. Homes, businesses and roads continue to be inundated at times by what seem to be ordinary summer afternoon thunderstorms. We need to form a comprehensive Storm Water Management Authority by ordinance and eventually Charter Amendment, ensuring our 16 municipalities and the county become willing partners in an ongoing endeavor to begin meaningful repairs to protect our properties and investments to Keep Volusia Dry. The time for dumping hundreds of thousands of dollars in repetitive studies is over. Time to get to work. Pump the water out, before during and after storm!
Another study! We have been pumping sand back onto our beaches since I was a little kid. Mother Nature keeps washing it away! I'm an Emergency Manager with worldwide experience. Ive talked to the EM's in New Orleans, Galveston and even in the Middle East and I've seen what they have done to protect their coastlines. We need out of the box investments and we need to STOP doing the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome. We also need to protect coastal structures already in place but no more building east of the coastal construction control line! Make our seawalls and the barriers that protect them more robust! This will take more than sand and sea oats!
We must realize what one city does, affects its neighbors as well, whether that's development, including upzoning, resource use, wetland destruction, sprawl! If we are going to have a comprehensive land use plan for the county, it must include and be enforced county wide. There are countywide ordinances in place today that are not being enforced or even understood that if used, would alleviate many of our current sprawl issues. As far as water is concerned, we have a limited supply, and it must be kept as clean as possible without the threat of adding anything back into it to bolster the volume. So called, "Toilet to Tap" should not be used in our lifetimes until there is fool proof, affordable tech that would guarantee pristine water.
This is all predicated on possible homestead property tax reform. If this is passed by the voters in November, then the money coming in would be less. But the programs should be preserved with whatever the .2mills brings in and the qualifications for getting funds from the programs would have to become more stringent.
Properties purchased by VF should be preserved forever, not put on a list and never sold even for a "public purpose"! We must realize that once a piece of vacant land is developed, it is gone "forever", and we lose those life-giving properties that land once gave us! Forever is a very unambiguous term that needs no explanation or modification!
Flooding is a significant and recurring issue for Volusia County. I would address the issue of flooding by establishing a data-driven flood resilience platform. This could be done bye audit and map risk. I would offer a ranking system that weighs that weighs flood and reduction potential, cost, and community needs such as schools, hospitals, evacuation routes.
Affordable housing. I would collect and present data on rents, home prices, household income and the cost burdened to residents. Also identifying gaps for key groups such as low-income families, seniors, veterans, and seasonal workers. I would also create a standing affordable housing group working with quarterly meetings and public imput.
In SB 180 I feel it typically has at stake for Volusia County is our zoning and land use decisions. It would have potential limits on density bonuses, mixed-use zoning, ADUs, and transit oriented development approaches.
My personal idea to address this would be is
1. A Local-control preservation plan, which would commit to preserving essential county tools
2. Develop a countywide toolkit of incentives and processes that remain under local control, ready to deploy if state rules tighten.
3. Data-driven baseline and transparency commitment.
4. Intergovernmental collaboration model
I think we should look at structured, objective ways to assess the current flooding measures to see if they are adequate.
I also, believe that countywide flood resilience efforts are ongoing, with a focus on hazard mapping, infrastructure upgrades, resilience pilots, and cross-jurisdiction coordination.
Personally I could propose a flood resilience platform for Volusia County with a team which would include
1. Countywide Flood Resilience Master Plan
2. Data-Driven Prioritization and Transparency
3. Equity-Centered Flood Initiatives
4. Nature-Based Solutions and Sustainable Infrastructure
I do believe that it’s very critical to Volusia County as we have many that come and visit our beach. We also must still look at the effects that came from Ian and Nicole.
As a community member I believe that it offered great feedback back for all residents and those who are elected officials currently should continue to listen and learn more.
If elected to Volusia County Council At Large I would continue to listen and follow the study and come together with everyone countywide in town hall meetings.
As a lifelong Volusia County Resident and not a career politician but a community advocate and Volusia County School Board Employee.
I would create a Volusia County-City Coalition for Housing and Water Quality that should include County Commissioners, City Mayors, planning staff, the School district along with Water Management District representatives, utility providers and key non-profit organizations.
It’s my belief that we build resilient communities by merging housing and environmental health, ensuring affordable homes while protecting water resources and our coast.
Volusia Forever is a county- funded, voter- approved program designed to protect and preserve Volusia’s natural resources, including our parks, conservation lands, water resources, and wildlife habitat.
As a Volusia County Resident and Voter. I believe we should always seek to better our County and Communities.
