Shauna Kanter, Palm Coast City Council Candidate: The Live Interview

Shauna Kanter is a candidate for Palm Coast City Council, District 2, running against Sims Jones, Alan Lowe and Theresa Carli Pontieri.

The District 4 seat is also up, with Cathy Heighter and Fernando Melendez vying for it. But since only two candidates are running, that race will only be on the November ballot, along with the potential candidates in a runoff from the District 2 race.

Here’s the sample ballot for the primary election.

As in 2018, both races are for open seats. Victor Barbosa, who was elected to a two-year term to complete the term of Jack Howell,  resigned the District 2 seat in March. Eddie Brabnquinho chose not to run for re-election in District 4.

With the 2018 election, the entire council had turned over in just four years. With the 0222 election, three more seats, including that of the mayor, will have turned over again, leaving Nick Klufas as the council member with the most seniority, and the only council member to have won re-election.

This is a non-partisan, at-large election. That means all registered voters in Palm Coast, regardless of party or non-party affiliation–Democrats, Republicans, independents and others–may cast a ballot for Palm Coast council elections, even though the district winner ostensibly represents that particular district.

Palm Coast council members serve four years. Until November, they were to be paid $9,600 a year, $11,400 for the mayor, not including a monthly “telecommunications” allowance. In April, the council voted itself a 151 percent raise. Starting with the first paycheck after the election, council members will be paid $24,097, plus health benefits (not included in the 151 percent calculation), plus the telecommunication allowance of $910 per year, plus a car allowance of $1,196 per year, for a total pay of $26,203 per year, plus a 2.5 percent increase per year.

FlaglerLive submitted identical questions to all candidates, with the understanding that additional questions might be tailored to candidates individually and some follow-up questions may be asked, with all exchanges on the record. Interviews of candidates who competed in the primary ran in July. The Live Interview’s aim is to elicit as much candor and transparency as possible. We have asked candidates to refrain from making campaign speeches or make lists of accomplishments. We have also asked candidates to reasonably document any claim or accusation. Undocumented claims are edited out. Answers are also edited for length, redundancy, relevance and, where possible, accuracy. If a candidate does not answer a question or appears to be evading a question, that’s noted.

But it’s ultimately up to the reader to judge the quality and sincerity of a candidate’s answers.

To vote: see a sample ballot here. Early voting is between Aug. 13 and Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at four sites in the county, listed here. You may vote early at any of the four sites regardless of your precinct location. To vote by mail, request your mail-in ballot here. Because of the Legislature's new law, restricting voting convenience, drop boxes are available, but only to a limited degree. The ballot drop box at the Elections Office will be monitored by a staff member beginning 60 days prior to the election, through Election Day. This drop box will no longer be available after office hours or on weekends, except during the early voting period. Other drop boxes will be available at early voting locations, but only during the days of early voting, and only during voting hours. Mail ballots must be received in the Elections Office by 7 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted. If returning your ballot by mail, please allow at least ten days for delivery.  A postmark does not extend this deadline. You may track your ballot here. All other election-procedure related inquiries can be answered at the Elections Office's website.

The Questions in Summary: Quick Links

• Basics
• Qualifications
• Powers
• Method and philosophy
• Concerns
• Needs and wants
• Budget
• Amenities
• Development
• Housing affordability
• Canals
• Denise Bevan
• Policing
• Rap sheet

The Basics: Shauna Kanter

Place and Date of Birth: April 1, 1974.
Current job: Not disclosed.
Party Affiliation: Republican.
Financial Disclosures: See Kanter’s disclosure here.
Resume: Not provided.
Website:

1. What makes you qualified to be a city council member? How have you specifically prepared yourself to be ready to succeed from day one? Tell us about you as a person: your personality, your temperament, your foibles: what character flaw do you bring to the council? Who do you admire most in office today among elected officials in Flagler County—the person you’d consider a model of leadership? Who in the world at large (beyond Flagler), and among the living, do you consider a role model of political or intellectual leadership?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

 

2. What is in council member’s power, and what isn’t? What is your understanding of when and how, if ever, you may direct or in any way exercise any authority over administrative staff other than the city manager and the city attorney? How would you deal with a problem, perceived or real, regarding a city employee, a manager (not the city manager) or a director?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

3. How do you describe your governing method and philosophy: how do you (or will you) prepare for each council meeting and workshop, what is your analytical method, issue by issue, and what drives your decision-making? What role do politics, ideology or immovable principles have in your decision-making approach?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

4. Cite three issues or concerns that in your view the city is addressing poorly or not at all, and explain how you intend to convince the council to change course.

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

5. Candidates and council members hear the phrase “needs, not wants” from many constituents, usually as a criticism of some specific proposal to spend money on a project the speaker considers a “want.” Please give two or three examples of what you consider “needs” and how you would address them as a council member, and two or three examples of “wants” that you believe are important enough to justify the required spending.

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

 

6. The city’s budget, like all local government budgets, will likely face revenue shortfalls in an expected recession. How will you make up the lost revenue? Where do you stand on property tax increases, including adopting tax rates that are not at rollback (which amounts to a tax increase under Florida law)? Short of new sources of revenue, and if you intend to stick to a rolled back tax rate, which nearly limits any growth in the budget, what city programs would you eliminate and what service levels would you reduce to achieve that?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

7. The city’s golf course, its tennis center and its pool serve a fraction of people, and all at a fee, but are heavily subsidized by general fund dollars, are in constant need of expensive upkeep, and, as in the tennis center’s case, in the midst of lavish expansion. Are you supportive of those amenities? How will you balance spending tax dollars for pools, tennis, golf or pickle ball when so many people don’t use these facilities?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

8. Palm Coast’s population has grown over 30 percent in the past decade and a half. A certain amount of NIMBYism—not in my back yard—is a recurring theme of existing residents opposing further development, and not just apartment complexes. Do existing residents have a right to close the development gates behind them, when Palm Coast as ITT envisioned it in the late 60s was planned for 600,000 residents? How do you define overdevelopment, and how do you define smart growth, with existing examples in the city. What percentage of our housing stock should be single-family homes as opposed to apartments?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

9. With the Flagler Realtors Association’s May 2022 report showing median house prices at $400,000, up from $294,000 a year ago, the city faces an affordable housing shortfall. How do you propose to diversify Palm Coast’s housing options? By what criteria would you approve or reject apartment complexes? Would you approve raising the density and height of multi-family, or apartment, structures in select areas of the city zoned for the purpose?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

10. Palm Coast’s saltwater canals may need dredging. It’s never been done in the 50-year existence of the city and its ITT antecedent. But the canals—like those recreational amenities mentioned above–are limited to a few neighborhoods. If and when it comes to that, who should pay for the dredging, and through what taxing mechanism?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

11. Evaluate the managerial style and effectiveness of City Manager Denise Bevan. Where does she shine? How can she improve?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

12. Palm Coast relies on the sheriff for policing. Evaluate that relationship. Do you consider the steep expansion of the Palm Coast policing force (and budget) justified in a low-crime era? Do you favor an independent police department for the city, now or in the near future?

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

13. Have you ever been charged with a felony or a misdemeanor anywhere in Flagler, Florida or the United States (other than a speeding ticket), or faced a civil action other than a divorce, but including bankruptcies, or faced any investigative or disciplinary action through a professional board such as the bar or a medical board? Have you ever been demoted? If so, please explain, including cases where charges or claims did not lead to conviction or disciplinary action.

Shauna Kanter did not answer the question.

2022 Election Candidates, Flagler County

Races	Candidates
County Commission District 2	Greg Hansen, incumbent (Rep)	Janet McDonald (Rep)	Denise Calderwood (Rep)
County Commission District 4	Joe Mullins, incumbent (Rep)	Leann Pennington (Rep)	Jane Gentile-Youd (NPA)
School Board District 1	Jill Woolbright, incumbent	Sally Hunt
School Board District 2	Lance Alred	Will Furry	Courtney VandeBunte
School Board District 4	Trevor Tucker, incumbent	Christy Chong
Palm Coast City Council Seat 2	Theresa Carli Pontieri	Sims Jones	Shauna Kanter / Alan Lowe
Palm Coast City Council Seat 4	Cathy heighter	Fernando Melendez