In a nearly six-hour meeting rich in surprises and reversals, add Palm Coast City Council member Victor Barbosa’s decision to drop out of his run for the Flagler County Commission and seek to keep his seat on the council instead.
Barbosa is doing so even though his election signs for the county raise, first out of the gate and mushrooming across city and county in the last weeks, had suggested he was all in for the county race, where he’d have faced incumbent Joe Mullins and Bonnie Pennington in the Republican primary. The three candidates had so far poured their own money in their races ($7,000 from Pennington’s own pocket, $40,000 from Mullins’s, $2,000 from Barbosa’s), none reporting outside contributions.
Barbosa made his announcement toward the end of today’s Palm Coast City Council meeting, immediately after the council voted unanimously to appoint Denise Bevan the permanent city manager. Barbosa weeks ago had motioned to appoint her manager, but his motion had failed. Today, he was clearly buoyed by the appointment.
“At this time, I would like to say that I’ll be stepping down from the race for commissioner and I would like to really run for re election in the same position,” Barbosa said, moments before adjournment and in between congratulatory words for Bevan.
He said he decided to run for council again in part because she would be the permanent manager. “I like working with Denise, very happy that she got the job,” he said in an interview after the meeting. “She’s been doing a great job, everything is calm, you’ve seen how City Council is getting back into order.”
He’d not seen the managerial appointment coming. “That was a surprise, it’s awesome, she’s a great person, the staff is doing great with her, that’s what it’s about,” he said. “It saves us money, bringing someone new: if you bring someone new from out of state, it’ll just start up a whole new thing again, and God I don’t want to go through that again.” He was alluding to his bitterly fraught relationship with former City Manager Matt Morton.
Barbosa’s decision now reconfigures the race for District 2 of the Palm Coast City Council. Alan Lowe, the peripatetic candidate who’s run unsuccessfully for a council seat and the mayor’s seat, had filed to run for District 2, withdrawn, then filed again once Barbosa decided to run for County Commission. Lowe, Barbosa and Council member Ed Danko had campaigned together in 2020 but Lowe and Danko had a falling out with Barbosa since. Lowe and Barbosa are Republicans in the ostensibly non-partisan race, though parties and voters look closely at the candidates’ affiliation.
Sims Jones, a Democrat who’s run for council previously, is again a candidate for District 2. That primary election is on Aug. 23. If one of the candidates clears the 50 percent threshold, that candidate is elected. If not, then the top two vote-getters will be in a run-off in November.
Barbosa said he got “a lot of recommendations to stay on the council” from his constituents, a pushback against his run for a county seat that also contributed to his decision to reverse course. “I let them know what happened during the meetings, after the meetings,” he said. Barbosa frequently takes to social media, where he disseminates video summaries of issues and meetings. The videos early in his tenure had been more incendiary than informative, but that approach appears to have given way to a more business-like recasting.
Barbosa said he’d not talked to Mullins about his decisions, and had not given up on a commission run. He was merely putting it off to 2026. For now, he said, he was hoping for an election campaign that would be more decorous than those of 2020, both for council seats and the mayorship. “It was a pretty crappy race last time,” Barbosa acknowledged, “and I want to see that change, I don’t want that to happen. It’s a bad image we need to change in the city and the county.”
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DP says
Why must you stay, why ????? Your like a pimple that won’t just go away. You don’t represent the citizens. You represent your own interests. You and the other 3 monkeys are ill informed, misguided, and extremely judgemental. I was hoping to eliminate two cancers in one vote for county commission. You diffently will not have my vote. Time for you to go.
Dennis C Rathsam says
Looks like someone,s affraid of Mullens
Montecristo says
Congratulations you’ll be great there!
Joe S says
The slime trail these guys leave is revolting.
TR says
Before anyone votes this guy in for another term. I would like to know what the out come was from the investigation he was under.
Percy's mother says
So who are you voting for? Lowe / Danko?
You’re kidding right?
The Lowe/Danko twins are the most divisive people in Palm Coast (not to mention their respective “pasts”).
Jimbo99 says
Maybe ? Then again how is the Mullins legal thing progressing. Haven’t heard anything about that lately. Really haven’t heard much from Mullins on anything after the Jan 6, 2021 thing. Mullins has almost become a model County councilman since that was labelled the insurrection. In fact, the entire council has tamed & toned down their shows & acts post Holland-Morton era ? We still get the occasional book banning waste of debate.
Flatsflyer says
So, which candidates are still under criminal investigation, seems like the investigations that started into city and county members where never concluded o no such announcements where ever made. Maybe Staley needs to take over the investigations, he always gets his man, just ask him.
David Schaefer says
You and your boy Stanko have got to go period…
preacher says
This man is very dangerous, I was behind him while waiting for children to get off the bus on Bridgehaven and Brittany lane, he was driving his Man Cave jeep looking like vehicle, he didn’t want to wait for everyone to get off the bus and made a left hand turn on to Brittany in front of the bus. Lights were on, stop sign was out, he couldn’t have not missed them, he feels rules don’t apply to him.
John Stove says
Great…..if he wins we gain absolutely nothing other than the lowering of the IQ in the council chamber. This guy is a total tool.
Deborah Coffey says
It’s just so disappointing that these guys are the best that Republicans can put forward…Lowe, Mullins, Danko, Barbosa…a far right wing disruptive and rude crowd. We can’t continue to run our city and our county with any of these people in office. Put the Democrats back in power. The city was run well when they were in charge.
Michael Cocchiola says
Either two things… he was bought out, or he couldn’t match Mullins’ money and his bully pulpit as chair of the BOCC… a “gift” to him from Dave Sullivan, Don OBrien, and Greg Hansen, probably hoping he’d behave.
Marie says
Does this mean he is going to remove all those eyesore signs all over the county? Please!!!
Skibum says
Oh jeez, aren’t we the lucky ones. Ugh.
Whathehck? says
What a pity! I was so looking forward to see the 2 fascists hurling insults at each other. Missing big time on free entertainment.
I guess it’s back to the theater for a good laugh.
Dennis says
As a hard core republican, I will vote democrat befor voting for Vic. He has to go!
ASF says
Sweetheart deal made with Mullins who is known to be a supreme bully. If Barbosa hadn’t complied in stepping away from challenging Mullins, it would have gotten very nasty, very quickly.
JLS says
You’re assuming a deal? If you have actual details and knowledge, they need to be made public.
Trailer Bob says
I was an equivalent of these politicians when I lived up north, just called another name.
I was aa Republican in a Democratic state, yet I got things done and work with the other side for the benefit of the community.
I would love to run as a Republican, but would have to distance myself from these lunatics who pretend to be Republicans.
I would call them more likely uneducated whackos who just want to take the money and really don’t care about the rest of us.
We will see…
No More says
The Democrats should do the county a favor. Switch to Republican for the primary, since most of the races that day are non partisan, and vote for anyone on the ticket but Mullins. Be a part of getting him out. The you can switch back in November.
Aunt Edna says
@ Mike Cocchiola: He can match Mullins money. And the three who voted for Mullins to be chair of the BOCC were Sullivan, O’Brien and Mullins.
Regan says
Greg Hansen did NOT vote for Mullins. Mullins was the third vote for himself. Dance and Hansen voted no.
Aunt Edna says
@No More,
Do us ALL a favor.