Shauna Kanter is a candidate for Palm Coast City Council, District 2, running against Sims Jones, Alan Lowe and Theresa Carli Pontieri. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
City Elections
Appointed in 3-1 Vote, Pete Young Is a Bunnell City Commissioner Again, 14 Years Later
The Bunnell City Commission Monday evening voted 3-1 to appoint Pete Young, who had served one term on the commission between 2006 and 2008, to the seat vacated by the resignation in July of Robert Barnes. It is the sixth time in four years that a seat has turned over on the commission, the third by appointment.
In Wake of Robert Barnes’s Resignation, Bunnell Commission Grapples With What To Do Next
For the second time in 13 months, the Bunnell City Commission is grappling with a resignation and how–or whether–to fill the vacated seat before the next election, scheduled for March. The charter leaves certain parameters undefined.
An Open Letter to Flagler County Voters Against Extremism, Buffoonery and Their Disturbing Candidates
The abuse of position and process (particularly by school board members) is egregious. The wasted hours in all three elected boards’ meetings (school board, county commission, Palm Coast council) on ridiculous, petty–or worse: imagined–problems has been sickening to endure, Jake Scully argues in a plea for well-researched votes in the coming elections.
8 Candidates, Most With Strong Credentials, Apply to Fill Palm Coast Council Seat Vacated by Barbosa
The eight applicants for appointment to the District 2 seat of the Palm Coast City Council are Tony Amaral Jr., Bob Coffman, John Fanelli, Larry Gross, Hung Hilton, Carl Jones Sr., Perry Mitrano and William Schreiber. The council meets in special session on March 22 to consider making the appointment, which must be final by the end of the month.
Mealy and Newcomer Sherman Win in Flagler Beach, Incumbents Barnes and Schultz Win in Bunnell
Long-time Commissioner Jane Mealy, one of the city’s more popular elected officials for over a decade and a half, again won handily, with James Sherman second, while in Bunnell incumbents Bob Barnes and Tina-Marie Schultz won, surprising recently retired FHP Cpl. Pete Young, a distant third.
Flagler Beach City Commission Election Profile: 2 Incumbents Speak Experience as a Newcomer Promises
The Flagler Woman’s Club on Tuesday hosted a forum for the three candidates running for Flagler Beach City Commission–incumbents Jane Mealy and Rick Belhumeur, and newcomer James Sherman. Here’s a complete report and analysis of the evening.
In Unusual Break with Meeting Customs, a Flagler Beach Commissioner Blasts Another Over Campaign Claims
Flagler Beach City Commissioner Ken Bryan described fellow-Commissioner Rick Belhumeur’s claims on the campaign trail of extravagant spending by the commission as “offensive” and “wrong” in statement unusually critical of a fellow commissioner–at a commission meeting. Bryan isn’t running in the March 8 election. Belhumeur is, and Bryan is backing a challenger.
Victor Barbosa Decides to Run for City Council Again, Abandoning County Commission Race Until 2026
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.
Bunnell Mayor Robinson Re-Elected; Ex-Commissioner, Police Chief and FHP Trooper Pete Young Runs Again
Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson, in office for all but two of the last 26 years, won another three-year term as mayor, and Pete Young, a former Bunnell commissioner and police chief, will run for a city commission seat, with two incumbents. Two Beverly Beach commissioners were reelected without opposition, but two Flagler Beach incumbents face one challenger in the March 8 municipal elections.
Incumbents a Crowd as Qualifying Soon Closes in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach for March Elections
For an off-year, 2022 will not be short of elections in Flagler County, starting with elections in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and Beverly Beach on March 8. A combined seven incumbents in the three municipalities are making a play to keep their seats, and absent additional candidates filing to run, Bunnell and Beverly Beach could end up with uncontested elections.
Switching Districts, Palm Coast Council’s Victor Barbosa Will Take On Joe Mullins in GOP Primary for Commission
They are among the most controversial elected Republicans in a county not lacking for them: Palm Coast City Council member Victor Barbosa and County Commissioner Joe Mullins. Now Barbosa, in a surprise, will challenge Mullins in the Republican primary for District 4 on the County Commission. Barbosa had originally filed to run against County Commissioner Greg Hansen in District 2.
Palm Coast Council Member Eddie Branquinho Says He Won’t Run in 2022–Unless ‘Crazies’ Are Running
Palm Coast City Council member Eddie Branquinho’s decision not to run means that with Victor Barbosa and Nick Klufas both opting for a run for County Commission, the council is assured of a new majority. Branquinho says he is leaving the door open for a re-election run in case his seat attracts “extremists.”
Final $128,000 Cost of Palm Coast Special Election for Mayor Was $60,000 Less Than Initial Estimate
The actual cost to the city–and to taxpayers–of the July 27 special election that brought Mayor David Alfin to power cost $127,983.15, compared to an initial estimate of $187,764. A low turnout of 26 percent, compared to the 79 percent that voted in last November’s election, drove the cost down.
Just Call Him David: Palm Coast Mayor Alfin Settles In With Exuberant Focus on Growth, Town Center and the Next Manager
In a wide-ranging interview in his new office at City Hall, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin talked about getting a budget done, getting a permanent city manager hired, and fostering the reemergence of Town Center as an economic, educational, cultural and health care hub.
David Alfin, Making a Point of Facing the Public on a Level Plane, Is Sworn-In as Palm Coast’s 4th Mayor
David Alfin was sworn-in as Palm Coast’s fourth mayor this evening in a simple ceremony and a well-attended meeting in which he made a point of defining his tenure as a service to residents, but also as a mission to bring civility and consensus to a sharply divided council. There was pointed symbolism and a few pointed remarks during the meeting.
Palm Coast Survives Its Own Big Lies. For Now.
The big lies lost. But Palm Coast isn’t out of the woods. Alan Lowe may have been rejected by 73 percent of the electorate, but David Alfin’s 36 percent win, with less than 10 percent of the actual electorate, is hardly a rousing victory for a campaign that won more by default than acclamation, with incendiaries like Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa still on the council.
An Uneventful Canvassing Board Meeting Pores Over 81 Provisional Ballots in the Palm Coast Election
The Palm Coast Canvassing Board had a quiet and uneventful session today, poring over 81 ballots that had to be judged valid or not. The absence of Alan Lowe partisans suggests their vague claims of a contestable election was nothing more than that.
Hours After Palm Coast Voting Ends, Conspiratorial Lowe Mutters and Weird Requests to Elections Office Begin
There have been no direct challenges to the election result that saw David Alfin beat Alan Lowe and four others, but a request for a “forensic audit” of the election and a vast public record request for information about anyone and everyone involved in the supervisor of election’s running of the election have been filed, suggesting more noise than reason.
Year-Long Cabal of Claims Against Holland Comes Down to Wrist-Slap Over 2 Errant Emails as Ethics Commission Rules
A 15-month drumbeat of sound and fury over allegations of corruption, cover-ups, cabals and criminal acts, a drumbeat that influenced two elections, a city manager’s career and the mayor’s own, among others, tarnishing the reputation of a leading private company in the county, came down to a minor rebuke over an email misuse Holland long ago acknowledged and apologized for. Nothing else.
Center Holds: David Alfin Is Palm Coast’s New Mayor as Voters Decisively Spurn Lowe and Politics of Abuse
Realtor David Alfin was elected Palm Coast’s fourth mayor this evening in a relatively strong win over five other candidates. Fellow-Realtor Cornelia Manfre and Alan Lowe were trading places for second. Alfin’s victory paired with Manfre’s showing is a decisive repudiation of scorched-earth politics represented by Alan Lowe and Council member Ed danko, who’d made his political fortune synonymous with Lowe’s campaign.
Tina-Marie Schultz and Robert Barnes Appointed to Bunnell City Commission for Next 8 Months
The Bunnell City Commission Monday evening appointed Robert Barnes and Tina-Marie Schultz to the commission for the next eight months to complete the terms of two commissioners, Bill Baxley and Donnie Nobles, who resigned in quick succession earlier this month.
Fact-Check: At Palm Coast Mayoral Forum, 6 Candidates Hide Inexperience in Generalities, One Just Tells Lies
Helped by safe, general questions, the News-Journal forum at no point resembled the mud wrestling matches that the Palm Coast City Council meetings they want to arbitrate have become. But the six candidates revealed their personalities, their sincerity, their deep lack of familiarity with the job–or their contempt for fact or truth.
In Unprecedented Gridlock, Palm Coast Council Can’t Even Agree to Tentative Tax Rate, Skirting Legal Violation
The Palm Coast City Council was required today merely to set a tentative tax rate for next year, a routine step. It could lower the rate at will over the next few weeks. An ideological brawl prevented a vote, deferring the decision to August and effectively preventing the administration from refining the budget until then.
Milissa Holland’s Daughter Responds to Danko’s Fabrications: Stop Bringing My Family Into This Immaturity
“I am 25 years old and the amount of immaturity displayed in this campaign is embarrassing,” writes Tori Holman, former Mayor Milissa Holland’s daughter. “To Mr. Danko and his detractors, Stop bringing my family into this mess to try to boost your votes. Stop bringing my family into this at all. To the rest of you, thank you.”
Palm Coast at a Crossroad: Assassins of Civility or Governance
Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa since their election have turned the Palm Coast council into an embarrassment. The two are vying for a third vote in Alan Lowe and the mayor’s seat. That potential majority risks turning the city into a mirror of the toxic trio.
Robert Cuff: Palm Coast’s Choice for Mayor Is Between Competent Leadership and Truly Dangerous Dysfunction
Robert Cuff, the former Palm Coast city councilman, warns that the July 27 special election for mayor will need a large turnout from voters who seek smoothly functioning government and serious leadership. The alternative is partisanship, division, and dysfunction for the next three years, endangering the city’s future.
Early Voting Begins in Election for Palm Coast Mayor, Shifting Contest’s Virulence to Voters’ Judgment
Early voting started today (July 17) in the special election for Palm Coast mayor, continuing until July 24. In-person Election Day is on July 27, when, based on recent-year elections, only a minority of voters will actually cast a ballot. By then, most will have voted either by mail or in early voting. That’s been the case even in recent elections pre-dating the pandemic.
Danko-Lowe Campaign Fabrications: Governor’s Office Refutes Incendiary Claims About Holland “Criminal Charges”
Ed Danko, the Palm Coast City Council member working on behalf of Alan Lowe to get him elected mayor, has been making misleading or baseless statements, including outright lies, and leveling false and potentially defamatory accusations about former Mayor Milissa Holland, her ailing daughter and to some extent former City Manager Matt Morton, a FlaglerLive investigation found.
‘It’s News to Me,’ Barbosa Tells Council of His Alleged Fugitive Status, Before Meeting Tips Into Brawl Again
The Palm Coast City Council’s five-hour workshop today had its share of tense moments before devolving again into a verbal brawl as Victor Barbosa professed ignorance about the allegations behind his apparent fugitive status before verbally dueling with Mayor Eddie Branquinho again.
An Alan Lowe Campaign Message: 60 Seconds, 2 Violations of Law, 3 Falsehoods, 4 Misleading or Deceptive Statements
Lowe’s contempt for facts was apparent in his run for the mayorship last year and has characterized his renewed run in the July 27 special election for mayor. If all six candidates are sincere, including Lowe, only Lowe makes explicitly false statements, misleading claims, legal violations, and ideologically-driven pitches that have little to no connection to Palm Coast governance.
In Bunnell, One Commissioner Resigns, Another Is Ailing and Absent, Leaving 2 Seats Vacant for Budget Season
Bunnell City Commissioner Bill Baxley resigned–or retired–after eight years on the commission, and Donnie Nobles has been absent after strokes, leaving the commission with the choice of leaving the seats vacant until next March, or making at least one appointment.
Ed Danko Fumes, Accuses and Menaces as Politics of Destruction Point to Palm Coast Council’s Potential Direction
In a preview of the sort of council to come if Ed Danko gets Alan Lowe elected mayor and aligns with Victor Barbosa, as Danko has continuously suggested, Tuesday’s Palm Coast council meeting was a rank display of the politics of destruction, of an elected official lashing out publicly and brutally against his own colleagues and the only two people on the council who report to him while distracting from a still-active internal investigation against him.
Carol Bacha, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Carol Bacha is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
David Alfin, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
David Alfin is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Cornelia Downing Manfre, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Cornelia Downing Manfre is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Kathy Austrino, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Kathy Austrino is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Alan Lowe, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Alan Lowe is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Doug Courtney, Palm Coast Mayor Candidate: The Live Interview
Doug Courtney is a candidate for Palm Coast Mayor in the July 27 special election. All registered voters in the city may cast a ballot in that non-partisan election regardless of party affiliation or location in Palm Coast.
Candidate Drops Out of Mayoral Race, Creates a Ballot Problem and ‘Endorses’ Lowe: ‘He’s Sorry for Hating America’
Kevin Cichowski’s brief candidacy for the special July 27 election for Palm Coast mayor ended today as oddly as it began a week or so ago–with cryptic statements, a back-handed endorsement of candidate Alan Lowe, and the proposal for an “active shooter system” in the schools.
7 Qualify for Palm Coast Mayor Race as Commissioner Criticizes $188,000 Election Cost to Taxpayers
The special election for mayor to replace Milissa Holland will cost $188,000, according to an itemized bill from the Supervisor of Elections. Five Republicans and two Democrats qualified to run in the July 27 election. The qualifying window closed Monday at noon.
Candidates from the Obscure to the Expected Piling Up to Run for Palm Coast Mayor in Winner-Takes-All Election
The qualifying window for the special election for Palm Coast mayor doesn’t close until next Monday. But eight candidates have already filed to run. Six candidates are Republicans, two are Democrats. It’s a non-partisan election, but only ostensibly so. Three of the candidates are Realtors.
After Holland
The resignation of Milissa Holland and the coming special election for mayor puts Palm Coast at a forking path between the course Holland set and a more radical change in a different direction. The two views seem to be represented by Alan Lowe and David Alfin, the leading contenders for the seat.
Palm Coast Council Sets Special Election for Mayor on July 27, Requiring Petitions or Fee to Qualify
The council agreed unanimously to require candidates to qualify for the election either by gathering 497 signed and certified petition or by paying a $1,140 fee. Petitions may be gathered between May 24 and May 28. Qualifying is set between June 1 and June 7.
David Alfin and Alan Lowe Announce for Mayor as Palm Coast Council Readies to Set July 27 Special Election
David Alfin and Alan Lowe, both Republicans who ran unsuccessful campaigns last November–Lowe for mayor, Alfin for a council seat–said they would run in the special election to replace Mayor Milissa Holland the Palm Coast City Council is expected to schedule at a hurriedly-called special meeting this morning. The proposed date for the election is July 27.
Paul Harrington, A Flagler Beach Commission Candidate in March, Dies at 66 After Weeks of Struggles
Paul Harrington, who died this morning at 66, had been in the thick of Flagler Beach City Commission issues going back five years. He attended almost every meeting and twice ran for a commission seat. He’d been hospitalized in late February for the removal of brain tumors just before the last election.
The Odious Victor Barbosa
An examination of Palm Coast Councilman Victor Barbosa’s accusation of “corruption” against Manager Matt Morton reveals it to be baseless and defamatory, while Barbosa’s own methods, from trying to get city employees fired, meddling in administrative business, blindsiding the council and shaming of residents in the city’s name, raise questions about his own understanding of, or fitness for, the job.
How Flagler Was Far More “Staly Country” than Trump’s in 2020, and How Grand Haven Saved Milissa Holland
An analysis of Flagler County’s precinct-by-precinct vote last November reveals a few surprises, among them how Grand Haven powered incumbent Palm Coast Mayor Milissa Holland to her win and how Flagler was not so much “Trump Country” as “Staly Country” as the incumbent sheriff won his second term with 70 percent of the vote, with no discernible weaknesses across precincts.
Now Ex-Mayor Provencher Finally Gets Her Taser as Johnston Is Sworn-In and Cooley Is Elected Chair
The Flagler Beach City Commission Thursday evening bid farewell to Linda Provencher, the longest-serving mayor in the city’s history, and welcomed Mayor Suzie Johnston, electing Eric Cooley chairman of the commission for the next year, and Rick Belhumeur vice-chairman.
Suzie Johnston Is Flagler Beach’s New Mayor; Eric Cooley Is Re-Elected Commissioner
Suzie Johnston was elected mayor with over 50 percent of the vote in a three-way race and Eric Cooley won re-election with 54 percent of the vote, defeating Paul Harrington.