Dennis McDonald is one of four candidates for Palm Coast City Council, District 2.
Ordinarily three seats on the Palm Coast City Council would have been up in this election cycle: the mayor’s and the council’s odd-numbered Districts 1 and 3. But in July Jack Howell resigned his District 2 seat for health reasons. The council appointed former Mayor Jon Netts to the seat for the months until a special election could seat the candidate who’d finish the two years left in the term.
That special election is taking place in conjunction with the general election. In an unprecedented turn in the 20-year-old city, four seats are up, and all four may see a new member seated. Two most certainly will, since Bob Cuff elected not to contest his District 1 seat, and the special election for Howell’s seat will lead to a new council member regardless. The mayor’s race, the District 1 and the District 3 races have all resulted in runoffs as none of the incumbents managed to clear the 50 percent threshold to make a runoff unnecessary.
The special election has drawn four candidates: David Alfin, Victor Barbosa, Bob Coffman and Dennis McDonald. Three of them appeared at a candidate forum. See the details here. None of the candidates has held public office before.
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 in all the council races.
Palm Coast mayor and council members normally serve four years, but the District 2 term will be for only two years. They’re paid $9,600 a year, $11,400 for the mayor. The council members and the mayor also each get a $1,200 car allowance and a $910 communication allowance each year, so in sum council members’ total pay is $11,710, the mayor’s is $13,510.
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 conducted by email and on the record. 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.
McDonald participated in three previous interviews. Read his 2014, 2016 and 2018 interviews. He declined this year.
The Questions in Summary: Quick Links
- Basics
- Priorities
- Concerns
- Budget
- Coronavirus
- Taxes
- Aging Palm Coast
- Housing
- Economic development
- Matt Morton
- Council dynamics
- Policing
- Character
- Social media
- Rap sheet
<Place and Date of Birth: Did not disclose.
Current job: Did not disclose.
Net worth: Did not disclose.
Party Affiliation: Republican.
Website:
1. What are your top three policy priorities that you pledge will realistically be accomplished by the end of your first term. If they cost money, how do you propose to fund those priorities?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
2. 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.
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
3. The city’s budget, like all local government budgets, will likely face revenue shortfalls in the next two years. How will you make up the lost revenue? Short of new sources of revenue, what areas of the budget are ripe for cuts? Please be specific.
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
4. Evaluate the city’s response to the coronavirus emergency. As of this writing, the city, unlike a growing list of local governments across Florida, has not mandated the use of masks in public places, though it’s in the council’s power to do so. Tell us how you’d vote on a mask mandate, and explain your answer, citing appropriate authorities.
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
5. Palm Coast has the authority to impose a public service tax on your utility bill of up to 10 percent, and a franchise fee on utilities, which would be passed to customers, of up to 10 percent. The money may be spent at the council’s discretion. Many counties and cities around the state partially or fully levy one or both the taxes. Palm Coast considered imposing a 6 percent electric franchise fee and a 2 percent public service tax in 2012, but reversed course in the face of strong public opposition. Either of the new taxes, proponents argue, would diversify the city’s revenue stream. Either could be used to generate revenue that would otherwise have to be generated by property taxes, though the public service tax and the franchise fee are regressive in comparison. Where do you stand on either new tax becoming part of Palm Coast’s taxing structure?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
6. Just in the last 10 years, Palm Coast has grown by 15,000 people, but it has grown older, with people 65 and older representing nearly 28 percent of the population, up from 23 percent in 2010. That’s a substantial increase, almost all of it as the proportion of school-age children has diminished: the school district’s population has remained at around 13,000 for 10 years. Should Palm Coast encourage that accelerating retirement-community trend? What would you do to ensure that Palm Coast is addressing the needs of its growing elderly population. Alternately, what would you do to reverse the trend, if you’re more interested in broadening the working-age population base?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
7. Some apartment complexes have gone up in the past two years, but the city still faces an affordable housing shortfall as housing prices have risen steadily. 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?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
8. Everyone talks economic development. Few elected officials do more than talk. How have you been, or how will you be, different, starting with your definition of economic development?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
9. Evaluate the transition from ex-City Manager Jim Landon to City Manager Matt Morton: what was lost, what was gained, what could have been done better, what has been done better?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
10. Evaluate your own successes and shortcomings, with specifics, telling us why you’re better suited to be elected than any of your challengers. Do you see your role in the next two years—since your term will be limited to that—as continuing in the footsteps of Jack Howell, or is Howell’s approach now irrelevant to you?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
11. Palm Coast relies on the sheriff for policing. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of that contract, and tell us what specifically you would change about it. Are some areas of Palm Coast less effectively policed than others? Do you favor an independent police department for the city, now or in the near future?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
12. Elected office is no stranger to bluster. Tell us about you as a person: your character, your temperament, your foibles. Tell us who do you admire most in office today among elected officials in Flagler County—the person you’d consider a model of leadership.
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
13. Should you be held to account for what you display on your social media pages any differently than for what you would say anywhere public? Do you have different standards of behavior between the way you’d conduct yourself as an elected official—in a meeting, at an official function—as opposed to on your social media platforms?
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
14. 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? If so, please explain, including cases where charges or claims did not lead to conviction or disciplinary action.
Dennis McDonald did not answer the question.
How others answered: David Alfin | Bob Coffman | Victor Barbosa
