The Flagler Tiger Bay Club is hosting a political forum this evening for the Palm Coast City Council and Flagler County Commission candidates in the August 18 primary. The two-hour forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the Palm Coast Community Center. It will be simulcast on WNZF and available live on YouTube below.
School Board candidates are not part of the forum. “Time element,” Jay Scherr, president of the Flagler Tiger Bay Club, said. “we have 13 candidates participating. In order to have a meaningful forum where you have meaningful questions and responses, we just could not do that with the school board members as well.” He said there are other forums where the School Board candidates will participate, but this will be the only Tiger Bay forum of the election season.
The five-member panel represents the faith-based, student, nonprofit, business, and public affairs sectors:
- Pastor Charles Silano, founder and chair of Grace Community Food Pantry and Grace Tabernacle Ministries International. (Some of his grants are from the county, so he will be asking questions of potential grantors on the County Commission.)
- Wilhemina Anderson, who is working on a master’s in library sciences at the University of South Florida. (She is the daughter of Danielle Anderson, who is among the organizers of the forum.)
- Lovie Haley, a public affairs specialist in Flagler County government and a Flagler Tiger Bay Club Board Member.
- Trish Giaccone, executive director of the Family Life Center and a Flagler Tiger Bay Club Board Member.
- Ryan Anderson, a consultant with Atlantic Benefit Consultants and the president of the Palm Coast Business and Professional Group.
The panelists are mostly not asking their own questions. They will merely be reading questions provided to them by the Tiger Bay membership.
Candidates will make opening statements and face just three rounds of panel questions, with some opportunities for rebuttal and closing remarks. According to the release, questions were developed through “community interviews, public submissions, Tiger Bay member input, and panelist contributions.”
The candidates include Denise Calderwood, a write-in who has not had to expand the efforts, resources or money fellow-candidates have had to in order to qualify. Calderwood’s candidacy closed the District 4 County Commission primary, where only Republicans are running. Had Calderwood not filed, all voters of all parties and those of no-party affiliations would have been eligible to vote in that race. In effect, the write-in ploy disenfranchised more than two-thirds of the electorate.
“This forum is designed to give voters an opportunity to hear directly from the candidates and make informed decisions ahead of the election,” Jay Scherr, president of the Flagler Tiger Bay Club, was quoted as saying in a release announcing the forum. “Our panel reflects the broad perspectives of our community and will ask thoughtful questions rooted in the issues that matter most to Flagler County residents.”
The forum will be moderated by Brie Cunniff, who chairs the Candidate Forum Committee as a member of the Flagler Tiger Bay Club Board of Directors.
Candidates participating in the forum include:
Palm Coast City Council District 2
- Antonio “Tony” Amaral Jr.
- Jeani Duarte
- Jimmy Hengy
Palm Coast City Council District 4
- Dylana “Dee” Galery
- John Kvederis
- Ramon Marrero
- Darlene Shelley
Flagler County Commission District 2
- Greg Feldman
- Theresa Pontieri
- Raymond Royer
Flagler County Commission District 4
- Denise Calderwood
- Anna Jones
- Leann Pennington
The event will be livestreamed by several local media partners, including:
- WNZF NewsRadio 94.9 FM
- Flagler News Weekly
- FlaglerLive
- AskFlagler
- Palm Coast Observer
tulip says
Waste of time. The candidates speaker system was waaaay to soft and i had my computer speaker turned up to 100. Could hear the people asking questions, could not hear the answers. I texted one of the candidates about it, but she either didn’t have her phone on or it wasn’t near her.
tulip says
could not hear what the candidates were saying, only the questions asked. No one turned up the speakers for the mikes. I would’ve liked to have heard what they had to say. Now its back to square one
Pogo says
Amen.
You have to admit: that was an attractive panel of young funeral directors who presented the questions to the candidates.
The candidates themselves, it may benefit, to watch themselvses on the recorded record.
Today, at the bottom of this site’s homepage, there are 2 sponsored links*. They are well deserving the attention of all who dwell here. Much is made of “good jobs” and the future, and the dark shadow of the AI overlord too. It is a fact: you cannot have a piece of cake, and eat it too.
Moreover, the tiny number of wealthy persons who decree the future are already proudly annoucing that the AI overlord is building its mansions in orbit above the planet — where all are welcome to visit as they are able.
*As noted
https://flaglerlive.com/solana-agent-kit/
*As noted
https://flaglerlive.com/ai-in-automation-testing-the-tech-skill-florida-job-seekers-should-know-in-2026/
James says
There’s nothing anyone has missed out on… nothing new to hear or see from any of these folks.
Just my opinion.
Layla says
If you don’t take the opportunity to do your homework and attend at least one of these forums, we are screwed.
The incumbents and Amaral knew what they were talking about. The rest were clueless. These people are going to be running our city and county. They need a lot more preparation for this.
James says
First time I ever heard of Amaral, even before he was pointed out in a photo here on FL, was when the campaign sign went up in front of the “Man Cave” barber shop… one of the first campaign signs of any candidate to go up anywhere.
That was several months ago, so he’s had plenty of time to prepare.
Just my opinion.