Busy county council reporter weighs in on this year's most important local election

Today, we take a look at the hottest election in Volusia County, which pits Jeff Brower, the chairman of the county council, against three tough challengers , written by the always busy Sheldon Gardner, who covers that very important beat.

Hello Sheldon. I call this the biggest local election of the year, and I am pretty sure you agree. What makes this one so important?

The county chairperson is only one vote on the council, but he or she will play an important role in controlling meetings, influencing the agenda, and acting as the face of the county. The chairperson sets the tone at meetings and plays a big part in building relationships between the county and its residents, local governments and other agencies.

Jeff Brower is the incumbent, but in some ways, he could be considered the underdog. Why is that the case?

Some saw weakness when none of the three candidates that Brower supported for the County Council in 2022 won their elections . I think that's one reason.

Deb Denys entered the race well into the qualifying period compared to the other candidates. Did she give any indication as to why she waited so long?

Denys told me leaders approached her over a year ago about running, and she declined. But as she stayed involved in the community and on groups such as the Florida Communities Trust governing board, she decided there were issues she wanted to influence as county chair ― like trying to help the county tap into more Florida Forever funding. Some have questioned whether she ran just to hurt some candidates' chances, but she said that's not the case.

You write a lot about growth in today's piece. This is arguably the biggest issue in the state. In my experience covering government over the years, real estate and development interests are big players in elections. Has that been the case here? Who do they back, do we know?

Randy Dye is by far the biggest fundraiser. He had about $300,000 as of June 14. When I wrote a story early this year, I looked at his contributions through the end of 2023. Some of the top contributors to Dye's campaign at the time included Mori Hosseini's associated businesses, family members and a trust. Those contributions totaled at least $20,000.

You have written some great cover pieces for us over the past several months. There was the lifeguard story and the "Big One" that looked at a nightmare hurricane scenario for the area. Do you have a favorite?

The lifeguard story because I shadowed lifeguards to see what they do. I love a good ride-along. One thing I loved about the hurricane story, though, is that we were able to get a model of flood and wind estimates for a scenario of a Category 4 hurricane hitting Daytona Beach .

John Dunbar is Executive Editor of the Daytona Beach News-Journal.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Busy county council reporter weighs in on this year's most important local election