- April 19, 2024
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Early voting for two seats on the Palm Coast City Council began Oct. 24. Every registered voter can cast a vote for both seats, regardless of where the voter lives. The general election is Nov. 8, which is the last chance to have an input on who will lead the city for the next term.
District 1
Incumbent Holsey Moorman is the definitive public servant, having labored 39 years in the U.S. Army and now, for four years as a City Council member in Palm Coast. We have great respect for him.
The criticism that is often heard about Moorman is that, although he deserves credit for supporting the Business Assistance Center and Palm Coast’s Prosperity 2021 plan, in his four-year term on the City Council he has been mostly passive and silent.
Moorman said in our interview that he believes the city’s budget “is as lean as we can get it right now without sacrificing some essential services.” We see this as an overly passive approach to the budget. Every year that the city staff has been asked to cut costs, it has been successful, and it could be done again.
Moorman also said special interest groups should not rule the political debate. But then he acknowledged that if only a small number of outspoken people participate, “Then the squeaky wheel is going to get the oil.” We prefer cost-benefit analysis to the squeak approach.
Challenger Bill McGuire gave us some concern regarding the Creekside Festival. When the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce & Affiliates upheld its 2008 policy to forbid individual candidates from campaigning at Creekside, he wrote this in response: “The chamber’s intent has to be to hurt Palm Coast’s nonpartisan voter turnout.”
But the chamber has no incentive to keep people from voting, and to react like that makes McGuire appear prone to conspiracy theorizing.
Still, McGuire’s business experience is welcome. As a former turnaround artist and efficiency expert, McGuire knows how to look at problems in unconventional ways and challenge assumptions.
Earlier this year, he met with members of Flagler County Public Schools administrators three times, volunteering his time to consult with them about ways to cut the budget. Mike Judd, senior director of school operations, said he thanked McGuire for lending his expertise.
As a result of McGuire’s analysis of the formula used to determine how many staff members each school should have, the administration felt more confident in its budget reductions.
“He was part of the team that reviewed staffing levels that resulted in some of the $3 million savings,” Judd said.
McGuire is not intimidated by big budgets; he’s willing to get his hands dirty. That’s the kind of approach we need on the City Council.
He also recognizes the problems with provoking the special interests, rather than engaging them. He described it this way: “It isn’t until the citizens rise up and start screaming that any alternatives are presented.”
We are ready for a new approach. It’s time to reach out to the stakeholders and help them to become part of the solution, rather than merely part of the drama.
Because of his healthy skepticism, McGuire gets our vote.
District 3
Dennis Cross and Jason DeLorenzo are vying for the vacant District 3 spot.
Cross is no-nonsense and won’t be swayed by unreasonable lectern-thumpers. He fears neither doing the right thing nor admitting to a mistake. Cross favors a logical approach, using data to make decisions, even if they might be unpopular.
And yet, we are concerned that these strengths may be taken to an extreme in Cross, to the point where he might not be as apt at building consensus on the council. His business experience is not unlike that of Bill McGuire’s, and therefore, he wouldn’t necessarily add a great deal of diversity to the debate, assuming McGuire wins.
At 40 years old, DeLorenzo is in the middle of his professional career. He is raising a family in Palm Coast. On a council traditionally dominated by retirees, DeLorenzo would provide a fresh perspective.
He deals with the Land Development Code as part of his job. He knows how small businesses are affected by the rules and regulations of Palm Coast, which are often criticized for stifling growth.
For example, DeLorenzo’s experience with the Flagler Home Builders Association gives him insight into the unforeseen consequences of government action. In our interview with him, he pointed out that the landscaping required by the city at the Kings Pointe commercial park at Old Kings Road and State Road 100 cost the developer $350,000. But planting trees that were just one year younger could have saved $75,000 and made the land costs less prohibitive. A voice for these kinds of reasonable adjustments would be a good thing for Palm Coast.
And so, while others might see DeLorenzo’s lobbying as just another special interest seeking favors from the government, we see him as a useful link between stakeholders and government.
He is someone who has been on the other side of the equation and knows how important it is to seek to fully understand the stakeholders from the beginning and keep the focus on the facts, rather than waiting until a public meeting to come face-to-face with the issue.
DeLorenzo’s experience helps him see the urgency of being proactive.
“People complain about lobbyists, but that’s what we do: We go in and explain the issue,” he said. “We try to educate the elected officials on how it’s going to affect us, good or bad, so they can have positive debate and come out with a better solution. And unfortunately, if you don’t engage them, they generally don’t engage you.”
We trust DeLorenzo will use his experience and put himself in the shoes of other groups who are affected by government action, as well, and that he will reach out to them before emotion has taken over — when reason can still win the day.
Because of his knowledge and common sense, DeLorenzo has our vote.
