- April 24, 2024
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Just a few days ago, it looked like County Commissioner Greg Hansen, a Republican, wouldn't face any challengers in the Flagler County Commission District 2 race.
But as of the end of the qualifying period on June 22, two people, Dennis McDonald and Abby Romaine, had filed to run against him — and, unlike incumbent Hansen, both had run for County Commission seats in the past, although unsuccessfully.
Hansen, who is currently the commission's chairman, didn't win his seat in an election: He was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott in January 2017 to complete the term for the seat that had been held by Frank Meeker until Meeker's death the previous July.
Romaine is running as a Republican while McDonald is running as a no-party-affiliation candidate.
That's a reversal of roles: McDonald had previously run for Flagler County Commission as a Republican while Romaine had previously run for County Commission as an NPA candidate.
The winner of the Republican primary — Hansen or Romaine — will face off against McDonald.
McDonald cited recent issues at the Sheriff's Operations Center as one reason for his run: he'd opposed the county's decision to purchase the former Memorial Hospital building and transform it into a Sheriff's Operations Center, and he holds the county responsible for the wave of worker's compensation claims recently filed by deputies and other Sheriff's Office staff members who believe the old building is making them ill.
Hansen was not on the commission when the county decided to make the purchase, but McDonald said Hansen was too ready to praise the county administration's recent handling of the issue.
Hansen and McDonald have been friends and were both members of the Ronald Reagan Republican Assembly of Flagler County.
"How Greg can say that (County Administrator) Craig Coffey’s doing a good job absolutely astounds me, and it was of great concern," McDonald said. "He was not saying that Coffey was doing a good job prior to him getting on County Commission. Something changed."
Hansen countered that narrative.
"My job, and the way I was picked — the reason the government picked me for this job — is I guaranteed them that I had integrity and that I would make sure that nothing illegal or under the table would happen in Flagler County as long as I was on this board ... and that was what I’ve done," he said. "We let the (county) administrator run the county, and we set the policies. I think he’s made a couple missteps but nothing that would cause me to fire him, and we corrected them. … It’s a tough job, to run the county."
About the Operations Center, Hansen said, "We moved (staff) out of that building as fast as we could. ... The five of us (commissioners) are speaking as one that we’re going to protect them. ... We jumped on that right away, and we got the people moved, and we got the testing done. … We’re going to find out what’s wrong with that building. I really take this personally, that we find out what's wrong with that building — if anything."
He noted that a recent radiation test on the building came back clean. More results are due back by the end of July.
Were McDonald to win a seat on the commission, he'd potentially be on the same board as a commissioner he'd filed an ethics complaint against in 2015: Nate McLaughlin, a Republican who's up for re-election and who faces a challenge from Republican Joe Mullins and NPA candidate Jane Gentile-Youd. The Ethics Commission dismissed the complaint by McDonald, as well as one McDonald had filed against then-commissioner George Hanns.
He'd also be dealing with two officials — Coffey and County Attorney Al Hadeed — he'd filed elections commission complaints against in 2016. Those complaints, along with one he filed against the entire County Commission at the time, were also dismissed.
McDonald said his history with the county "makes me wiser about the process."
"I’ve been a citizen watchdog," he said. "I'd like to have a seat at the table."
McDonald said he was running against Hansen as an independent because Hansen and his wife have donated to the Republican Executive Committee.
Hansen said McDonald's decision not to run as a Republican surprised him.
"I have (donated), along with about 100 other people. I support the Republican Party, and I want the party to do well, and I want the party to win elections."
Hansen, like McDonald, said the two men had gotten along.
"Dennis and I are friends — at least, I thought we were. Maybe we’re not any more; I’ll have to have a chat with him about that," Hansen said with a laugh. "He’s a very opinionated guy, and that’s good. … That’s Dennis."
Hansen added, "I think it will be an interesting campaign."
Romaine had previously run for the District 2 seat in 2012, losing to Frank Meeker. During her 2012 run, she'd cited her volunteer experience in the community, including her work as a coordinator for the Flagler Safe Havens (now Sally's Safe Haven) grant program, which aids victims of domestic violence; and her position at the time as vice president of the Hammock Conservation Coalition.
Romaine had not responded to the Palm Coast Observer's requests for comment as of the afternoon of June 22.
