County Commissioner, School Board, City Council candidates debate at Flagler Votes

Florida State House of Representatives District 24 candidates also spoke for five minutes each before the debate.

  • By Paige Wilson
  • | 8:37 p.m. October 18, 2018
  • Palm Coast Observer
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A full room of local residents gathered at Hilton Garden Inn Palm Coast for a Flagler Votes candidate debate on Thursday, Oct. 18. The event, which was hosted by the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce, Flagler County Association of Realtors and Flagler Home Builders Association, was broadcast live at 6:05 p.m. on WNZF 94.9FM.

​Florida State House of Representatives District 24 candidates Paul Renner (incumbent) and Adam Morley spoke for five minutes to begin the evening but were not involved in the debate.

The event included debates with candidates running for various seats, listed below. Each candidate had two minutes to answer a question posed to them. Their opponent then had one minute for a rebuttal. The order in which the candidates answered and gave rebuttals changed for each question. The Flagler Votes committee came up with the questions and kept them private before the event.

In a question about the sometimes strained  relationship between the city and the county, incumbent District 2 County Commissioner Greg Hansen laid the blame on former Palm Coast City Manger Jim Landon.

“The biggest problem we have is gone: He got fired,” Hansen said, referring to Landon. “He was the biggest threat to our getting along. I get along with the mayor. … We’ve agreed on things to do, and our county manager agreed to do it, and Mr. Landon said no. So that was hard to deal with. ... It’s a work in progress, and we’ll get there.”

Speaking on the topic of affordable housing, Palm Coast City Council District 2 candidate Jack Howell said it’s needed — but so are high-paying jobs.

“We have a very big situation here, but again, it’s contingent upon getting the jobs here,” he said. “And I’m not talking about the $9.25-an-hour job, I’m talking about the $15, to $16, to $20-an-hour job. And you know, some of the folks on the commission, the County Commission — they don’t want big industry on the west side. Well, what do you think these jobs are going to come from that are going to pay that money, to get us going? So, we do have an issue.”

Speaking on the same topic, Howell’s opponent, former Palm Coast mayor Jon Netts, agreed that the city has an affordable housing shortage, but suggested it could be handled through smart zoning code changes.

The Palm Coast City Council District 4 candidates, fielding a question about the city’s relationship with business, both said that change is needed.

“Palm Coast is known for not being business friendly currently, so we need to, first of all and foremost, listen to our business community … do what we can as a city to accommodate them, but at the same time preserve our quality of life, protect our environment, and make sure that our community develops in a smart fashion,” candidate John Tipton said.

His opponent, Eddie Branquinho, agreed, but added that rather than just being business- friendly,  “We have to start thinking about being industry friendly, because those are the ones that bring the high-paying jobs to answer the problem we have with affordable housing.”

 

The candidates who debated are as follows:

​Flagler County Commission District 2

Greg Hansen (incumbent)

Dennis McDonald

 

​Flagler County Commission District 4

Joe Mullins

Jane Gentile-Youd

 

Flagler School Board District 2

John Fischer

Janet McDonald (incumbent)

 

City of Palm Coast seat 2

Jack Howell

Jon Netts

 

City of Palm Coast seat 4

Eddie Branquinho

John Tipton

 

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