- August 10, 2026
The Flagler County Commission spent all of Monday afternoon interviewing candidates for county administrator, narrowing a field of six candidates to four by the end of the meeting.
Commissioners interviewed Richard Reade, Tracy Miller, Thomas Hutka, Shawn Boatright, Stanley Hawthorne and Aaron Van Kleeck during an Aug. 10 workshop that began at 1 p.m. Each candidate was scheduled for a 45-minute interview.
Following the interviews, commissioners moved into a special meeting to determine who would advance to the next stage of the search.
The four candidates moving forward are Shawn Boatright, Tracy Miller, Richard Reade and Aaron Van Kleeck. Thomas Hutka and Stanley Hawthorne were eliminated from further consideration.
Commissioners initially planned to identify their top three candidates. Each commissioner marked three preferred candidates, producing a clear leader in Boatright and a three-way tie among Miller, Reade and Van Kleeck. Hutka received fewer selections, while Hawthorne did not receive enough support to advance.
The board considered doing a second round of voting to resolve the tie and reduce the field to three finalists. However, Commission Chair Leann Pennington proposed retaining four candidates in the process.
“I would prefer to do at least four,” Pennington said. “I suspect that between timing and everything else, we may lose more candidates and I would prefer to continue on.”
The other commissioners agreed, eliminating the need for another round of voting and advancing Boatright, Miller, Reade and Van Kleeck.
The six candidates interviewed Monday represented the remaining applicants from a search that initially drew 30 applications. The Florida Association of County Managers reviewed the applicant pool before commissioners selected eight people for further consideration in July. Two subsequently withdrew, leaving the six who appeared before commissioners Monday.
The four finalists bring a range of local government experience.
Boatright has served as county administrator and deputy county administrator in Camden County, Georgia, and briefly as assistant county manager in Glynn County. Miller's Florida government experience includes assistant city manager positions in Bartow and Oldsmar along with strategic management work for Sarasota County.
Reade has served in several Florida local government leadership positions, including deputy county administrator in Okeechobee County and town manager of Lake Park. Van Kleeck has more than 20 years of experience with Volusia County and currently serves as its emergency services director, overseeing more than 500 employees and an operating budget exceeding $100 million.
Commissioners also spent considerable time Monday discussing how the final round of interviews should be conducted. The board favored a combination of individual interviews with each commissioner and a public interview session in which all four candidates would face similar questions.
To help commissioners and the public understand how each candidate would handle issues. County Attorney Michael Rodriguez suggested giving candidates scenarios that reflect challenges they might face as county administrator.
Pennington urged commissioners not to rush the process.
“We don't need to rush, we need to get it right,” she said, adding that commissioners should have “really good, robust conversations” with the finalists before making a decision.
Commissioners settled on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4 for the next stage of the process. The current plan calls for one-on-one interviews on Sept. 3, followed by a public interview session on Sept. 4 and a special meeting at which commissioners could select their preferred candidate.
The board's original recruitment schedule had contemplated making a selection in late August. Still, commissioners agreed additional time was warranted to accommodate schedules and give the finalists time to make travel arrangements.
