2026 PRIMARY ELECTION: Lori Tolland wins election for Ormond Beach mayor

Melissa DeVriese also celebrated a win on Election Night: She will be the next Zone 1 commissioner. The Zone 4 and Volusia County Council at-large races will head to runoff.

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Ormond Beach voters made history on Tuesday, Aug. 18 — they elected the city's first female mayor.

Lori Tolland won the race during the primary election with 51.26% of the vote. She was one of four candidates in the race, which included incumbent Mayor Jason Leslie. 

Mentally, she had prepared herself to go to runoff. Then the results came in. Along with them came shock and gratitude, said Tolland, who is currently the commission's Zone 1 representative and deputy mayor.

"The amount of support that I have, with family and friends, is just amazing," Tolland said during her watch party turned celebration at Houligans. "All these people here, they didn't have to help me. They really are just amazing because they love Ormond Beach and they know that I do too. I share the same values they do — the same vision."

Tolland was first elected in 2022. She was reelected in 2024 to the Zone 1 seat without opposition. A retired nurse, Tolland has lived in Ormond Beach since 1989 and prior to becoming an elected official, served on several city boards for decades, including the Leisure Services and Planning advisory boards. 

During her campaign for mayor, Tolland said she worked to stay above the negativity surrounding the race, particularly on social media. She thanked voters for their confidence and support.

"I hope that I can do the job that they're expecting me to do," Tolland said. "... I will work very hard for all the residents. I always do, and I always try to be very fair. I always try to be very balanced, and I know sometimes my decisions are not the decisions they may want to hear, but I will always give everybody the opportunity to express their views. I want to represent everybody the way they deserve to be represented." 

Tolland wasn't the only winner in the primary election for the Ormond races.

Melissa DeVriese, president of local company Security First Insurance, won the race to represent Zone 1 on the commission with 51.24% of the vote. It was an open seat, as Tolland was running for mayor. Candidates Alan Burton and Coleen McMahon received 25.7% and 23.06% of the vote, respectively.

"Hopefully, voters saw that I have a lot of experience in this area, as far as growing up here, running a business here, volunteering here — and they believe that I can do a good job," DeVriese said.

DeVriese is a native of Ormond Beach and has worked for Security First — a company founded by her father, former State Sen. Locke Burt — since 2009. She became president in 2020. In addition to her career, DeVriese is also an avid volunteer and has served on many nonprofit and business group boards, including the Junior League of Daytona Beach, Team Volusia, the Museum of Arts and Sciences, the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Easterseals of Northeast Central Florida. 

Melissa DeVriese (right) and her supporters wave signs at the base of the Granada Bridge. Courtesy photo
Melissa DeVriese (right) and her supporters wave signs at the base of the Granada Bridge. Courtesy photo

She celebrated her win at Billy's Tap Room, surrounded by her supporters.

"It's really heartwarming to have people that believe in your vision for the city and that want to see Ormond Beach continue down a positive path, and continue to work on improving Ormond Beach," DeVriese said. "I think I ran a very positive campaign. I never went negative and I focused on what I had to offer and how I wanted to keep working with a wide variety of people to make Ormond Beach a great place, and I think that message resonated."

One race is headed to runoff in the general election in November as no candidate earned 50% of the vote, plus one.

Zone 4 incumbent Harold Briley will be challenged by Amber Bobak in the November ballot. Briley received 41.86% of the vote and Bobak received 38.84%.

Barry du Moulin, the third candidate in the primary, earned 19.31% of the vote. 

Briley said he felt good about the results of the primary. 

"I still feel the city is moving in the right direction," he said. "I think that showed tonight with mayor-elect Tolland victory."

He noted that the voter turnout was low, particularly in Zone 4, as only 2,218 people voted. Still, he remains positive and is hoping to be reelected for a third term. He was first elected in 2022, and reelected in 2024 without opposition.

"It's my honor and privilege to be their Zone 4 representative, and I just ask for their trust and support and their vote in November," Briley said.

Bobak, who serves on the city's Planning Board, said she was shocked when she saw the election results. She received 68 less votes than Briley, who led with a total of 929 votes. 

"I’m so grateful to everyone who trusted me with their vote and believed in me," she said. "I didn’t run because I wanted to become a politician; I filed because I care deeply about our community and the direction of our city. I’m proud of the campaign that’s been built, and I’m ready to keep having those conversations with our community."

In addition to Zone 4, voters will decide the outcome of two other Ormond Beach races in November: The races for Zones 2 and 3.

Running for Zone 2 are incumbent Travis Sargent and challenger Jennifer Bright. In Zone 3, incumbent City Commissioner Kristin Deaton is running against challenger Ted Rhodes.

 

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