ELECTION 2022: Post Drops Out Of Race, Former Bunnell Official Applies For Barbosa’s Seat

Heather Post Ends Bid For At-Large Seat DeLand, FL – She’s the current District 4 Councilperson for Volusia County, and now she’s dropping her bid for the county’s soon-to-be vacant At-Large position. On Friday (March 4), Heather Post announced the withdrawal of her candidacy for the At-Large position and also said she will not seek re-election. She will, however, see her final term to the end, which is slated to end December 31. “ I have spoken with my family and those closest to me and know in my heart it is the best decision for me in this chapter of my life,” wrote Post. “Although it is truly an honor to be your voice, protector and most importantly servant, I never have had any intentions to run for higher office outside of serving the people locally or for this to be a life-long career.” Post isn’t exactly clear on why she’s choosing not to seek reelection or the At-Large seat—held by the outgoing Ben Johnson—but she did deliver some barbs to unnamed county council members.  After thanking veterans and public safety personnel, Post turned her attention towards her “adversaries,” accusing whoever of sabotaging meetings, encouraging stalking, being “deeply horrible people to gain favor,” and “purposefully making decisions detrimental to the citizens and the future of Volusia County just to be able to ‘go against’” what she advocates for. “I have learned so much from them and it is through these battles that my positions, beliefs and tenacity have been reaffirmed and are now stronger than ever.  I have worked tenaciously to stand up for so many in the community and within the county administration whose voices are sadly ignored and I will continue to do so,” said Post. News Daytona Beach has reached out to Post for comments on her announcement. We have yet to receive a response. Post announced her run for the county’s At-Large position in November in the wake of Johnson’s retirement announcement. At the time, Post was the only candidate filed for the position. Now filed for the position are former Port Orange City Manager Jake Johansson and Sherrise Boyd, who ran for Daytona Beach mayor about two years ago. Palm Coast City Council Palm Coast, FL – The process to appoint an interim City Councilman in the wake of Victor Barbosa’s sudden resignation has produced its first applicant – Perry Mitrano. A name that’s sure to be familiar to followers of Flagler County business and government, Mitrano was the Director of the Solid Waste Department for the City of Bunnell from December 2010 until July 2019. In 2020, Mitrano ran for the East Flagler Mosquito Control Board, challenging incumbent Jules Kwiatkowski. He came up short, garnering 39.8% of the vote and a bit over 10,000 votes back. Since then, he’s worked with his wife at her business, Diana Minotti Fine Art, Antiques & Collectibles, and he’s a licensed auctioneer in the state of Florida. If appointed, Mitrano would serve as Palm Coast’s District 2 Councilman from March 22nd until the inauguration of a full-term replacement after this November’s general elections. Based on the nature of the application process, Mitrano is not eligible to serve the following term for the seat after his interim term is up. He would be eligible to run for the seat again in the 2026 election if he chose to do so, but he has expressed that he does not wish to. The City Charter outlines the process of appointing an interim as follows: “If, for any reason other than recall, a vacancy occurs in the office of any Council seat within the first two years of a term, the office shall be filled by appointment within 30 days following the occurrence of such vacancy by majority vote of the remaining Council members. Such appointments shall last until the next regularly scheduled election, at which time the seat shall be declared open and an election held for the remaining two years of the original term, thus continuing the original staggering of district seats.” ~ Article IV (e) 2. As of Monday morning, Mitrano is the only applicant to emerge in the process since the Barbosa resigned on March 1st. The Council has 30 days to appoint his interim successor from a legal standpoint, but decided to schedule the appointment for March 22nd. It would not be unprecedented for them to delay the date to March 29th, as they did last year when tasked to set the city’s millage rate by August 4th. The Council couldn’t come to a consensus on July 20th, and so they put it off until after the mayoral special election the next week. Then, David Alfin came in and provided a third vote to a final proposal which could only previously get two. With this instance, the Council does have the freedom to decide they want to expand the application process by another week if they’re not satisfied with the applicant pool by the 22nd. But on the other hand, Mitrano is no slouch of an applicant, and the Council may well find him suitable to be their temporary colleague. ADVERTISEMENT. SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING. The last time the Council was faced with the crisis of a small applicant pool was their brief outside search for a City Manager. The Council had dozens of applicants, but when they narrowed it to choices multiple Councilmen could agree on, the pool was too small. They wound up giving the permanent job to interim City Manager Denise Bevan. It’s a specific kind of person who’d be interested in applying for this interim position. Applicants would have to want to serve on the Council, but not enough to run for a full term. General election candidates Sims Jones and Alan Lowe have both already confirmed they’ll be staying in the race and not applying for the interim post, which could potentially be an easier path to the dais (as long as they get appointed). News Daytona Beach’s  Sean Mooney & Chris Gollon contributed both reports