VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – The race for Volusia County Council chair is a runoff between the incumbent and a business owner and philanthropist.
Chair Jeff Brower faced three opponents, all with a long history in the Volusia community. In the end, Brower got 42.1% of the vote, while Randy Dye got 27.72% of the vote.
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The winning candidate must get over 50% of the vote to win the election outright, so Brower and Dye moved on to November.
Early voting gets underway Monday, Oct. 22 and runs through Saturday, Nov. 2. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.
Here’s what the candidates had to say about why they chose to run and what their top priorities are.
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Jeff Brower — Campaign website
Why did you choose to run again?
“I have three major things that I want to accomplish. Really, what I set out to do when I first ran, but we have tremendous issues with the way we’re developing, with overdevelopment, the flooding that it’s causing, and tax increases that it requires. We’ve got taxes down – if the council passes it.
“When I travel around the county, that’s what I hear from everybody – just too much development, too fast, too much flooding in neighborhoods. We have to work. We’re making progress but government moves slow, and it’s hard to get stuff done in four years. There are big things that I want to do but we’re really close. The best way to get those big things done is if the people of Volusia County will elect me in the primary, 50% plus one vote, but more than that, elect me with record numbers.”
What sets you apart from the other candidates?
“I’m just, a regular guy. It’s a grassroots campaign. We don’t have a lot of money. We’ve got a lot of support from just the working public in Volusia County and I will represent everybody, I want to represent every person in the county. We need to bring people together. I’m the people’s candidate.”
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Randy Dye — Campaign website
Why did you choose to run?
“I’ve been here since 1982, and, fortunately, a lot of people have focused on helping me develop as a person, as a businessperson, and as a community leader. For me, this is an extension of that – I’m signed up, ready to go, and want to get to work. When you have tasted the American dream, and I have done that in Volusia County: I didn’t know for sure what that meant, what the American dream was all about. I just was told if you work hard and you keep yourself busy, you’re doing the right stuff, then you’ll get to understand a little bit about what the American dream is. Volusia County has provided that to me, and I want to make sure that we are able to provide the same opportunity for everybody else. I think that my 42 years here now with experience have made this the right time, have made me ready, understanding what needs to be, how you need to be compassionate at the same time, and how you need to be businesslike when you’re trying to manage a $1.2 billion budget.”
What sets you apart from the other candidates and what are your top priorities if elected?
“Having been here since 1982, this county is a lot different now than it was then. I feel, and the voters have told me, they’re kind of over the chaotic development and it does feel that way. It feels very chaotic. Some of it was explosive growth when COVID came, and a lot of people came from the North to the South. We were open – they were closed. But that doesn’t mean you can use that as an excuse. You’ve got to figure out how to manage that and so number one would be to make sure that we bring some level of management to that chaotic growth.
“Secondly is public safety. In my view, nothing else matters unless we are safe as a community. You should be able to go to the grocery store and feel safe. You should be able to go to church and feel safe. You should be able to go shopping and feel safe. The world has changed. The world is different than it was several years ago. Our public safety, in Volusia County, they’re phenomenal. They’re great people. They do a great job. But we’ve got to make sure we support them, and we have to make sure we support them so that they support us and keep us safe. I have no political aspirations beyond this, but this position. I don’t want to be a state senator or a state representative, or a U.S. Senator or U.S. House of Representatives. This is where I live, and I think what’s different about me entering the race is I’m the only non-politician that’s entering the process. What I really want to bring is a business approach to this office, and not so much a political process.”