Ormond Beach Observer
Opinion

Campaign is a healthy exercise for Ormond Beach

Dear Editor:

It has been a rewarding experience to run for the Zone 1 seat on the Ormond Beach City Commission. I have had the opportunity to meet, work with and learn from so many great people, and to engage in meaningful dialogue about how we can improve our wonderful community.

Why I'm running for City Commission, Zone 3

My name is Sandy Kauffman, and I am running for the Zone 3 City Commission seat being vacated by Rick Boehm. I am forced to write this in response to his distortion of my record and my views in his op-ed in the Ormond Beach Observer on Oct. 11.

While not naming me, it is clear his op-ed is directed at me as my opponent is the only candidate he endorsed. First, let’s look at what that endorsement entailed.

I announced my run for office on April 3, 2018, the first candidate to do so citywide. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Boehm announced he would run for re-election. My opponent filed for the seat on June 21, the day before qualifying closed at noon June 22. Mr. Boehm released his statement that he would not seek re-election on June 22, obviously too late for any media coverage of his decision. At the next City Commission meeting, he endorsed my opponent.

The problem is not in his decision to retire or the hand-picking of his successor, but in the timing. By waiting until after qualifying had closed to make his retirement announcement, he effectively kept the citizens of Ormond Beach in the dark and kept other candidates out of the race. We need more transparency in government, not less.

Mr. Boehm’s stance is not surprising. He suggests that those who disagree with his views “embrace the negative side of life.” Anyone who knows me would laugh at that statement. He further states that I have never been involved in the community. This is, quite frankly, an insult to me and anyone else who volunteers in the many civic organizations that strive to make Ormond Beach the best it can be. There is more to being civically engaged than running for political office or being appointed to an advisory board by those politicians.

Not only do I have an important job as a 20-year Volusia County deputy court clerk, but I also am a member of the Ormond Beach Chamber of Commerce, Mercy For Animals, CANDO 2, Ormond Mainstreet, Sons of the Beach, Sons of the Beach and Friends, Ormond Beach Historical Society, Ormond Strong. I have donated much time and money to many different groups and organizations that it would take too long to list them.

He states my opponent has “dedicated her life to public service and civic involvement.” While I appreciate my opponent’s service, let’s be factual. Her “civic and community involvement” lists her job, appointment to one board last year (which meets four times per year), and belonging to (not serving on the boards of) several organizations. Our experiences are not that dissimilar. To state that my opponent has a lifetime of involvement while I have done nothing is not just wrong, it’s insulting.

To say that I “have never served nor have any record of participating” is a lie.

Now much of the debate in the Ormond Beach City Commission races concerns Granada Pointe. Let me be clear: I believe in property rights. But I also believe in the property rights of surrounding owners.

This is the whole point of zoning. A developer should know the zoning of a property he or she acquires and develop accordingly — to the standards of the neighborhood. This certainly did not happen at Granada Pointe.

This property should have been developed as an office/professional building, as it was zoned. But when it was re-zoned to allow a 24-hour gas station and convenience store, with all the associated lighting and activity at all hours, that’s when many of us felt we had to put our foot down.

With an office/professional building, all activity would be over by 5 p.m. on weekdays and quiet on weekends. I feel for the neighbors whose lifestyle will be irrevocably changed by this development. I ask the citizens of Ormond Beach to think about themselves and their neighbors, and how they would feel if this happened to them.

Finally, Mr. Boehm, I would like to know how many citizens of Ormond Beach were clamoring for another traffic light on Granada Boulevard? That alone should have told the City Commission that this use was inappropriate for that property.

I believe in smart growth, protecting our environment and community, respecting our neighbors, and listening to the citizens of the great city of Ormond Beach.

Sandy Kauffmann

Ormond Beach

The election has been a healthy exercise. People are our greatest asset, and I've enjoyed hearing what's on their mind and in their hearts. I would also like to thank my opponent, Dwight Selby, for a positive campaign marked by civility.

Kathy Maloney Johnson

Ormond Beach

A vote for Joe Dugan is a vote for change

Dear Editor:

For the last several weeks, there has been a back and forth between the Holub family and CANDO 2 in the Ormond Beach Observer. One would think they are the folks running for public office here in Ormond Beach.

Reality is, Joe Dugan is running for Zone 2 city commissioner. Many of you have met Joe as he has knocked on your doors introducing himself as candidate and wanting to hear your concerns. He is a young, caring, fresh voice for Ormond Beach. Your concerns are his concerns. His campaign is not propped up by big developer money like Commissioner Troy Kent’s.

He will work to slow down overdevelopment, build up police and fire departments, tackle increasing crime in Ormond Beach, work towards purchasing an ambulance, promote beachside redevelopment of blighted areas, research ways to reduce flooding, and improve our relationship with the county to gain more beach access and crosswalks. He will work to keep your taxes low by cutting wasteful spending such as giving away money to Waste Pro Management in the middle of a contract.

Quality of Life issues will be the topic of Ormond Beach for years to come. This election is about being satisfied with the current status quo or voting for change in Ormond Beach! Vote for Joe Dugan Nov. 6!

Suzanne Scheiber

Campaign manager for Joe Dugan

Ormond Beach

Former city reporter sees value in diversifying commission

Dear Editor:

As someone who attended many City Commission meetings over the past four years, I would like to put my two cents’ worth into the current debate over development and the elections.

Through the years, I saw a disconnect between city commissioners and residents.

While I saw the officials favoring more jobs, retail and rooftops, I saw residents yearning for days when the streets were less crowded and there were more trees.

For the government and business community, growth is always considered a good thing. Many residents don’t agree with that. I’ve heard people say they moved here because it’s a quiet, small town. I’ve talked to others who were unhappy about the lot at the end of their street being rezoned from residential to commercial.

This culture of growth is reflected in the standard terms that governments use. If a lot is wooded, it is called “vacant.” If it has a building, it’s called “improved.” This is the mindset of government: to improve the land by building.

Of course, some new businesses are desired by the public, but residents don’t want new businesses just for the sake of having more development.

For these reasons, I see a benefit in having candidates supported by CANDO 2 on the City Commission. This is a rare opportunity to get new thought in government. A difference of opinion would be healthy when it comes to decisions on growth.

Wayne Grant

Ormond Beach

Why Barry du Moulin deserves the Zone 4 seat

Dear Editor:

The Ormond Beach Observer’s endorsement of Rob Littleton for Zone 4 city commissioner shows how little this paper understands the residents of our zone, which includes Granada Pointe and that stretch of highly traveled road towards Orchard where none of the Observer-backed incumbents, including Littleton, have any of their vote for me signs up.

Why, one wonders?

Harken back to 2016 for the road map that led to this. “Rob Littleton has youth on his side,” said this paper then, before they endorsed his opponent. “And [Rob] wrote in our election guide that he would bring a fresh perspective to our city.”

Littleton sure has. First, he proved the Observer wrong by blowing a little smoke at their editorial board and winning Zone 4 in 2016 with my vote. But like many, I was shocked less than two years later to see the forest trees come down along the clear-cut sandy acres across from the Moose which are now being rebranded as Granada Pointe. I was one — as the Observer eloquently stated in its ringing endorsement of Littleton — “impacted deeply.”

Deeply enough to call Rob back in May. Did you vote for this, I asked him straight up? He answered, "Yes. I actually voted for the zoning changes that made it possible.” This breath of fresh air then had his 2018 campaign seeded in the thousands with Granada Pointe developer Paul Holub’s money, which flowed like swamp runoff from at least five of Big Paulie’s Limited Liability Corporations into Rob’s bulging campaign war chest.

It’s all entirely legal, mind you. But it smacked of payoff to me. It certainly did not smell like a breath of fresh air. It actually stunk badly enough in my thinking to look for someone with more integrity to represent Zone 4.

Up stepped Barry du Moulin, a Coast Guard veteran with years of service in everything from search and rescue to major port homeland security. That experience, combined with his corporate and law enforcement experiences, will bring the real breath of fresh air that we now desperately need into our community.

Yes, Zone 4 residents. This is the same guy who took the time to hand address thousands of envelopes to you, and pay for the first-class postage himself, so he could tell you who he was and what he was pledging to do as our next city commissioner. What else would you expect from someone who was an Eagle Scout in his youth?

Barry has been endorsed by both the Sierra Club and now the firefighters union.

Another voice of support also rang Barry’s bell as delicately as he could. Retiring Commissioner Rick Boehm, in his Oct. 11 blanket endorsement and final bow to all the incumbent commissioners and establishment darling newbie Susan Persis, singled out Barry as the only outside candidate he was comfortable with having as a city commissioner because he took the time to learn the ropes by attending numerous commission meetings and substantive workshops over the last four months.

Barry du Moulin is who Zone 4 really needs when the winds of Nov. 6 give us the opportunity to really breath fresh, clear air into our city.

He’s first on the ballot. Look no further.

Smell the roses. Vote for Barry du Moulin.

Bob Baumer

Ormond Beach