- November 18, 2024
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Mayor Bill Partington won’t be seeking reelection. Instead, he will be running to represent District 28 in the Florida House in 2024, he announced Tuesday, March 7, at the end of the City Commission meeting.
The District 28 seat will be open next election as incumbent Rep. Tom Leek has filed to run for Florida Senate District 7.
“It continues to be an honor and a privilege to serve my hometown area of Volusia County and the city of Ormond Beach and I’m so pleased that in my new role, should the voters approve, I will continue working with and representing Ormond Beach and surrounding communities in a new capacity,” Partington said.
Partington was reelected as mayor of Ormond Beach for a fourth term during the recent November elections. An assistant public defender and division chief for Florida’s Seventh Judicial Circuit Public Defender’s Office, he has been serving on the City Commission since 2003 — first as the representative for Zone 4, and then as mayor from 2016 on.
He also served on the city’s Law Enforcement Advisory Board from 2001-2003.
Having served the city for 22 years, Partington, who got emotional during his announcement, said he didn’t make his decision to run for the Florida House lightly.
“My decision is to focus on what I’ve loved the most and longest — My God, my family, my country, state, city and local community, and being a driving force in policy, legislation and leadership for the betterment of Ormond Beach and Volusia County.”
Partington, a registered Republican, additionally vowed to remain engaged as mayor for the next 20 months.
If elected in 2024, Partington will be the fourth consecutive Ormond Beach resident to hold the House seat for the district that includes the city. After the recent redistricting, District 28 also includes Ormond-by-the-Sea, Holly Hill, Daytona Beach, South Daytona and Daytona Beach Shores.
Prior to Leek, who has been in office since 2016, the seat was held by Fred Costello, from 2010-2012 and 2014-2016. The late Dave Hood Jr. held the seat from 2012-2014. Both Costello and Hood served as mayors of Ormond Beach prior to running for the Florida House. All were part the Republican party.
“There is much work to be done at the state level,” Partington said. “Rep. Leek has served with honor and distinction and I look forward to working with our residents and collaborating with fellow lawmakers to insure we don’t loose any ground in our state representation.”
The Ormond Beach City Commission unanimously approved on first reading an administrative amendmentment to the city’s Land Development Code which strengthens requirements for neighborhood meetings.
The amendment now calls for applicants to seek a written approval from city staff five business days before mailing out a meeting notice; requires meetings to be held Monday through Thursday between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.; requires a 4 foot by 4 foot sign for each impacted street frontage; and requires a written summary be provided to city staff.
Commissioner Lori Tolland said that she was glad for the changes.
“The Planning Department has always done a very good job notifying all the residents within 300 feet, but we often hear that they’re not always still apprised of when meetings occur,” Tolland said. “So I think these are just perfect changes to keep everything consistent.”
The amendment also assigned the city’s planning director as the coordinating liaison for the Site Plan Review Committee.
The City Commission unanimously approved the reduction of Leisure Services Advisory Board positions from 13 to seven, with three alternates, in hopes to help the board be able to reach quorum and hold meetings as scheduled.
Previously, the board was made up of six members appointed by the commissioners and seven representatives from various youth sports leagues.
Now, only two people from local sports leagues will serve on the board, though the remaining three leagues will have alternate board members, and this will rotate with each election cycle, according to a city memo. Two leagues will not be included in the rotation.
One longtime board member did express concern to Commissioner Lori Tolland because he felt the new composition of the board would skew in favor of members appointed by the commission.
City Attorney Randy Hayes said he didn’t see much change occurring on the board, save from the reduced members, because the sports leagues have always been able to recommend candidates for the board.
