- September 18, 2024
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Sign mischief is common during elections, Volusia County School Board candidate Donna Brosemer said. When she decided to run to represent District 4, she anticipated it — it goes with the territory, she said.
"I ran campaigns for more than 20 years and it just always happens," said Brosemer, a former lobbyist. "Some of the damage is often from weather or somebody hit it with their car, or something like that. But there's always some mischief that goes with it."
That being said, Brosemer said this campaign for School Board has been livelier than what she expected.
Her volunteers have found her yard signs damaged and very few have been recovered since the primary election, where she earned the majority vote — 43.71% — to represent District 4 on the School Board. She is running against incumbent School Board member Carl Persis, who earned 39.62% of the vote in the Aug. 20 election. Because neither earned 50% of the vote, plus one, the race is headed to a runoff on Nov. 5.
Last week, Persis offered a $1,000 reward for information after several of his signs were vandalized with stickers, and one of his wife's signs — City Commissioner Susan Persis, who is running for Ormond Beach mayor — was damaged with black spray paint. Mayoral candidate Jason Leslie has also had signs destroyed, thrown in wooded areas, and stolen, including ones placed on private property.
Brosemer told the Observer that Carl Persis has made "a mountain out of a molehill" as he still has plenty of signs around the district, especially in Ormond Beach. Despite having her own signs damaged, Brosemer said, she feels it's a trivial issue compared to what needs to be discussed in the school district.
"Signs are incidental," she said. "They are a grassroots form of campaigning.They generally served two purposes. They serve the purpose of raising name ID —which he doesn't need — and if they're in private yards, they can be a show of support. Other than that, signs serve no real useful purpose in a campaign."
In 2023, Gov. Ron DeSantis identified 14 school board members he wished to remove from office in a meeting with House Speaker Paul Renner, Moms for Liberty and Education Commissioner Manny Diaz. Persis was one of the 14.
The Observer reached out to the Volusia Chapter of Moms for Liberty, and Chapter Chair Jenifer Kelly said in an email that the chapter did not endorse a candidate for the School Board District 4 race.
"We are a nonpartisan organization that advocates for parental rights in education," she wrote. "Moms for Liberty-Volusia condemns any vandalism to or stealing of signs/property."
Chapter member Anna Hannon added that the case should be easy to resolve.
"It's not rocket science in this age of Ring video technology, and I'm sure the businesses that supported Carl and Susan Persis by letting them place their signs on their property would be more than cooperative with the OBPD and the Persis' by sharing any video footage to catch the vandals and put their worried minds at ease," Hannon said.
Brosemer said she could easily file a police report against volunteers with the Persis campaign, who were seen removing the anti-mask policy and "Persis are Liberals" yard signs prior to the primary election, but she doesn't see the issue as one that warrants attention.
Her original yard signs lacked a political ad disclaimer, a requirement Volusia County Supervisor of Elections Lisa Lewis told the Observer all candidates are required to observe, per the Candidate and Campaign Treasurer Handbook. Brosemer reached out to the state's Division of Elections for clarification, a decision she was told could take a year or longer. So, she ordered new signs with the political disclaimer, to avoid the distraction, she said.
"The Persis name is very well known," Brosemer said. "And he, Carl in particular, has quite a following, a very dedicated following. Sometimes passions get carried away. If any of that has happened on my side, I'm not aware of it."
