Election 2022: Volusia County Council District 5 candidates talk growth, priorities

The District 5 race for Volusia County Council pits two longtime Volusia County residents with experience in elected office against each other, but the candidates have different priorities for the future of the county.

District 5 is the smallest district. It covers part of southwestern Volusia County, including parts of DeBary and Osteen and all of Deltona and Enterprise.

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Incumbent Councilman Fred Lowry is leaving the seat after unsuccessfully running for Volusia County School Board District 5. Incumbent board Chair Ruben Colón won that race.

Lowry, a pastor, faced criticism and calls to resign after videos emerged of him sharing conspiracy theories about topics such as COVID-19 and child trafficking.

Like Lowry, both candidates for the District 5 County Council seat have served as Deltona city commissioners.

Facing off in the contest are Victor Ramos and David Santiago.

Santiago is leading the race in fundraising, with $55,930 in monetary contributions to Ramos' $19,284.47, according to the Volusia County supervisor of elections website.

Early voting begins Oct. 26, and the general election is Nov. 8.

Victor Ramos

Ramos, 51, who is single, was born and raised in Miami and has lived in Volusia County for over 20 years.

He was elected to the city of Deltona's Commission in 2018, and he has a bachelor's degree in exceptional student education from Florida Memorial College and a master's degree in educational leadership from Nova Southeastern University, according to his campaign website.

His work in the community includes serving on the executive board of the Central Florida Metropolitan Planning Organization Alliance, the River to Sea Transportation Planning Organization, the Volusia County Tourist Development Council and the Halifax Health Hospice Advisory Board, among other roles.

Ramos is the CEO of the Mid-Florida Housing Partnership, a Daytona Beach-based nonprofit that focuses on helping people access affordable housing in Volusia and Flagler counties.

He is endorsed by Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood.

Ramos listed affordable housing in Volusia as one of his top three priorities in response to questions from The Daytona Beach News-Journal. His other top priorities are "having a balanced approach to" development and the environment, and investing in the county's road and transit system.

The Rental Market Study for the Florida Housing Finance Corporation, which the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida published this year, includes data on Volusia County. The report focuses on low-income and cost-burdened households, which are households at or below 60% of area median income and paying at least 40% of income toward gross rent.

The study found about 30% of Volusia County renters were considered low-income and cost-burdened.

"Our own residents are struggling to find affordable housing because of the market and ... because people are coming from different areas," Ramos said.

Ramos said he wants to work with municipalities, developers and nonprofits on addressing affordable housing challenges, including focusing on retaining existing affordable housing and creating more. He also wants to explore new initiatives and technologies to ensure "smart development" that provides housing at all levels.

"I think the word affordability now, it affects everyone," he said.

To help address housing concerns, Volusia County Council members unanimously adopted an affordable housing plan in July. Ideas in the plan include forming an affordable housing review team, a community land trust and an affordable housing trust fund and adding incentives for developers.

Growth, development and traffic

Ramos said his focus in dealing with growth and development is collaboration.

"I think it's a challenge. It's a conversation we're all having. ... We can't just say, 'No,'" he said. "And I think it's about making sure that we have our people sitting around the table ... the elected officials, the planners, the developers, the land owners, to see how we can better manage the growth that we have," he said.

On transportation, he wants to improve communication between local officials.

"Being a member of the (transportation planning organization), it's something that we're constantly looking at. And I think the challenge that we've had is sometimes we piecemeal things throughout the county, and we're trying to have a better approach, to have a blueprint ... and work with our neighboring cities to be able to be more effective in the things that we're doing," he said.

David Santiago

Originally from Long Island, Santiago, 51, has lived in Deltona for over 30 years. He is married with three children and four grandchildren. Santiago served four years as a Deltona city commissioner and eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, ending his tenure in 2020.

He touted his time on the legislature and the relationships he built with state agencies and lawmakers, which he said will make him a more effective leader on the council.

"Certainly my opponent has none of that," he said.

An Army veteran, Santiago is now a business and government consultant with the Tallahassee law firm Colodny Fass.

Santiago listed ensuring a strong economy in Volusia County among his top three priorities in response to questions from The News-Journal. He listed his other top priorities as keeping taxes as low as possible and protecting sensitive environmental areas.

Santiago said he would like to see the County Council and constituents come up with a fresh vision for managing growth and development. While development is facing criticism in the county, "in most cases" developers are following rules and the amendment processes outlined by the county, he said.

"Constituents get upset sometimes when there's a change to the current status. However, the roadmap was followed. ... so what we need to do is put a clear set of visions and rules of what we want in our county and follow those," he said.

To help keep the local economy strong, Santiago said he supports new entertainment and sports venues, including revamping the Volusia County Fairgrounds. He also supports reviewing tax rates and other polices to make sure there aren't barriers to small businesses or entrepreneurs.

He also said the county could improve on competing for economic development and state dollars.

"In my years as a state representative ... I've seen counties be much more effective in advocacy in Tallahassee both in policy making but also in economic development and drawing down state dollars, right, for whether it's infrastructure or economic development. So Volusia can do better and we will do better when I'm on the Council."

Santiago said he would also try to improve the County Council's image by staying focused on ideas and not personal attacks.

"The perception is that we have a dysfunctional County Council, and I have no interest in being part of the dysfunction," he said.

― News-Journal Political Editor Mark Harper and Reporter Eileen Zaffiro-Kean contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Council candidates share growth plans, top priorities