Former Volusia County Councilman Andy Kelly among new entrants into 2022 county election

With just a little more than a month to go before the June 17 qualifying date, new layers of intrigue have emerged in two Volusia County Council races and one school board contest as new candidates have filed.

Andy Kelly, who twice won terms to the Volusia County Council, has brought the field of candidates for the at-large seat to four. He joins Sherrise Boyd, Jake Johansson and Doug Pettit in the race.

Kelly served on the council from 2006 to 2012. In 2012, he ran for supervisor of elections, losing to Ann McFall. He then lost a 2014 County Council race to Pat Patterson by less than one-half of 1%.

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He has since been elected to the Volusia County Soil & Water Conservation District Board.

A native of Volusia County, he lives in unincorporated DeLand and works as an accountant.

The last five years have been personally challenging for Kelly, whose mother, father, brother and sister-in-law have all died. But he said some people urged him to try once more to return to the County Council and he wants to "do something about this runaway growth."

Kelly said Volusia County is blessed with its natural resources. "We don't want to lose any more than we've already lost," he said.

"I will just say no to unrestrained, sprawl development. Our major growth should be infill," he said. "We need more affordable housing."

Biology teacher challenges Danny Robins

In another County Council race, Susan Sigler of New Smyrna Beach filed to run against incumbent District 3 Councilman Danny Robins. The district covers Southeast Volusia.

Sigler, a Volusia County Schools teacher for the past 26 years, grew up in New Smyrna Beach and said she is looking for “another way to help out with the community,” by making changes.

“Growth management is huge, especially in our area, Southeast Volusia. It’s not that I’m against growth, but there’s been a lot of growth that has been not-so-much smart growth,” she said.

Her other priorities, she said, include improving infrastructure and protecting the environment, particularly the wildlife corridor and drinking water. As a biology teacher at DeLand High, she said she has a science background that will lend a valuable perspective to the council.

School board attracts 2 more candidates

An already intriguing three-person race to replace outgoing Volusia County School Board member Linda Cuthbert picked up two additional candidates in the last week.

Emmanuel Swift, principal of Putnam Edge Charter High School, and health care professional Wendy Weisheimer entered the School Board District 3.

Swift, who lives in Port Orange, has three children, two in Volusia County schools and one in pre-K.

He graduated from Bethune-Cookman University and has lived in Volusia County since 2006.

Prior to his current role as principal, Swift worked for a network of charter schools and had educational quality assurance responsibilities for 23 schools across the state.

"A community's schools are at their best when they are sharply focused on specific, mission-oriented outcomes, such as empowering all students to become successful readers, and when they are consistently successful in delivering on the mission," Swift wrote on his website.

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In an interview, he said his aims include graduating students with tangible skills.

"We need to make sure we are making decisions based on data and that we are really doing our taxpayers a service when we're making these educational decisions," Swift said.

Weisheimer, executive director of the Neuroscience Institute at AdventHealth, is a New Smyrna Beach resident.

She has lived with her family, including four children, in Volusia County since 2005.

Weisheimer started as a nurse and earned a master’s degree in leadership and management at the University of Central Florida before completing a post-graduate degree in family practice, qualifying her to become a nurse practitioner. Her role includes responsibilities at 18 hospitals.

“The reason I’m joining (the race) so late is I needed time to think about it, to deliberate and look at the issues we’re facing and to make the commitment. It is a huge commitment,” she said. “People put their lives in my hands every day and I take that very seriously. I do believe I have the business expertise, for sure, as well as being very well-versed on mandates, regulatory issues and compliance, to help the school board navigate the complexities of health policy.”

She also touted her experience as a mom and cited her husband, Clifford, a New Smyrna Beach High School teacher, as being influential in her platform: “quality of education.”

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This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 4 new faces grace Volusia County Council, School Board races