It's Jake Johansson and Doug Pettit in runoff for Volusia County Council at-large seat

DAYTONA BEACH — The competition for the Volusia County Council's at-large seat is headed for a runoff election, with neither of the top two finishers in the four-person race able to capture more than 50% of votes in Tuesday's primary contest.

Former Port Orange City Manager Jake Johansson collected the most votes in the at-large race, finishing with 33.88% of the 110,329 votes cast, according to unofficial results Tuesday night.

Finishing second was retired teacher and business owner Doug Pettit, who amassed 23.72% of votes in the battle to determine who will get a four-year term representing residents throughout the county. Accountant Andy Kelly, who served on the County Council from 2007 to 2012, finished third with 21.49% of votes, and consultant Sherrise Boyd was fourth with 20.91% of votes, unofficial results show.

Johansson and Pettit will now shift their focus to going head to head in the Nov. 8 general election. The winner will be sworn into office in January for the position that pays $47,797 annually.

More election night information: Florida primary election 2022: See results from Volusia, Flagler County voting

Two other County Council seats were up for a vote in Tuesday's primary election. In District 4, Ken Smith finished on top with 30.85% of votes, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. But right on Smith's heels was Ormond Beach City Commissioner Troy Kent with 30.17% of votes.

Robert Littleton, Jr., finished third with 25.78% and Mike McLean came in fourth in the District 4 race with 13.21% of votes. A total of 23,146 votes were cast.

Smith and Kent will now square off in the Nov. 8 general election. Council terms are normally four years, but the District 4 candidates are competing for a two-year stint this election cycle because of redistricting.

In the three-person District 5 County Council race, former state Rep. David Santiago finished on top with a decisive 45.58% of votes, unofficial results show. Following 15 percentage points behind was Victor Ramos with 30.20% of votes. Julio David Sosa finished in third place with 24.22%.

Santiago and Ramos, a Deltona city commissioner, will face off Nov. 8 for a four-year term representing District 5.

Johansson has the backing of the current at-large councilman, former Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson, who decided not to seek re-election to the Council. He also has donations from some of the power players in Volusia County and has amassed the largest campaign contribution tally of the four candidates, with $106,302 raised so far. Kelly has collected $66,404, Pettit has drawn $30,182 in donations and Boyd has $7,849.

Learn more about Volusia at-large candidates: Where do at-large Volusia Council candidates stand on exploding growth?

Development stances of District 5 candidates: Development, revenue, water supply on minds of Volusia Council Dist. 5 candidates

Read about Volusia Council District 4 race: Explosive development, taxes, environment on minds of Volusia Council District 4 candidates

Johansson was the city manager of Port Orange for five and a half years, a position that he decided to step down from at the end of 2020 to deal with some family matters.

Johansson spent 35 years in the Navy. He commanded a combat squadron in Iraq and a Naval base in Norfolk, Virginia, where there is one of the largest concentrations of military personnel in the world.

The 59-year-old also worked at the Pentagon and carried the nuclear football in the White House for three years. He's currently working as a leadership consultant and mostly doing executive coaching.

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Pettit is a coach and retired teacher. Pettit is also a retired U.S. Marine with 26 years of military service that included serving in Operation Desert Shield in 1990 and Operation Desert Storm in 1991. When he was in the Marine Corps, he was a heavy equipment officer with a $1.7 million budget.

The 68-year-old has owned several small businesses. Pettit had a small business in San Diego for 10 years that he started from scratch. He also ran a business in Lake Mary for three years.

More on County Council District 4 race

The District 4 seat is currently occupied by Heather Post, but she decided not to run for re-election.

Smith was born in St. Augustine, and when he was two years old his family relocated to Ormond Beach.

The 40-year-old Smith owns and runs Wally-Y-World Gallery in Ormond Beach, an art and custom picture framing business his father started in 1987. He took over the family business in 2013.

This is Smith's second attempt at running for an elected office. In 2020 he competed against Kent in the District 2 Ormond Beach City Commission race, but lost.

Kent is a lifelong Volusia County resident who graduated from Seabreeze High School. He has spent his 24-year career in education working as both a Volusia County teacher and assistant principal.

The 47-year-old has been an Ormond Beach city commissioner for 19 years, and he's currently serving his ninth two-year term.

Littleton has attracted more campaign contributions than his three challengers, with a tally of $57,187. Kent has amassed $53,763, followed by McLean with $25,141 and Smith with $15,871.

More on County Council District 5 race

The District 5 post is currently held by Fred Lowry, but he is not seeking re-election to the County Council. Lowry decided to instead run for a seat on the Volusia County School Board.

Santiago is from New York, and he moved to Deltona 31 years ago. The 51-year-old sold his insurance and financial services business two and a half years ago, and now he works fulltime as a business consultant.

Santiago served on the Deltona City Commission from 2003 until 2007, and he served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2012 until 2020.

Santiago has dominated the campaign contributions race, with $39,180 collected so far. Ramos has raised $17,869 and Sosa has $11,403.

Ramos grew up in Miami, and he was a teacher and coach in that city for 12 years. The 51-year-old was also the assistant director at a Miami housing services nonprofit organization.

Ramos moved to Deltona in 2000, and he continued teaching at a Seminole County elementary school and at Daytona State College.

He is now the CEO of Mid-Florida Housing Partnership, which has 46 affordable housing properties and helps people who struggle to pay their rent and mortgage. He also runs Palmetto House, a large home in Daytona Beach with small affordable rental units.

You can reach Eileen at Eileen.Zaffiro@news-jrnl.com

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia County Council at-large: Johansson and Pettit in runoff