Mike Ignasiak and Diezel Depew win primary and will face off in Edgewater mayoral race

EDGEWATER — Former Edgewater mayor Mike Ignasiak and 18-year-old candidate Diezel Depew will face off in the Edgewater mayoral race in November after finishing first and second, respectively, in Tuesday’s primary.

Ignasiak received 48.34% of the 5,288 votes cast while Depew got 34.13%. Louis Panico came in third, receiving 17.53% of the vote.

Voters will choose their next Edgewater mayor in the general election on Nov. 8.

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

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Mike Ignasiak

Former Edgewater Mayor Michael Ignasiak, 73, has been an Edgewater resident since 2000.

He first came to the City Council in 2010. He served as the vice mayor for three years and as mayor for four years.

Ignasiak lost the 2018 election to current Mayor Michael Thomas.

He said that his decision to come back to the city’s political scene was “unexpected.” He said residents approached him after Depew’s announcement concerned about the lack of candidates in the race.

“This was not something I was out looking for,” Igansiak said in an interview in June. “I got approached by people I know asking me if I would come back and consider running for mayor again, because like all the things that we did during that time period, we were very successful.”

Ignasiak said he would have three priorities if elected: “Listen to the people who put me in office;” “listen to my councilmembers;” and “listen to the business community.”

He mentioned that managing the city’s growth will be one of the most important challenges to the next mayor.

“Our biggest emphasis is controlling our growth and the potential negative impacts that we see coming,” Ignasiak said.

He said that he saw Hollywood, the town he grew up in, go from a “sleepy little town” to a major “metropolitan area.”

“I know what’s coming,” he added. “I’ve seen it happen. I know the mistakes to be made and the mistakes to avoid. And that’s why we need somebody who has got their hands on the throttle and make sure that growth doesn’t go too fast or too slow and that we get the right mix. And I think I’m the person for the job.”

Even though Ignasiak is confident that this approach could help him become the mayor once again and, if elected, he said that something he would do differently this time around would be to “speak less and listen more.”

“A lot of time, councils will talk issues to death,” he said. “What happens is that a lot of it becomes unproductive time. You need to rein some of that in, and that was a learning process I went through when I became mayor.”

“I love Edgewater, I raised my family here, I want to see Edgewater grow and prosper and that’s what got me back into politics,” he added.

Diezel Depew

Diezel Depew entered the Edgewater mayoral race earlier this year at only 17 years old. He turned 18 in May and has now graduated from New Smyrna Beach High School.

Depew was born and raised in Edgewater. He started (and continues to operate) his own lawncare business when he was just 12 years old.

Depew started attending City Council meetings about four years ago and getting more involved in politics.

“Ever since I can remember, I always wanted to get into politics,” he said in an interview in March. “I’ve always said that it’s always important for politicians to say the truth in what is going on and always relate to the public in any way they possibly can.”

He added: “Politics really involves everyday life for everybody — whether it’s taxation, utility bills, roadways, anything."

Depew said that his principles stand on the Republican side. In his social media pages, he has shared several pictures next to prominent Republican political figures such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.

Depew said he wanted to run a grassroots campaign.

“I’m just going to talk to every citizen I possibly can, I’m going to knock on every single door I possibly can,” he said. “The citizens have luckily brought forward issues to me, I’ve been talking to them about it for four years now, and it’s been great.”

In a Facebook post in January announcing he would be on the ballot, Depew listed some of these issues that would be part of his campaign, including “lower utility bill prices,” “less corporate development,” “solve speeding problems in Edgewater,” “clean and protect the Indian River Lagoon,” and others.

Depew said this is a career he envisions himself in for “as long as I possibly can.” He plans to serve full-time as Edgewater mayor if elected.

“I’d like to be president one day,” he said. “I just love helping people.”

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Mike Ignasiak and Diezel Depew to face off in Edgewater mayor race