Edgewater resident cut off from comments after alleging 20-year-old mayor used fake ID

Edgewater Mayor Diezel DePew, who became Florida's youngest mayor when he was elected at age 18 in 2022, was accused by a resident at Monday's City Council meeting of attempting to use a fake ID to buy alcohol last month.

The resident made the allegation during the citizen comments portion of the meeting. A Port Orange police records clerk said Wednesday the agency has no records of a complaint involving DePew.

DePew did not immediately respond to a text message seeking comment Wednesday.

On Monday night, Edgewater resident Anthony Kianvar walked up to the podium in what appeared to be a packed council meeting room and said: "On or about June 5 of last month, our mayor, Mr. DePew along with Donald Burnette, the mayor of Port Orange, decided to have an evening at a business serving alcoholic beverages in Port Orange. And during their visit, Mr. DePew attempted to use a Georgia ID with a 2000 birthdate."

DePew interrupted Kianvar and asked him to stick to city business.

“OK, well, I think that this is city business, sir," Kianvar said. "Now, you may be thinking our mayor is 19 years old. You may be thinking he is not 24.”

DePew asked Kianvar to address the council regarding city business matters only.

“This is definitely related to city business, sir because you are definitely engaged in behavior that is not becoming of the office of which you have been elected, sir,” he said.

DePew attempted to talk over Kiavar, repeating the need to address the council about city business, saying: “Thank you for your comment. Please relate to city business … any city matter that you may have.”

Kianvar: “OK, yeah. This is a city matter.”

At one point, DePew called for an “officer.”

Kianvar said, “I would like you to tell me why this is not city business.”

Finally, DePew said: “This is about a personal matter that may be addressed later. Thank you for your comment.”

Kianvar said: "This is not a personal matter, because you are an elected official.”

On Wednesday, Burnette, the Port Orange mayor who is also running as a candidate for Volusia County Council chairman, said he was at the Port Orange Half Wall restaurant and beer house on what might have been June 5, eating dinner with a friend and DePew asked to join him.

"He didn't stay long and left," Burnette said. "Don't know much about it.

"I'm not sure if there's something personal between him and some guy," Burnette said, "because the server made some comments about him when he left, and frankly, I wasn't involved, didn't see much and wanted to stay the hell out of it, so I was like, 'OK.'"

Burnette said he did not see any police at the restaurant.

"If the kid did something knuckleheaded, he wouldn't be the first 20-year-old to do something," Burnette said. "And I didn't even know he was underage, to be honest with you."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Edgewater mayor cuts off resident accusing him of underage drinking