Headline Surfer photos by Serafina Frederick / New Smyrna Beach City Commissioner Jason McGuirk is shown at far left on a city fire truck with Mayor Adam Barringer during the 2012 Christmas parade, less than a month after he was sworn into office. McGuirk became a city commissioner-elect in June when no one else qualified for the position while he kept a law profile, which he continues to do.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Like a game off dominoes, soft ice cream maven Jason McGuirk announced his candidacy in September 2011 as the heir-apparent to zone 3 City Commissioner Jim Hathaway who had earlier announced he was running for the 2012 election for the dist. 3 seat on the Volusia County Council.
That's where the similarities ended.
McGuirk laid low, kept his mouth shut and garnered the seat by default when nobody else tried to qualify. McGuirk's free ride comes in at No. 491 in the Headline Surfer countdown of the Top 500 Stories as part of the 24/7 internet newspaper's fifth anniversary celebration.
Hathaway on the other hand, had to deal with primary competition from Edgewater Council member Justin Kennedy and former Volusia County School Board member Deb Denys of New Smyrna Beach.
McGuirk was content to settle in the background of higher profile politicians like Hathaway and Barringer, knowing his political future was secured when the qualifying period ended in June and nobody else wanted the municipal seat that Hathaway firmly held for 18 years.
McGuirk was content to settle in the background of higher profile politicians like Hathaway and Barringer, knowing his political future was secured when the qualifying period ended in June and nobody else wanted the municipal seat that Hathaway firmly held for 18 years.
Hathaway won the 2012 August primary with Denys coming in a close second and Kennedy finishing third and out of the running. In the general election, however, Denys easily defeated Hathaway.
Good Golly Miss Molly! It's New Smyrna Beach's first couple, Mayor Adam Barringer with his wife, Shannon, aboard a fire truck, with Commissioner Jason McGuirk shown in the inset image reaching down for candy canes to throw to kids watching the Christmas parade on Canal Street.
And unlike the always opinionated Hathaway on the dais, McGuirk has barely uttered a word on the commission since being sworn in. Especially after Mayor Barringer and City Manager Pam Brangaccio learned in December they were the subject of a citizen complaint with the Florida Commission on Ethics for a private retirement dinner for Hathaway held at the mayor's wine bar restaurant with a city credit card used to pay the bill for nearly four dozen guests.
Recap Top 500 Stories:
491. Softy Jason McGuirk gets NSB Commission seat nobody else wants
492. Christmas comes early in 2010 for New Smyrna Beach with $402,500 fire rescue vehicle, complete with plaque
493. Convenience store clerk in Ormond Beach draws own knife to scare off knife-wielding robber
494. Former Oak Hill Mayor Donna Jane Bennett dies in 2009, a decade after exiting the political stage
495. Biketoberfest 2011 in New Smyrna Beach a bust
496. Topless woman holds up DeLand traffic
497. Oak Hill proud of its Super Bowl connection in winter resident Larry Csonka
498. Stetson University mourns passing of retired President H. Douglas Lee in 2009
499. Kilo of pot washes ashore on New Smyrna Beach on July 4th weekend
500. Celebrating 5 years of covering greater Daytona Beach & New Smyrna Beach with 24/7 internet newspaperHeadline Surfer 5th Anniversary Advertising---------------------
