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Video by Multimedia Editor Sera Frederick. NSBNEWS.net endorses the candidacy of Joie Alexander for Volusia County Council district 3 in Tuesday's elections.
That George Trovato made it this far speaks volumes about his desire to join the political elite. Problem is, he ha a lot of baggage, no clear message and a lot of promises to the unions. Put it this way: Trovato has his eyes on the prize. He can taste it.
But if he's elected, you the voter, will be the one left with a sour taste in your mouth. He wore out his welcome pretty quickly in Deltona as city attorney. He lacks the experience to make critical decisions on the critical issues. Heck, there's even confusion whether he legally lives in Port Orange or Deltona. Go ask him yourself. He gave me a lot of double talk. Joie Alexander is a little long in the tooth in terms of tenure on the County Council. She was term-limited as the county at-large representative. At the last minute she jumped inm to vie for this seat in hopes of replacing term-limited Jack Hayman. Still, Alexander on the whole, is far superior to Trovato as the choice for this all-important district 3 seat representing Southeast Volusia and greater Port Orange.
When Hayman and New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer held a community meeting at the Brannon Center after the death of the 4-year-old struck and killed on the beach, Alexander stayed in her chair in the audience and took notes. So did Deborah Denys and Ellen Darden, candidates for the district 3 seat who came up short in the primary.
Trovato took to the podium and went into a nonsensical speech that had people walking out. While he was yacking away, the other candidates were shaking their heads in disbelief. So were many of the several dozen residents as the mayor and Hayman patiently waited for him to sit down.
Not one to pass up an opportunity, Trovato started showing up at New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater city government meetings early on in the primary stretch, long enough to get the media to take a shot and then leaving. Though this is a non-partisan race, both candidates are Republicans, though Trovato has managed to get the financial support of the unions, especially with increasing taxpayer pressure to reign in spending.
Trovato is so full of himself, he went to traffic court at the Volusia County Court to answer to a citation from a Sheriff's lieutenant alleging he was flashing his lights to other motorists. The cop was out of town on other business and asked for a continuance, but because the case had twice been continued and a clerk couldn't get her hands on the request, the judicial hearing official had no choice but to dismiss the case.
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Photos by Henry Frederick. Volusia County Council 3 candidate George Trovato is all smiles as he walks out of traffic court in DeLand because a Sheriff's lieutenant who had pulled him over in Deltona failed to show up. A stand-in Sheriff's official asked for a continuance, saying one was filed a week earlier, but because it was not in the file, the magistrate said he had no choice, but to dismiss the case, considering it had twice been continued. Trovato's Lincoln was parked outside the courthouse as shown here. The third photo shows Trovato's personal items on his seat, which speaks volumes about organization.
What the big deal was to media representatives was that before the hearings started, Trovato, who was sitting in a pew like every other defendant, got up and went to the front portion of the courtroom as if he was among the attorneys handling cases.
Amazing.
Because of census changes, the County Council seat is only for two years and the public would be much better served by Alexander continuing her tenure, even if we feel that she took advantage of a loophole that essentially circumvents the public's stance on term limits.
Two years of George Trovato would be an eternity.
For her part, Alexander, a former Samsula school principal, has served the greater good of the community for quite a while.
She finished first in the primary, garnering 25 percenrt in a field of seven.
Trovato finished a distant second with 17.59 percent, just ahead of Denys with 17.12 percent and Darden fourth with 16.17 percent. With the runoff, we expect Alexander to prevail.
NSBNEWS.net endorses Joie Alexander for Volusia County Council district 3 in Tuesday's elections.
The videos in the endorsements are direct appeals from the candidates to you from the 2010 NSB Hob Nob held Oct. 25, at the Brannon Center. As we go through each race, we will post the video of the candidate we feel best represents the needs of the public. NSBNEWS.net is the only Volusia County-based media outlet to hand out endorsements for the general elections. The Orange County-based Orlando Sentinel has done so as well. Our endorsements resulted from collaboration and debate between NSB News LLC's publishers, Henry Frederick, a registered Democrat, and Peter Mallory, a registered Republican, for posting on NSBNEWS.net and our new countywide website VolusiaNews.net.