Issue of experience or lack thereof touted in New Smyrna Beach debate between candidates for County Council dist. 3 seat

Headline Surfer videos by Sera Frederick / Former Volusia County School Board member Deb Denys, New Smyrna Beach City Commissioner Jim Hathaway and Edgewater City Councilman Justin Kennedy speak frankly of their experience readiness for the district 3 seat on the Volusia County Council. What separates them from each other and where they stand on the issues in the second of eight debates sponsored by Headline Surfer during a day-long marathon Saturday at the Brannon Center in New Smyrna Beach.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- All three candidates have previously won elected office and tout their experience as reasons why each has an advantage over the other. But it's the degrees of separation that each asks the voter to consider in defining that experience.

Deb Denys was elected in 1994 to the Volusia County School Board in 1994, as a Republican candidate in what was then a partisan race. She served one four-year term. Jim Hathaway has served elected four terms on the New Smyrna Beach City Commission for 18 years. Justin Kennedy is in the middle of his first-four year-term on the Edgewater City Council.

Hathaway and Kennedy are registered Democrats while Denys has retained her Republican registration as all three vie for the non-partisan seat on the County Council that represents the southern port of Port Orange, New Smyrna Beach, Edgewater, Oak Hill and nearby unincorporated areas contiguous to the cities.

Deb Denys, Jim Hathaway and Justin KennedyHenry Frederick, editor/publisher Headline SurferVolusia County Council dist. 3 candidates Deb Denys, Jim Hathaway and Justin Kennedy are all business in the second of eight debates in a marathon session at the Brannon Center sponsored by Headline Surfer.

Unless one of them gets 50 percent plus one vote in the Aug. 14 primary, the top two will square off in the November elections.

While Hathaway says his 18 years as a commissioner has prepared him for the challenges of dealing with countywide issues, Kennedy said it's what he has done in the first two years of his first term that has propelled him to greater challenges at the county level. He referenced his push for allowing cities to do their own ambulance transports, which led to Edgewater and Ponce Inlet being named for a pilot program to do just that.

Denys says her experience on the school board and its politics helped her to get a foothold in community programs, including serving as a court-appointed victim's advocate. That blend of public service and her elected tenure on the school board makes her the mot experienced to deal with myriad county issues, Denys insisted.

She was the most aggressive of the three candidates, especially critical of Hathaway's hiring of City Attorney Frank Gummey and his hefty contract.

"In 2012, we still have the decision of an attorney making over $200,000 with a $400,000 to $500,000 golden parachute... the buck starts and stops with leadership," Denys said.

Deb Denys"In 2012, we still have the decision of an attorney making over $200,000 with a $400,000 to $500,000 golden parachute... the buck starts and stops with leadership," Denys said.

Hathaway defended the contract as a necessity in hiring a qualified attorney who could provide stability and experience in handling the city's legal affairs.

The strongest bit of news in their 90-minute debate, including audience participation, was Hathaway confirming he would not support Canal Street in a new CRA district with the emphasis on U.S. 1. Canal Street has been part of the current CRA district that includes the North Causeway, Flagler Avenue and A portion of Third Avenue on the beachside and a stretch of the Westside. The district was established in 1985, and sunsets in 2015, having received tens of millions of dollars in community redevelopment taxes.

"The reality of this -- Canal Street and Flagler Avenue have received incremental tax dollars for the last 30 years," Hathaway said. "It's time for these business owners to stand on their own two feet."

Jim Hathaway"The reality of this -- Canal Street and Flagler Avenue have received incremental tax dollars for the last 30 years.," Hathaway said. "It's time for these business owners to stand on their own two feet."

Kennedy, the Edgewater councilman, whose city doesn't have a CRA district, was even more biting in his view on the prospect of a continuation of Canal Street folded into yet another district longterm.

"At some point, businesses and property owners have to get off the public dole and be able to sustain themselves, otherwise it's a welfare operation," Kennedy said.

Justin Kennedy"At some point, businesses and property owners have to get off the public dole and be able to sustain themselves, otherwise it's a welfare operation," Kennedy said.

The debate between the trio for the county council seat being vacated by Joie Alexander of Port Orange at year's end, was the second of eight debates Saturday at the Brannon Center sponsored by Headline Surfer.

The first was for the City Commission zone 4 seat. Debates three through eight were for the office of county council chair, supervisor of elections, two county judgeships, clerk of the circuit court and state attorney, during a marathon session that began at 9 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m.