Headline Surfer® photos / In the game of musical chairs, New Smyrna Beach Mayor Adam Barringer is out in terms of a third run, former Commissioner Jim Hathaway is still weighing whether to get back in and run for mayor and Commissioner Jack Grasty, shown in the inset, is indeed running for mayor.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Amid a mountain of personal tax debts and continuing corruption in New Smyrna Beach governance, Adam Barringer is not seeking a third term. And as expected, two-term City Commissioner Jack Grasty has filed papers to run for the top municipal post.
There's an outside chance former Commissioner James Hathaway, who gave up his 18-year-tenure on the commission in his unsuccessful run for County Council may jump into the race, but earlier this week Hathaway told Headline Surfer® he was simply "weighing his options."
Hathaway could not be reached for comment this morning and calls to Grasty and Barringer went unanswered.
Barringer was first elected mayor in a close race over then-incumbent Sally Mackay. Then he and the commissioners, including Grasty and Hathaway, awarded themselves an extra year in office so the city could switch to even-year- elections. Commissions seats are four years and the mayor's post is two years.
Barringer ran unopposed in 2012 and was automatically awarded two more years. Grasty easily won re-election in 2009 over two other challengers, Palmer Wilson, a retired cop who would go onto chair the Southeast Volusia Advertising Authority until he was removed in October in a political move orchestrated by County Councilwoman Deb Denys, who beat Hathaway in the 2012 runoff.
The third candidate was Stephen Sather, a longtime friend of the mayor's who pleaded no contest in the mid-1990s to trying to purchase a large quantity of cocaine from an undercover cop.
Sather was subsequently appointed to the planning board in a vote pushed by Barringer. Grasty, Barringer and a third Commissioner whose seat is up for re-election, Judy Reiker, all voted to raise taxes this fiscal year as did Commissioners Jason McGuirk and Kirk Jones. Reiker has not said whether she'll run again. She did not return a message for comment today.
With Grasty going for the mayor's post, his zone 2 commission seat is now open but has no takers so far.
Editor's Note: Headline Surfer® has an upcoming story on Mayor Adam Barringer's tax debts and a developing story on municipal corruption.