Photos for Headline Surfer ® / Andy Ferrari, far left, is the newest announced candidate for the Volusia County Council representing Southwest Volusia county. Rich Gailey and Fred Lowry, Jr, (l to r), and Donald Mair (not shown) are the others.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DELTONA, Fla. -- A fourth candidate has entered the field to run in the 2014 elections for the District 5 seat on the Volusia County Council representing the Deltona area with incumbent Pat Northey term-limited and instead challenging at-large Council member Joyce Cusack of DeLand.
Andy Ferrari of Deltona, who turned 37 Friday and is married with a small child, joins an already-crowded field with Northey's 2012 nemesis, Rich Gailey of DeBary, along with Donald Mair and Fred Lowry, Jr., a first-term Deltona city commissioner.
Ferrari's political claim to fame is winning a 2012 seat on the West Volusia Hospital Authority, serving on the DeLand Economic Development Board and several civic organizations. He's also a self-employed DJ.
The perceived frontrunners for the County Council seat are Gailey and Lowry. Of the two, Lowry is well ahead in campaign finances with $11,025.00, including an $8,000 personal loan he made to his campaign. However, Lowry has already spent nearly $4,345 or one-third of his amassed war chest. Gailey has $1,000, with no expenditures.
Lowry and Gailey, both Republicans in the non-partisan race, won't be expected to see favoritism from the Volusia County GOP, especially if their frontrunner status materializes heading into the summer primary.
Mair has $50 in campaign contributions and Ferrari nothing so far.