Port Orange, FL – A Port Orange city councilman wants the top seat on the City Council in 2016.
Don Burnette – the District 2 representative on the POCC – announced that he’s running for Mayor during Friday’s edition of the Marc Bernier Show on WNDB.
Burnette said during the program that he really didn’t want to make his plans known this early but felt he might as well because it will cause some shifting on the POCC.
“I have to resign to run,” Burnette stated. “The last 2 years of my term [will] be [filled by] a special election.”
Burnette – who was Vice-Mayor before District 3’s Drew Bastian took that over following the last election cycle – has to resign his current post effective November 30th of next year in order to take over for Allan Green should he win.
If he doesn’t get elected, Burnette will still have to leave office, creating the need for a special election regardless.
During the interview, Burnette admitted that the possibility of having to leave the POCC was a reason why he hesitated in making his announcement but figured it was best to announce now because he didn’t want to let his competition gain too much steam.
“There’s already been somebody out campaigning since July,” Burnette added. “If this is what I’m gonna do, I might as well let people know it now.”
Burnette’s only declared competitor at this point is Ted Noftall, a self-described fiscal conservative who wants to remove flouride from the city’s drinking water and is a constant presence during public comments at POCC meetings. (Click here for more on Noftall and his campaign.)
Green will not be running for Mayor again because he’s term-limited.
Burnette – a Spruce Creek High School graduate first elected to the POCC in 2010 and re-elected in 2014 – says he wants to see Port Orange moving forward as a “21st-century premier community” that promotes a family-friendly and high-quality way of life for its residents.
One of Burnette’s big goals is to enhance Port Orange’s sports facilities, something he feels will be a positive for economic development.
He also wants to achieve more staff stability, especially with many high-level workers leaving over the past 2 years due to various issues, among them a scandal that uncovered over a million dollars in billing errors to city customers.
“We stagnated to a point where this upheaval – as much as it hurt – was probably a necessary thing,” Burnette stated. “[I] would’ve liked to have seen it happen in more [of] a controlled fashion.”
Among those who left the city abruptly include 2 fire chiefs – Skip Irby and Joe Pozzo – and former City Manager Greg Kisela.
Burnette – a life-long resident of the area who’s married with 2 sons – also wants to expand citizen recreation programs throughout the city, address transportation issues and focus on redeveloping the Ridgewood Avenue corridor.
Burnette has 2 business degrees from the University of Central Florida and has been active in several organizations throughout the city, including the Salvation Army, Atlantic High School, Knights of Columbus, the Youth Football Association and the Port Orange/South Daytona Chamber of Commerce.
Don Burnette (photo courtesy City of Port Orange)
Copyright 2015 Southern Stone Communications.