- April 30, 2024
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Bill McGuire and Jason DeLorenzo are new Palm Coast City Councilmen; both races were decided by less than 1%.
A total of 91 votes was the difference between becoming the next Palm Coast City Councilman or nothing in both the District 1 and District 3 races Tuesday, Nov. 8, in the city’s general election.
In the District 1 race, Bill McGuire, who had 50.47% of the vote (2,872 votes), defeated incumbent Holsey Moorman, who had 49.53% (2,818).
For the District 3 seat, Jason DeLorenzo, who had 50.34% of the vote (2,765), beat Dennis Cross, with 49.66% (2,728).
McGuire made an epic comeback. Down by 129 votes with just 693 absentee ballots remaining to be tallied late in the evening, around 8:30 p.m., McGuire took the lead by 54 votes, translating to a swing of 183 votes. McGuire got 63% of the absentee votes, a percentage starkly different from what the numbers showed in the early voting and regular voting, both of which showed a nearly 50-50 split.
McGuire said it’s purely speculative, but he feels the voters spoke up and wanted someone new in office.
“I think there were voters who were disenchanted with (Moorman’s) track record the last four years,” McGuire said.
As for what he hopes to get accomplished during his term, McGuire said he wants to make sure the city spends its money on things that benefit all citizens.
“As I worked the polls,” McGuire said, “often times, the message was ‘What are you going to do about (City Manager) Jim Landon?’ I guess in the next four years, I’m going to have to look at making sure we’re getting the bang for our buck for what we pay for in terms of salary and services.”
An emotional DeLorenzo thanked his family, supporters and voters throughout the long, grueling process.
“It’s been a really long road,” DeLorenzo said. “It was an incredible experience, and I met so many wonderful people along the way, and it was a lot of work. But I really enjoyed it, and I just want to thank the voters … I’m going to do my best.”
DeLorenzo managed to stay ahead despite a surge by Cross in absentee voting. Much like the District 1 race, Cross was down 190 votes prior to absentee ballots being counted. With a 153-vote swing, Cross narrowed the gap to 37, but still fell short. Still, Cross accounted for 61% of the absentee voting.
DeLorenzo said the overriding thing that he thinks gave him an edge over Cross was the desire for new, young blood on the City Council.
“We’ve had candidates of similar age … and I’m considerably younger than that,” said DeLorenzo, 40. “And I think the voters really responded to that.”
The Palm Coast City Council will meet 9 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15, at the Palm Coast Community Center.
Contact Andrew O’Brien at [email protected].
