- April 24, 2024
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The newest candidate so far in the Volusia County Council District 4 race is a former Seminole County Commissioner.
Michael McLean, of Daytona Beach, filed to run on Feb. 11, and he is the fourth person who has entered the race for the open seat in the 2022 elections. Incumbent District 4 Volusia County Councilwoman Heather Post is running for the at-large seat. City Commissioners Troy Kent, Rob Littleton and Ormond Beach business owner Ken Smith are the other three candidates.
McLean — who owned an insurance firm for over 20 years and currently owns a governmental and business consulting firm called McLean Strategies LLC — served on the Seminole County Commission from 2006 to 2010. Prior to that, he was a commissioner for the city of Lake Mary from 2000 to 2006. His decision to run for the Volusia County Council began with the failure of the half-cent sales tax. In 2001, Seminole County passed a one-cent sales tax referendum with 72% approval, and Volusia's failed referendum surprised him.
But what surprised him most, he said, was that it failed due to a lack of trust.
"I really think we need to re-install a sense of trust in Volusia County local government, where the voters feel that the people they're putting up there are best to look out for their interests," McLean said. "They may not necessarily agree with every decision that's made, but it concerns me when folks are talking about lack of trust in their elected officials, and I like to think that maybe I can do a little bit there."
He hopes his experience as a previous county commissioner could be an asset to Volusia County due to his knowledge of managing large budgets as both a government official and business owner, and familiarity dealing with growth and development issues.
"Dealing with the developers, their goal is to make money and there's nothing wrong with that," McLean sad. "You just have to be sure that the development is smart, planned and appropriate."
