Daytona Beach Mayor takes aim at Volusia County Council Chair amid flooding concerns

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Published  October 30, 2024 10:21pm EDT
FOX 35 Orlando
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Mayor takes aim at Volusia County Council Chair

It’s been a while since we saw a big political brawl play out on Facebook, but it’s going down in Daytona Beach.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - It’s been a while since we saw a big political brawl play out on Facebook, but it’s going down in Daytona Beach.

The Mayor of Daytona Beach took aim at the Volusia County Council Chair, accusing him of playing political games instead of trying to help citizens.

More precisely, Mayor Derrick Henry said Chairperson Jeff Brower "showed up in [Daytona] to politicize the flooding issues rather than attempt to solve them."

"It really caught me off guard," Brower told FOX 35.  "I was raised in Daytona Beach. I love the place."

The mayor said that in 12 years, Brower is the first council chair who he hasn’t worked with well and that stunned Brower too. 

"I don't have any issues with the Mayor of Daytona Beach. I always thought we were friendly."

The mayor said Brower has never called him to work through any of the gripes he has. Brower said the two have talked in person in the past, but he admits, the two haven’t called each other.

"Who I have called is Deric Feacher, the City Manager of Daytona Beach, who I am a big fan of."

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Some of the accusations are specific, like Mayor Henry claims Brower called Daytona Beach’s water "poopy water." 

Brower said he did push for a county ordinance that would prevent potable water reuse, also called "toilet-to-tap." However, that would only apply to the unincorporated area of Volusia County, not Daytona Beach. 

Brower has also made some statements about flooding, which offended Mayor Henry.

"The issues that that I have countywide is, the kind of development we're doing and where we're doing it," explained Brower. 

The biggest accusation Henry made, though, is that Brower is "using [Daytona] for… campaign stunts" without a sincere desire to help.

With that jab, it was Brower’s turn to take offense.

"The devastation is incredible," he said. "I've talked with people that have lost everything, all their earthly possessions, sitting outside by the curb waiting for the trash taken away. It's heartbreaking. So I want to solve the problem."

Brower said he tried to reach out to the mayor on Wednesday, but hasn’t heard back.

FOX 35 had not received a response from the mayor either before the publication of this article.

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