People should vote for me because I’m running a grassroots campaign built around the community and people, not around corporate influence or political ambition. I’m not a career politician. I come from a background of public service, working directly with people in EMS, law enforcement, and community organizations, and I understand the real challenges families are facing every day.

This campaign is about bringing people together and focusing on issues that actually impact lives: affordable healthcare, protecting public education, defending fundamental rights, lowering costs for working families, supporting veterans and first responders, and ensuring government works for the people again.

I believe leadership should be honest, accessible, and accountable. I’m willing to listen, show up in every community, and fight for people who feel unheard or left behind. I want to represent all residents of this district with respect and integrity, regardless of political party, background, or identity.

Because I actually know this place. I’ve lived in the rural parts of this district, the coastal communities, and everywhere in between. I’m not coming in from the outside. I understand the underlying problems here because I’ve seen them firsthand, in real communities, over a lifetime of living here. I’ve spent time in the communities that have been overlooked and left behind, the ones that rarely see their representative unless it’s an election year. Those people deserve better than that, and I intend to deliver it. I also believe that real representation goes beyond party lines. The problems facing this district don’t care what party you belong to, and neither do I. My opponents represent a party. I want to represent the people.
That’s the difference.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

People should vote for me because I’m not coming from a political career. I’m coming from a life of service. I’ve served this country as a Marine, and I serve my community every day helping people through addiction, homelessness, mental health challenges, and recovery.

I understand what everyday people are going through because I work with them directly. I’m focused on lowering the cost of living, protecting healthcare access, defending voting rights, supporting veterans, and making sure every person is treated with dignity and respect.

This campaign is about putting people over politics and bringing real leadership, compassion, and accountability to Congress.

One of my opponents is a Republican, and that party is who has passed legislation hurting working families, women and LGBTQ+. I will only support legislation that helps working families, seniors, minorities, veterans, the LGBTQ+ community and women. I will listen to what all people need, not just the politically connected.

If we're talking straight pride, my party has been fighting for gay rights before the democrats used you to get votes.

I will always put the choices on the individual before what the government wants.

Just look at who contributes to my campaign: local people who live in our district. Real people, working people with an address in the district who send in a few dollars to try to help undo the damage the past administration and legislature has wrought upon our state. My opponent has amassed a campaign fund currently over $ 60,000, virtually all from corporations and pacs outside of our district. No individuals. He is not representing us nor voting for our interests

My opponent stated publicly and to the media that he linked LGBTQ+ people with "mental illness". I find that behavior reprehensible, and I seek to serve every member of our community, including the LGBTQ+ population.

I am the best qualified by experience, tenure, results and because I have walked in the boots of the thousands of other Volusians who feel that they are unheard, ignored, over taxed and under represented. A 57 year Volusia County resident, haven't missed an election since I started voting in 1978, even when deployed overseas, lived in the same home for 40 years. I want to maintain our quality of life here in Volusia County for our children and grandchildren. Please see mikep4volusia.com for a full read on my beliefs.

I strongly support transparent and accountable government that is working for ALL PEOPLE. As a scientist, teacher, and community servant, I am more qualified than the other candidates for County Council District 1 to provide the leadership we are lacking right now in county government. I aim to put Volusia residents' needs FIRST and to protect Volusia's land and water for current and future generations.

Because my opponent takes developer money, and I don’t. This seat is one of only seven votes that affect the entire county — every rezoning, every development decision, every dollar spent on flood relief. David Santiago takes contributions from developers, including, in the last reporting cycle, money from the developers behind Avalon Park in Daytona Beach — one of the most controversial projects in Volusia County — and his vote helps clear the way for it. I don’t want to owe anybody any special favors. My campaign is 100% resident funded, which means when a vote comes before the Council, the only people I answer to are you.

I will provide action, not excuses. I’ll address our roads, school zone safety, and public safety, and I’ll fight for real solutions to the flooding that has gone unaddressed since 2022. I’m also a strong believer in conservation — Volusia Forever is deeply important to me, and I’ll protect the voters’ commitment to preserving our natural lands and water.

But it’s not just about what happens on the dais — it’s about who you are as a person. I organize food drives, I host and personally pay for a senior prom for our senior citizens, and I run toy drive outreach every Christmas. I don’t do these things because I’m running for office; I do them because this is my community. When you vote for me, you know exactly who I work for: the people of Deltona, DeBary, and all of Volusia County.”

Voters should choose me because I bring a unique combination of experience that directly relates to the job. I spent 22 years serving Volusia County students as a teacher and assistant principal, so I understand what happens inside our classrooms and what our teachers and students need to succeed.
Since leaving education, I've successfully built and managed a local business, Beery Roofing & Redesign. That experience has strengthened my skills in budgeting, accountability, leadership, and making responsible financial decisions.

Your vote is more than a mark on a ballot, it is an act of trust and I will never take that trust for granted. I have the experience to lead, the independence to ask difficult questions, and the determination to follow through. I have spent years leading organizations, managing budgets, building partnerships, and bringing people together to solve problems. I understand how boards should function, how to work with people who may not always agree, and how to remain focused on our responsibility to the public.

Through several of my professional and community roles, I have worked in partnership with the school district, educators, students, and families. That experience has given me valuable insight into both the strengths of our schools and the challenges that need to be addressed. However, since I have never been employed by the district, I bring an informed but independent perspective, without being tied to its internal culture or the belief that things must continue simply because they have always been done a certain way.

I am not running simply to hold a seat. I am running to do the work. I will listen, ask the questions that need to be asked, provide meaningful oversight, and make difficult decisions when necessary. I know how to lead, I would be honored to serve, and I am ready to bring steady, capable, and accountable leadership to the School Board. I will be a faithful steward of the responsibility voters place in me. 

West Volusia deserves a representative who understands healthcare, listens to the community, and fights for accessible, equitable care for every resident. I am that representative, bringing real healthcare experience rooted in community service and accountability.

I'm a worker, NOT a career politician. I work a full time job WHILE working at my campaign because I know that Daytona needs it. I am up day and night motivated to give hope to a very disenfranchised community that has been beaten down to a point of defeat. I'm not doing this for fun, or for glory, or for money. Nor would I ever be influenced by such things. My goal will always be to improve the lives of my community and loved ones. I'm committed to my values and my integrity, and am always an open book with no secrets. If you want someone who is going to get results, you'll vote for me.

My opponent does the required duties of the job as far as immediate concerns. My slogan is Govern with Vision and Heart. I will help residents with a cracked sidewalk. But I also will address access to healthcare, homelessness and many other issues. I have served on the FAITH Organization Flooding Committee for two years. I also have run for State Representative twice. I am prepared to advocate for Daytona Beach in the Florida Legislature. My two college majors in journalism and political science have taught me how to reseasrch and solve local problems.

I have worked alongside our community, listened closely to residents, and helped bring meaningful change to Deltona. I have been present where work was most needed, and I have been proud to see our community efforts flourish. I respectfully encourage voters to ask my opponent how involved he has been in Deltona since moving here, and whether he is familiar with the organizations that have long supported and uplifted our city. I have been, and continue to be, actively involved with at least 10 local organizations—not including those that have since closed—and I remain committed to serving this community with dedication and care. The ongoing 4-3 vote (me being part of the 3) is proof of how differently we support and where our priority stands when it comes to making decisions in the best interest of our community.

I am not a politician who discovered working people during a campaign. I am a working person who decided to run. I have done the research — the basin studies, the impact fee math, the pedestrian fatality data — that most candidates never touch. I have published a serious body of work about the specific mechanisms that are failing this community. I am completing a doctorate in public finance at UCF. I knocked the doors myself. I know this district. I will govern on evidence, show up to every meeting, read every agenda, and vote for the people who live here rather than the interests that fund campaigns. That is the difference.

I won't speak on my opponent. He has a voting record and many meetings available for review for voters to see for themselves. I do ask voters to also look back at less recent dates too and not just during the start of election season where we often see politicians change up their votes. This goes for all elected positions on all levels of government. I might not have a voting record, but I do have a civic record. I have been a resident for 47yrs and a homeowner here for the last 27yrs. I've spent the last decade actively engaged as a resident advocate and community volunteer. I have an analytical and solutions-focused mindset and I am known for asking the tough questions and seeking practical answers. I became known by the phrase "Let's Talk About It" because I always found a large lack of transparency and communication between residents/government and I would try to start to conversations. I have a diverse background from acquisitions, fraud prevention, contracting, accounting, auditing, remodeling, consulting, workplace collaboration, marketing, security/disaster preparedness, property management, and more. I am currently a small business owner- first opening in 2020. No Special Interests, No Hidden Agendas, No Political Games. Just Honest Leadership, Real Accountability, and a Voice you can Trust.

I'm the anti-politician alternative. I would be a first time commissioner that offers a completely different skillset with years of Fortune 500 experience on NYC's Wall Street and a proven record representing Main Street residents on the Planning and Zoning board. I have been a Deltona Homeowner since 2021 and currently on the PNZ Board as an Alternate Board Member. I hold a Bachelor's Fine Arts in Drama from NYU Tisch School of the Arts, MBA from LSU, MS Urban Planning from ASU (current). I have 15+ years Corporate Recruiting for large corporations. I am HR Certified and Certified Scrum Master. I was active in community and professional theater, earning my SAG-AFTRA card. I've studied and performed at the Atlantic Theater Company in Chelsea and was on One Life to Live and As the World Turns. I have a passion for community theater producing and directing. I'm still holding on to my dream of someday opening a small, downtown NYC style playhouse.

I'm far removed from the drama, interwoven relationships and loyalties within Deltona's City Hall - which is exactly what we need: a new perspective, capable of setting aside personal ambitions, drama, and sneaky political tactics to keep everyone's eye on the prize. There's been many distractions on the dais that cost TIME-VALUE-MONEY to the taxpayers. I will work to keep our communal, congregated time together productive, efficient, respectable and dignified in the eyes of our residents. I won't have all the right answers, we'll make mistakes and we won't always agree, but I make a campaign promise to keep all personal drama at the door to focus all year long on the budget and flooding prevention.

Because I answer to you, not to the developers writing my opponents' checks.