Meister, Conoley go after City Council seat in DeBary

By Pat Hatfield
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Oct 15, 2008 - 9:12:44am

The heat is on in DeBary, with a hard-fought campaign for mayor and a slugfest for City Council Seat 3 both under way.

Candidates are going door-to-door and attending community, civic and social meetings to impress their names on voters, and in some cases duking it out on the Internet.

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The mayoral race was profiled in the Oct. 9 Weekend edition of The Beacon.

Two men are after the seat being vacated by Chris Carson, who must give up Seat 3 because of term limits. Jack Lenzen will be re-elected without opposition to Seat 4.

Mark Meister and Van Conoley, regular attendees at City Council meetings and civic events, said they were friends when they announced their intentions to run for Carson's seat. They said they hoped their friendship would withstand the campaign. It may not.

Conoley has been talking about Meister's "arrest record."

Meister, 47, acknowledged he was arrested, in his youth.

"That happened about 25 years ago. I got pulled over and someone who was with me had a bowl [drug paraphernalia] in the car," he said.

Meister was charged with drug possession, but only a paraphernalia-possession charge stuck.

Records at the Volusia County Clerk's office show Meister had to pay court costs and a fine in 1988 for the paraphernalia charge, and he also paid court costs and a fine for driving while his license was suspended.

The other case involved a charge of stealing a pack of cigarettes from a grocery store in Port Orange further back in the 1980s. Meister said he entered into a pretrial intervention program, and the charge was dropped. The record at the Clerk's office agrees — Meister attended classes, and the case was not prosecuted.

"This was a young mistake. We've all made them," Meister said.

The arrests did not prevent him from serving twice on juries, he said, though he was honest about past dealings with the legal system.

This will be Meister's first bid for public office and Conoley's second.

In 2005, Conoley, a 62-year-old retired math and science teacher who grew up in Miami, lost to Jack Lenzen in a race for Seat 4, which had been vacated by Rich Gunther. Alan Williamson, now DeBary's safety coordinator, and Neil Coppens also ran that year.

Conoley holds master's degrees in science and business administration from Barry University in Miami Shores, plus a degree in educational counseling from Florida Atlantic University in South Florida. In his younger days, he worked in the State Attorney's Office in Dade County, and was a research psychologist.

The hurricanes of 2004 spurred Conoley's desire to seek election.

The flooding that year "affected the city seriously," Conoley said, and made him decide to run in 2005. During his afternoon walks, he said, he met neighbors who were worried about the city.

Conoley didn't run in 2007.

"My wife wasn't feeling well," he said. "This time, I'm running simply because people want me to."

City Council is different, now, with Norm Erickson and Lenny Marks elected last year, Conoley said. There's more open discussion at meetings.

Conoley is unhappy with some of the City Council's past decisions, such as granting money to a political-action committee to fight the Volusia Growth Management Commission, and trying to remove then-member Jay Erndl from his seat on the commission, all in a dispute over the River Bend development project.

Then, with grant money for stormwater projects available through the St. Johns Water Management District, the council hired a high-priced grant-writer who produced little, Conoley noted.

He doesn't favor growth, and said "The purpose of the city is to serve the citizens, not bring in money" through development.

Conoley opposes DeBary Downs, the horse-track-plus-poker-room proposed for the south end of DeBary.

"If it becomes such an issue, it can be put on a referendum," he added.

What Conoley does want is more schools in DeBary, particularly elementary and middle schools. He said the city, the county and the School Board should work cooperatively to decide where new schools are located.

Infrastructure should be in place before before development, Conoley said.

"I want to see Fort Florida Road paved all the way from Highway 17-92 to Highbanks Road," he said.

Residents of Fort Florida Road, which parallels the St. Johns River on the south end of DeBary, have complained bitterly of undrinkable water and dusty, rutted roads.

Developer Joe Kryzs of the River Bend project, is working out fair-share agreements with Riviera Bella developers and neighboring property-owner Steve Costa. The city hopes to put down at least some temporary paving until the developer puts down permanent paving.

Conoley said, if elected, he has engineering friends he'll get to look over plans brought to the city.

"If the people select me, I'll be glad to serve," Conoley said.

The West Volusia Association of Realtors endorsed Conoley, he was happy to announce. On Oct. 14, Association spokeswoman Sherry Hargrove said a letter of endorsement was on its way to Conoley.

After retiring from Davie, Conoley lived in Lake Mary for several years. He's lived in DeBary with his wife, MaryAnn, for the past five years.

Candidate Meister said he's running because "I'm the right person for DeBary at this time."

He currently serves on the city's Economic Development Advisory Committee.

He lives in Meadowlea-on-the-River in DeBary with his companion, Wendy Kuehne, and his 19-year-old son, Cody, a freshman at Daytona State College.

Meister said he went from job to job in his younger days.

"I was looking for my niche in life," he said.

The candidate grew up in Chambersburg, Pa., where he lived until he came to Volusia County when he was around 22 years old. Meister has lived in DeBary since 2000.

He worked in grocery stores, then as a valet parking captain at the Daytona Beach Kennel Club, which Meister said gives him an understanding of people's concerns about a gambling facility in DeBary.

"I saw one armed robbery there, of the office," he said. "But I got to meet Tom Cruise and saw other celebrities there."

His favorite job, before being sidelined with a heart condition, was as a non-emergency transport driver and supervisor for Med Shuttle Inc., where he was in charge of evacuating West Volusia nursing homes as Hurricane Floyd approached in 1999.

"We did it in 44 hours, with four hours of sleep," Meister said.

While he doesn't see much more residential growth coming to DeBary, Meister favors the River Bend project, which he said brings DeBary something unique. Meister wants to focus on bringing more commercial and light-industrial businesses to the south end of DeBary.

He also favors commuter rail coming in to town, and keeping DeBary's library open and fully staffed.

Meister thinks DeBary Downs should be put on a referendum, letting voters decide if they want the quarter-horse track and poker room.

"I'm a very positive person," he said. He called himself "the right person for the time, in DeBary."

Meister said, "I realize in elections there might be a lot of scuttlebutt and rumors circulating, but I'm a person who believes that positive actions bring positive results."

Who raised how much in DeBary?

Mayoral candidate Bob Garcia is the big fundraiser in DeBary political races, according to reports filed with the DeBary city clerk through Sept. 26.

The reports show Garcia raised a total of $5,375, including $2,825 he loaned his campaign.

City Council Seat 3 candidate Van Conoley reported a total of $4,090 in contributions, including a $3,600 loan to himself.

No other candidates reported lending money to their own campaigns.

Incumbent Mayor George Coleman reported $1,275 in contributions.

City Council Seat 3 candidate Mark Meister reported $1,258 in contributions.

Deltona's first mayor, John Masiarczyk, who said he's planning to run again in 2010, apparently hedged his bets on DeBary City Council contenders. Marsiarczyk contributed $50 each to both Conoley's and Meister's campaigns.

— pat@beacononlinenews.com

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