The race for Deltona City Commission District 5 has been decided before voters even get to the ballot box on Nov. 8. Candidate Donald Freeman withdrew from the race Oct. 10, leaving candidate Stephen Colwell the only candidate for District 5 and the automatic winner.
The District 5 race will appear on ballots, because Freeman withdrew from the race after paper ballots were printed.
Freeman withdrew from the race, he said, because of ongoing family matters that he needs to devote time to. As it stands, he wouldn’t have been able to give the necessary time to the Deltona City Commission.
“The people of Deltona deserve better than that,” he told The Beacon.
Freeman spoke with Colwell before he withdrew, he said, and he believes Colwell will do a good job as a city commissioner.
And if he doesn’t, Freeman added, he’ll run against him in four years.
As for Colwell, he’s pretty pleased.
“I’m looking forward to serving the people,” he said.
While the Deltona City Commission is a nonpartisan body, Colwell is registered as a non-party-affiliated voter, and Freeman is a registered Republican.
2022 is a banner year for Deltona City Commission races — five of the city’s seven members of the City Commission are on the ballot.
New members of the Deltona City Commission, including Colwell, will be sworn in during a special City Commission meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 14. The meeting will be held in the Deltona City Commission Chambers, at Deltona City Hall, 2345 Providence Blvd.
All meetings of the Deltona City Commission are open to the public, and are broadcast online, HERE.
