INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Come November, both Sebastian and Fellsmere will have at least one new leader on the dais. Both cities have an incumbent, Richard Gillmor in Sebastian and Daniel Naranjo in Fellsmere, who is not seeking re-election, and more than one challenger vying for a seat along with an incumbent.
Sebastian Mayor Jim Hill will have some company on the campaign trail leading into the Nov. 6 General Election. Three more candidates have filed to run for the two seats up for grabs on the Sebastian City Council.
Sebastian residents Tim Slaven and Jerome Adams, both of whom have served on city committees, have decided to run for Sebastian City Council. Local business owner and perennial critic of the city Damien Gilliams has once again thrown his hat in the ring for a council seat.
Slaven served on this year’s Budget Advisory Committee, which piqued his interest in serving in government. He said being a part of the committee opened his eyes to where the residents’ tax dollars go.
Adams is a member of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, where he has helped decide what improvements should be made to various parks and how best to allocate Recreation Impact Fee funds.
“I’ve always liked helping people,” Adams said, adding that there would be no better way to help others than to serve on the council.
Slaven said if he were elected, he would work to increase community involvement and connectivity.
“People don’t know their neighbors,” Slaven said. He explained that he would support various community events and increase park usage.
He said he would also reach out to the business community, especially those not in the riverfront district. Slaven said those are businesses that are often overlooked.
Adams, too, wants to focus on businesses and work to attract higher-wage jobs. To that end, Adams said he would market the City of Sebastian to companies that might bring in the higher paying positions. Along with working to stimulate the economy, Adams said he wants to bolster activities for tweens and teens in the city.
Noting that his own 10-year-old son is often bored, especially in the summer. Adams said: “There’s not really anything out there for children that age.”
Slaven works with the Department of Children and Families as a supervisor for Indian River County and Circuit 19 in the Child Abuse Unit.
City Councilman Bob McPartlan also works for DCF. According to Slaven, the two men do not work directly together. Adams is a supervisor in the Information Technology Department in St. Lucie County.
Gilliams, who has run for council repeatedly, definitely has name recognition. If there’s been a controversy in the City of Sebastian over the past 15 or so years, he’s probably been somewhere in the middle of it, or at least on the fringes hurling harsh comments at City Hall.
Another thing Gilliams has going for him is knowledge of the issues. For many years, he has immersed himself in topics that come before the City Council ranging from bids for services to the budget. He attends nearly every meeting and workshop and normally has something to say about each item on the agenda, from major decisions to mundane matters.
He consistently challenges the motives behind council objectives and tries to represent the point of view of the small business person. Gilliams, like Slaven, argues that business interests citywide – not just in the riverfront district – need to be considered.
Gilliams is also known to be very confrontational and routinely gets a gentle hand on the shoulder and a warning from the police officer assigned to the City Council meeting detail, with a warning to please simmer down.
In Fellsmere, there are three seats up for election and four contenders. Only one, Jessica Salgado, is a completely new face. Incumbents Vice Mayor Joel Tyson and Mayor Pro Tem Fernando Herrera have qualified to run, as has former Councilman and local business owner Michael Barone.
Tyson has served on the council for many years and has held the gavel as mayor several times. He is active in numerous committees at the county and regional level and has served as the unofficial ambassador of the city, educating civic groups and the public about Fellsmere’s history.
Herrera has been a key player in improving communication between the city and Fellsmere’s Latino community and he is active in Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church and its various community activities.
Salgado listed her places of employment on her qualification papers as the Boys and Girls Clubs and the Children’s Place retail store. As of press time, Barone and Salgado did not return calls for comment and details about their campaign platforms.
Elections in Fellsmere are sometimes very tight, and in the past have been decided by just a handful of votes, so the city is one place where every vote truly does count. There are no real contentious issues on the council’s plate, as several major projects are already in progress or planned out and waiting for grant funding to roll in to break ground.
For up-to-date elections coverage and news about candidate events in the lead-up to the November election, check out the special elections section on our sister website www.VeroNews.com.
Staff Writer Lisa Zahner contributed to this report.
