Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Heidi Herzberg is the mayor of Deltona, Florida, and a proven leader who stands alone among three candidates in terms of the necessary experience to continue moving this growing suburban city forward for another four years. And do so with a smile as shown in the multiple pics above. Herzberg receives an endorsement from Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood as shown above just as she was four years ago.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DELTONA, Fla. -- Heidi Herzberg is seeking and deserves another four years as mayor of Deltona, by far the largest city in Volusia County as of this year with 95,394 residents.
Herzberg, 60, is the Headline Surfer endorsed candidate in Tuesday's primary over challengers Santiago Avila, Jr. and Gus Kostianis.
Herzberg needs to garner at least 50 percent of the votes, plus one more vote, in the primary to win re-election outright. Otherwise, the top two vote-getters will face off again in the Nov. 8 general election.
Municipal races are non-partisan in Volusia County so everyone in the city of Deltona who is registered to vote can do so in Tuesday's primary.
This is the second time Avila is challenging Herzberg, having lost to her four years ago. Neither he nor the third candidate, Kostianis, have any prior elected experience at any level.
Headline Surfer is confident in predicting a primary win for Herzberg.
Whether she can win re-election outright is not an easy prediction because often the third candidate takes away just enough votes from keeping the winner from crossing the threshold of 50 percent plus an additional vote. And thus forcing a November runoff.
And that's precisely what happened four years ago. Herzberg finished first in a three-way primary on Aug. 28, 2018, with 6,486 votes or 48.9 percent of the total votes cast. Santiago finished second with 4,843 votes or 36.51 percent. Try Shimkus finished a distant third and out of the running with 1,936 votes or 14.59 percent of the total.
In the Nov. 6, 2018 runoff, Herzberg easily won the election for mayor with 16,380 votes or 52.9 percent of the total to 14,587 votes or 47.1 percent for Santiago.
There's no real reason why Herzberg shouldn't prevail again. She has proven experience over these last four years as mayor following 10 years as an elected city commissioner in Deltona.
Santiago Avila, Jr. has no elected experience at all. And neither does her other challenger, Gus Kostianis. And here's where Herzberg clearly has the advantage: There's nothing demonstrated throughout the campaign since qualifying ended in June by either of her two challengers that would convince the voters that a change in leadership is needed. That's because Herzberg has done an admirable job, period.
There's no real reason why Herzberg shouldn't prevail again. She has proven experience as mayor over these last four years following 10 years as an elected city commissioner in Deltona. Santiago Avila, Jr. has no elected experience at all. And neither does her other challenger, Gus Kostianis.
And here's where Herzberg clearly has the advantage: There's nothing demonstrated throughout the campaign since qualifying ended in June by either of her two challengers that would convince the voters that a change in leadership is needed. That's because Herzberg has done an admirable job, period.
Photo for Headline Surfer / Then-Deltona City Manager Jane Shang is shown with Mayor Heidi Herzberg in 2018 at a community function. Two years later, Shang was forced out of her job with Herzberg leading the way.
It was Herzberg who passed the gavel on the dais to make a motion in a stunning, but necessary move to call for the termination of then-City Manager Jane Shang on Jan. 20, 2020.
Though she didn't get a majority vote to make that happen, it did lead to a vote of no-confidence that same night. Shang, whose management style was heavy-handed, resigned a week later.
Decisiveness and establishing policies for management to follow through on are how things get done. This is precisely why Deltona needs Herzberg as she's a proven commodity who can do just that.
Avila focused too heavily on partisanship; Kostianis draws wrath of sheriff with photo stunt
Santiago Avila, a registered Republican, has focused far too much of his campaign on partisan politics, reiterating time and again that Herzberg is a registered Democrat, in what clearly is a non-partisan municipal race for mayor.
Gus Kostianis drew the wrath of Sheriff Mike Chitwood by using a photo taken with him at a VCSO function earlier in the year and passing it off as support for his campaign.
"I guess you can say anything in a campaign ad," Chitwood said in an Aug. 5 post on his Facebook page, taking Kostianis to the woodshed proverbially speaking, for a beatdown. "I don’t support Gus Kostianis for Mayor of Deltona, but he’s using my photo in his campaign. He approached me for that photo at an awards ceremony for first responders, saying he just admired the work we do. Now I know it was really a cheap political stunt."
Chitwood continued, "This type of sleazy behavior just proves to me that Gus Kostianis lacks the character to be Deltona’s mayor," adding, "I wholeheartedly support Mayor Heidi Herzberg for re-election. Her support for our deputies runs a lot deeper than a cheap photo op."
Attempts to reach Kostianis for comment proved fruitless. Avila has not responded to Headline Surfer either since backing out of a planned municipal debate for the office of mayor in the weeks leading up to the primary, claiming the organizers were liberal Democrats.
Herzberg first-generation American with strong work ethic
Mayor Herzberg was born in Milwaukee, Wisc., the daughter of German immigrants. She is a first-generation American, the daughter of hard-working immigrants who played by the rules and made their way into America through talent and hard work.
She has lived in Florida since 1983 and she knows what it's like to have to meet payroll and grow something with her own hands. As a former small businesswoman for 13 years, she understands the problems facing working families in a country where hard work and talent are no longer enough to secure a piece of the American Dream.
Herzberg attended public schools and knows how vital schools are in nurturing the talents of all of our children. She is an alumnus of Daytona State College, has been a member of the William S. Harvey Scholarship Selection Committee, a participant in Destination Deltona Task Force, a volunteer for United Humanitarians, and an advocate for abused, neglected homeless and unwanted animals.
She currently serves as:
- Executive Board of Team Volusia Economic Development Corporation;
- Chair of Volusia County Elected Officials Roundtable;
- Chair of the Florida League of Cities Utilities, Natural Resources & Public Works Policy Committee;
- Member of the Florida League of Cities Advocacy Committee;
- Member Florida League of Mayors;
- Past President and current Executive Board member of the Volusia League of Cities;
- Board Member of the Daytona State College Center for Women & Men;
- Board member Healthy Start;
- Board member of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Volusia & Flagler County;
Through public service and volunteerism, Herzberg recognizes the importance of partnerships, working together, and using the collective resources available for the greater good of not only Deltona but the residents of all of Volusia County.
Headline Surfer proudly endorses Heidi Herzberg for re-election as mayor of Deltona in the 2022 elections.
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About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high-profile cases such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: