Headline Surfer photo illustration / Bill Hall is shown in a vintage black & white pic of his early years as a cop in South Daytona.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
SOUTH DAYTONA, Fla. -- Bill Hall has become South Daytona's public servant du jour - having started in the municipal police force at age 18 and working his way up to police chief in his 35-year law enforcement career - retiring in 2013 for three years; then starting anew as elected mayor four years ago and winning re-election in the 2020 primary.
Four years ago, Hall won by the slimmest of margins - a mere five votes. This time around he won with ease.
Hall defeated retired educator and former City Councilwoman Nancy Long by a vote of 1,589 or 57.8 percent to Long's 1,161 votes or 42.2 percent of the overall votes.
Hall, 62, was ecstatic with the win in Tuesday's primary, posting in part on his on his Facebook page: "In 2016, you and I started this journey with but a few, yet extremely, important goals. We set out to get your voice back in City Hall, hire a new city manager and build a better fiscal future for our community. After becoming your mayor, we advanced these goals and it is my desire to continue with our momentum, moving South Daytona forward.
Hall, 62, was ecstatic with the win, posting in part on his on his Facebook page: "In 2016, you and I started this journey with but a few, yet extremely, important goals. We set out to get your voice back in City Hall, hire a new city manager and build a better fiscal future for our community. After becoming your mayor, we advanced these goals and it is my desire to continue with our momentum, moving South Daytona forward.
As mayor, Hall earns $12,000 annually while city council members are paid $9,000 a year. Both elected posts are non-partisan.
City Councilman Brandon Young was re-elected automatically for another four years back in June when qualifying ended and he had no challengers for his council seat 1.
Political newcomer Eric Sander Sander knocks off incumbent Councilman Ralph Schoenherr
In the other contested South Daytona race in Tuesday's Volusia County primary, political newcomer Eric Sander, 63, defeated the city council seat 4 incumbent, 70-year-old Ralph Schoenherr, who had been in office since 2011.
Sander won with ease, garnering 1,445 votes or 55.1 percent to Schoenherr's 1,176 votes or 44.9 percent of the overall votes.
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Henry Frederick is publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched 12 years ago that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed more than a hundred journalism industry awards in print & online -- more than all other members of the working press combined in Central Florida since the mid-1990s. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism with academic honors from Full Sail University in 2019. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary programs on Discovery ID and Reelz for his investigative reporting and cops & courts breaking news stories.