Mom steps up to the plate yet again for son in Daytona Beach candidates' forum
Headline Surfer photos by Henry Frederick / Kathy D'Ambra stands in for attorney and former county judge Steve deLaroche, who is running for clerk of the circuit court, at a candidates' forum held by the Daytona Beachside Neighborhood Watch. Seated near her at the podium is the organization's leader, Fred Hechman.DAYTONA BEACH -- When lawyer and former county judge Steve deLaroche was 5, his parents divorced and he never really saw his father unless is father never really had anything to do with the family unless ordered by the courts. So it seemed natural to him that his mother, now 70, would once again step up to the plate and represent his interests: This time as candidate representative.
Because DeLaroche, who is running for clerk of the circuit court, was at another candidate function, his mother, Kathy D'Ambra, took to the podium to speak on his behalf at the candidate's forum held Thursday by the Daytona Beachside Neighborhood Watch.
She sounded as if she, herself, were running for the position, talking about how her son "wants to modernize the office -- to go paperless."
DeLaroche's mother continued, "He wants to cut costs. Why would they need to spend a lot of money on a lawyer when he's already a lawyer. Did you know that only 9 percent of the fines (levied) are collected? That means only 9 out of every 100 fines issued are paid. So where does the money come from (to make up the difference)? Our taxes!"
D'Ambra made her presentation without once looking down at any notes, if she even had any to begin with.
She concluded: "The costs in the clerk of the court office -- they affect my pocketbook, they affect your pocketbook." Not only did she giving a rousing speech that drew loud applause from the 75 people or so in the meeting room, she also had his son with her, 9-year-old Grant Avant delaroche, who sat quietly along one side of the room sporting a shirt with his father's name on the back.
Steve deLaroche's son, Grant, who is 9, accompanied his grandmother to the candidates' forum in Daytona Beach, sporting a T-shirt with his dad's campaign message on it. And he's shown in the inset photo with his parents and sister.
When told of his mother's performance on the eve of Father's Day, delaroche was ecstatic, saying his mom had always been there for him and he knew she would let him down.
"My parents divorced when I was 5 years old," deLaroche said. "My father was never really around. He seldom did anything didn't order him to do. My mom watched out for us -- made sure we went to good schools -- and tried to instill in us that hard work and treating people the way you'd want to be treated was the way to go."
Being a father of two, deLaroche, said fortunately for his two children, they have a married mother and father, who are doing what his mother had to do all by herself when he was growing up.
So on this Father's Day, he said he appreciates what being a father is all about -- that it's more than a privilege -- more than a responsibility.
"Being a dad means I try to teach my children right from wrong, to instill in them hard work," deLaroche said. "Show them that if they get a good education, they can be a doctor like their mom or a lawyer like their dad or anything they dream of being. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. It's the most rewarding job in the world."
"Being a dad means I try to teach my children right from wrong, to instill in them hard work," deLaroche said. "Show them that if they get a good education, they can be a doctor like their mom or a lawyer like their dad or anything they dream of being. Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there. It's the most rewarding job in the world."