Three vying for NSB mayor

NSBNEWS.net photos by Henry Frederick. Adam Barringer (left) and Marilee Walters (right) are challenging incumbent New Smyrna Beach Mayor Sally Mackay (center).

The races for mayor and two city commission seats in New Smyrna Beach are coming into sharper focus. Two challengers now certified as "qualified" to run against incumbent Mayor Sally Mackay, whose status is listed on the city's Web site as "qualification in progress." She is opposed by Marilee Walters and Adam Barringer.

Ed Ellison, an Edgewater barber who lives in New Smyrna Beach, announced last month that he was going to run, but informed City Clerk Johhny Bledsoe that he has opted not to. I spoke with Ellison earlier this month and he acknowledged he had no prior experience with city government nor was he aware of the inner workings of municipal government here or the politics, but he thought maybe he could put his experience as a business owner to good use.

I'll be writing about the three mayoral candates over the next few says, both in my blog and with a full introductory profile story on each of the three.

Qualifying ends noon Thursday, Aug. 30, at the NSB City Clerk's Office, 210 Sams Ave.

Here are the candidates for the two commission seats and qualifying statuses:

Challenger Judy Reiker has qualified to run for the Zone 1 commissioner seat. Incumbent Randy Richenberg and challenger Frank Dalton Jr., are listed as "quaification in progress."

For Zone 2 commissioner, incumbent Jack Grasty has qualified as has challenger Palmer Wilson. Challenger Steve Sather is listed as "qualification in progress."

Introductory profile stories have already been written about Reiker and Wilson and can be found on our home page under the heading: NSB Elections in the first column further down from my blog.