Ruben Colón Wins Re-Election; 2 School Board Colleagues Face Different Fates

The Volusia School Board primary elections were held on Tuesday, with three different outcomes for three seats on the ballot. District 5 incumbent Ruben Colón held onto his seat easily over challenger Dean Condon. His two colleagues on the ballot weren’t as successful. District 1 Jamie Haynes ran for another term on the Board in District 1, facing two challengers. She placed second in the vote, earning 35.71%. Brenda Beery finished first at 49.61%, with Jaclyn Carrell placing third at 14.68%. In races with three or more candidates, in order to win the election on Tuesday and prevent a runoff someone would’ve had to earn more than 50.0% of the vote. Had Beery earned just 82 more votes, she’d have reached that threshold. Instead, she and Haynes will face off in a runoff on the November ballot. Volusia School Board, District 1: Brenda Beery – 49.61% – 10,446 – ADVANCES TO RUNOFF Jaclyn Carrell – 14.68% – 3,090 Jamie Haynes (i) – 35.71% – 7,519 – ADVANCES TO RUNOFF District 3 In District 3, incumbent Jessie Thompson faced challenger Grace Kellermeier. With just two candidates, the outcome was guaranteed to be decided on Tuesday. Thompson was narrowly voted off the Board, falling six percentage points and 1,471 votes short of her opponent. Thompson was the only incumbent School Board member to be outright voted out of office on Tuesday. Her colleague, Ruben Colón, handily maintained his seat. Volusia School Board, District 3: Grace Kellermeier – 53.00% – 12,998 – WINNER Jessie Thompson – 47.00% – 11,527 District 5 Incumbent Ruben Colón won easily over challenger Dean Condon, despite their race being one of the most contentious and heated in the county. A swath of campaign signs appeared at polling places stating ‘Ruben Colon is a Liberal’, with an individual named George Arnold identified as the person responsible. As Volusia County School Board races are nonpartisan, Colón was critical of this line of messaging. “This is a nonpartisan race,” Colón said. “It is nonpartisan on purpose. A school board is not about red or blue. It is about kids. Someone spent real money to plant a partisan label at the door of a nonpartisan election. They did it for one reason. They do not want to talk about the record.” Volusia School Board, District 5: Ruben Colón – 62.92% – 9,688 – WINNER Dean Condon – 37.08% – 5,710