MARK SCHUMANN

The first day of official qualifying for the November 5 Vero Beach City Council election brought out some old names and a couple of surprises.

Predictably, incumbent Richard Winger will seek re-election.  No less of a surprise, perennial candidate and former councilman Brian Heady filed papers with the City Clerk and will seek a second term.

Winger, whose campaign slogan is “Keep our Vero, Vero,” has publically been supportive of concluding the sale of Vero Electric to FPL, but he has been critical of the work on the city’s transactional attorneys.

Winger, along with Councilman Jay Kramer, has also opposed many of the recent budget cuts pushed for by Council members Tracy Carroll, Craig Fletcher and Pilar Turner.

Heady, who voted to begin discussions with Florida Power & Light while on Council, and who recommended hiring the law firm of Edward’s Wildman as the City’s transactional attorneys, has since been critical of the attorneys and of the Council’s decision to several times renew its letter of intent with FPL.

Joseph Guffanti, a frequent contributor during public comment time at City Council meetings, also plans to seek one of two seats up for grabs in November.

Fifth generation resident of Vero Beach, Amelia Graves, announced her candidacy yesterday as well.  “The citizens of Vero Beach are the City’s greatest asset.  The wide range of talent and ingenuity throughout our community is unparalleled and assures there is no problem too big to solve.  It would be an honor and privilege to represent the residents of Vero Beach on City Council,” Graves wrote in a prepared statement issued yesterday.

Graves added, “As a Council member I promise to serve only in the best interest of our City, push for greater transparency, encourage active citizen participation, and reflect the values of Vero Beach when planning our City’s budget.”

It is widely believed Vice Mayor Tracy Carroll will seek reelection, and will likely be supported by the political action committee Citizens for a Brighter Future and other strong proponents of the sale of Vero Electric.  Citizens for a Brighter Future, headed by utility activist Glenn Heran, has nearly $30,000 in contributions from FPL left from last fall’s referendum which it can use to support Carroll, if it chooses.

The qualifying period for November’s municipal election ends September 6.