DELAND, Fla. - A debate with candidates running for the Volusia County Council's at-large seat is drawing criticism for its exclusion of one of the candidates. Organized by the Volusia County Teenage Republicans Club, the debate was attended by candidates Jake Johansson, Andy Kelly, and Doug Pettit. The fourth candidate, Sherrise Boyd, was not invited.
At the center of the controversy is Terri Brower, a sponsor and organizer of the event, and wife of County Council Chair Jeff Brower. Their son is a member of leadership in the club.
Candidate Jake Johansson raised the issue on Facebook, sharply criticizing the Browers for the incident. "Gross negligence or just plain old incompetence?", he asked at the opening of a lengthy and scathing post.
Chair Brower, who has endorsed Pettit, hit back hard against Johansson calling him a bully and a liar.
A number of different explanations have been given to explain why Boyd wasn't invited. According to Johansson, when organizers were asked about it during the debate, their response was that 'it wasn’t advantageous to include her.
Terri Brower stated it was because Boyd had recently appeared at a speaking event in Deltona and that " already knew what Sherrise Boyd was going to say," she said.
Jeff Brower offered a third explanation in a reply to Johansson's post. According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal, Brower said that Boyd "always plays the race card, and don't like that". Boyd is the only black woman running against three white men, prompting some to characterize her exclusion as an act of racism or sexism. Meanwhile, Boyd herself has a fourth theory: "Perhaps because of my gender, or my race is why I wasn't invited. Or maybe because I am too direct and outspoken, and at the last debate I was able to demonstrate to a room full of Republicans, (Jeff supporters) that I am the more experienced, educated and best candidate for the position of Volusia County Council at Large." she said of her last debate appearance.
Boyd had this to say about the organizers, and specifically Jeff Brower. "Future leaders already being ethically corrupted...inbred may be a better terminology," she said of the club, followed by a to-the-point response to the Council Chair: "F*ck Jeff Brower".
