FLAGLER BEACH, Fla. - Candidate Tom Hutson, 79, has withdrawn his candidacy for the Flagler County Commission's District 3 election this year, bringing the field down to three candidates. Hutson had previously filed to run as a no-party affiliation candidate against three Republican challengers.
The seat is currently held by David Sullivan, who first won the seat in 2016. Sullivan, a Republican defeated Democrat Barbara Revels in that election, before besting fellow Republican Kim Carney for re-election in 2020. Sullivan is not running for re-election in large part because of his age: the commissioner turns 83 years old at the end of this term.
Prior to his brief campaign for County Commission, Hutson also ran for Flagler County Sheriff in 2004. He ran first in the Democratic primary, where he bested incumbent Sheriff Jim Manfre to oust him from office. Hutson then went on to face Republican Donald Fleming in the general election, where he ultimately lost by just under 5,000 votes out of over 37,000.
"To my many supporters, I first want to thank all of you for your support and words of encouragement during this short time as your N.P.A. candidate for Flagler County District #3 Commissioner seat," Hutson said in his statement of withdrawal. "Unfortunately, or fortunately, I have along with members of my family decided to abandon my campaign for District #3 seat. I can tell you that I had a great time, it has been fun however, my family comes first.
"As a result of those family discussions, I delivered a letter to Ms. Kaiti Lenhart, Flagler County Supervisor of Elections informing her of my decision to Official Withdraw from this position. I have included a copy of that letter. Again, Thank you all for your support. I will not endorse nor be voting for any of the current candidates."
Three candidates now remain for the District 3 seat. One is Carney, a Flagler Beach City Commissioner from 2011 to 2020 who ran for the seat once in 2020. She also ran for Flagler Beach Mayor in 2021, coming up short then as well. Carney is a realtor with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
Also running is Nick Klufas, a Palm Coast City Councilman since he was first elected in 2016. Klufas cruised to easy re-election in 2020, and has long been adamant that he intended to run for County Commission when his maximum of two terms in Palm Coast expired. Klufas is the youngest city elected official in Palm Coast's history, and is a software engineer outside of public duties.
The third candidate is Will Clark, a still-largely-unknown semi-retired real estate broker from Flagler Beach who, like his two opponents, is running as a Republican. Clark's campaign platform advocates for no tax increases, public safety, and responsible development among others - a common candidate template as sentiments have arguably erred against the current rate and methods of growth in the public discourse.
