Volusia County Council, District 1 (runoff)
Volusia County Council members set the county budget and millage, adopt land-use rules and oversee county services; the council is nonpartisan. Term: 4 years.
Partly verified. Either the November opponent could not be confirmed from available sources, or only a few positions are documented. Confirm the full candidate list on your county sample ballot; unknown positions are shown as such.
How we verified who is on the ballot
Runoff per WNDB News Daytona Beach.
Candidates
Report an error ↗Don Dempsey
Incumbent District 1 council member; advanced to runoff (Melissa Thorne eliminated).
Wendy Anderson
Anderson describes a 35-year career as a teacher, scientist, consultant and administrator in environmental systems and natural resources conservation. She led the August 18, 2026 District 1 primary with 47.6% of the vote, short of the majority needed to win outright, and advanced to a November 3 runoff against incumbe…
Side-by-side on the major issues
Each row is a statement. The chips show how each candidate's stated positions or record relate to that statement. Expand a row to read the evidence and sources. "No public position found" means we could not find a statement or record on the topic, not that the candidate has none.
| Issue | Don Dempsey Nonpartisan | Wendy Anderson Nonpartisan |
|---|---|---|
| Taxes & spendingCutting taxes should be a top priority, even if it means less government spending on services. | Leans agree· based on record At the County Council's final budget hearing on Sept. 22, 2026 he voted for the rolled-back general-fund rate of 3.1007 mills, saying he had reconsidered his earlier vote for a flat rate and now favored full rollback. The council reached rollback by cutting about 70% of the law library program budget and transferring $4.8 million in one-time money from economic-development reserves. | No public position found |
| Property taxesFlorida should eliminate or sharply reduce homestead property taxes, even if local governments must cut services or find other revenue. | Strongly agrees· stated position Says he will vote yes on Amendment 3 and would make up the lost revenue with budget cuts. | Strongly disagrees· stated position In the News 6 voter guide questionnaire she said she will vote no on the proposed constitutional amendment to sharply cut property taxes, saying it would shift the tax burden onto recent homebuyers, renters and small businesses while centralizing power with state government. |
| Housing affordabilityGovernment should do more to make housing affordable (subsidies, zoning changes, rent measures). | Leans disagree· stated position Asked how to address affordability, answered that free-market principles, not new government programs, are the solution. | Strongly agrees· stated position She would promote redevelopment inside urban areas with a wider range of housing types, including tiny homes and multi-family structures, and supports incentive programs for first-time homebuyers purchasing older homes that need renovation, plus compact, walkable mixed-use communities. |
| Environment & waterProtecting water quality, conservation land and climate resilience should take priority even if it slows development or raises costs. | Strongly agrees· stated position His campaign site says he fought to protect water, environment, homes and health from large data centers and advocated for a permanent ban on large-scale data centers in the county, and that he opposes deep-well injection of reclaimed water. | Strongly agrees· stated position She names land-use change causing habitat loss and aquifer depletion as the county's biggest environmental problem, and says she would protect taxpayer-funded conservation lands and prioritize green space that absorbs rainwater. She would allow data centers only on degraded or already-paved sites, require them to recirculate wastewater and be self-sufficient for power. |
| Growth & developmentGrowth and development should be slowed or more tightly regulated (higher impact fees, density limits, stronger local control). | Leans agree· stated position His campaign site lists a permanent ban on large-scale hyperscale data centers among his accomplishments and says the county must push back on state preemption of local authority. | Strongly agrees· stated position She says she opposes sprawl into rural areas and would redevelop already-paved parcels rather than expand the county's development footprint, arguing the county should build upward rather than outward. |
| Crime & policingCriminal penalties should be tougher and police funding increased, rather than emphasizing reform and rehabilitation. | No public position found | No public position found |
| VeteransExpanding VA services and veterans' benefits should be a top priority. | No public position found | No public position found |
Where they sit on the map
Each candidate is placed by the average of their documented stances. It is a summary of the table above, not an extra judgment.
How the axes are computed
Each axis is the average of a candidate's coded stances (+2 to −2) on a fixed set of statements, so it comes straight from the documented positions and nothing else. A candidate needs at least three documented statements on an axis to be placed.
Economic issues (toward "Smaller government (lower taxes, less spending)"): Taxes & spending (agree), Property taxes (agree), Health care (disagree), Housing affordability (disagree), Property insurance (disagree), Energy & utilities (disagree), Social Security & Medicare (disagree), Teacher and staff pay (disagree).
Social & legal issues (toward "Conservative side of the statements"): Immigration (agree), Abortion (disagree), Guns (disagree), Education & school choice (agree), Elections & voting (disagree), Crime & policing (agree), Gender identity laws (agree), Marijuana (disagree), Environment & water (disagree), Trump administration (agree), Library and classroom materials (agree), School safety approach (agree).
| Candidate | Economic issues | Social & legal issues |
|---|---|---|
| Don Dempsey | 1.33 (3 statements) | not enough data |
| Wendy Anderson | not enough data | not enough data |
Other issues the candidates have raised
Priorities each candidate has brought up on their own, beyond the major-issue list above.
Don Dempsey
- Data centers — Told News 6 he sponsored an ordinance to permanently ban data centers.
Wendy Anderson
- Data centers — Says each community should have the right to ban AI data centers; where approved, they should generate their own power, recycle their water and not raise other customers' rates.