Jeff Brower is an American politician who currently serves as county chair of Volusia County, Florida and leader of the SunRail board.
Political career
editA farm operator in the DeLeon Springs area,[1] Brower was elected as chair of Volusia County in 2020 with 56% of the vote, defeating former councillor Deb Denys. His campaign was based upon cutting taxes and waterway preservation.[2] He and county sheriff Mike Chitwood attended a demonstration in support of Israel following the Hamas attack of October 2023.[3] In early 2024, Brower and vice chair Troy Kent received public and media attention for opposing the construction of a Belvedere fuel terminal in Ormond Beach, but the rest of the council greenlighted the project and a moratorium vote failed by a 5-2 margin.[4][5]
In 2023, Brower filed for reelection in the 2024 County Chair Election.[6] He was challenged by Port Orange mayor Don Burnette; auto dealer Randy Dye, the father of stock car racer Daniel Dye; and Denys.[7][8] Denys and Burnette were eliminated in the primary, and Brower went on to win reelection with 51.4% of the vote in the runoff against Dye.[8]
Brower was appointed chair of the future board for SunRail in April 2024 and has served on the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission since 2021.[9] He was previously serving as vice chair of the board; the Florida Department of Transportation will maintain operation of SunRail until the end of 2024.[10]
References
edit- ^ Harrison, Casmira. "Brower's big Volusia County chair win suggests "status quo" isn't acceptable". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ "Volusia County's New Chairman: I'm Bringing Fresh Eyes to it". mynews13.com. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ Fernandez, Frank. "Demonstrators in Ormond Beach rally for Israel and against 'barbaric evil'". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ Gardner, Sheldon. "County Council shifts gears, rejects development moratorium paving way for fuel terminal". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
- ^ Reed, Molly (2024-02-06). "Volusia County Council rejects heavy industrial moratorium, will process fuel farm site plans". WKMG. Retrieved 2024-05-14.
- ^ Staff, A. O. L. (2023-07-08). "Update: Brower files papers for re-election, says he's 'taking the gloves off now'". www.aol.com. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ "Businessman Randy Dye joins two others in a run for Volusia County Council Chair". Daytona Beach News Journal. (Florida). May 4, 2023.
- ^ a b Gardner, Sheldon. "Outspent and out-endorsed, Jeff Brower wins race for Volusia County Council chairman". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2024-11-09.
- ^ Gardner, Sheldon. "SunRail board's new leader is Volusia County Council chairman". Daytona Beach News-Journal Online. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
- ^ Solodev (2024-03-06). "Jeff Brower Elected Chair of Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission". www.volusia.org. Retrieved 2024-05-13.