110 W. New York Ave., DeLand, FL
386-734-4622
John Adams, Voloria Manning, Tracy Lunquist want the job
posted Aug 5, 2008 - 4:52:03pm
Voters will elect two members to the five-member West Volusia Hospital Authority this year, and one of the two races could be decided in the Aug. 26 primary.
In this race, for Seat 1, incumbent John D. Adams of Deltona faces two challengers: Voloria Manning and Tracy Lunquist of DeLand.
If one of them gets more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary, he or she wins the seat. Otherwise, the two top vote-getters will progress to the general election on Nov. 4.
All West Volusia residents live in the hospital district, and the races are nonpartisan, so everyone who is registered may vote in the Seat 1 primary. It is one of several races on the primary ballot.
The West Volusia Hospital Authority was created to raise money via property taxes, and to spend it to assure that West Volusia residents who cannot afford to pay for health care have access to it. The five-member Hospital Authority decides how and where to spend the money to achieve that goal.
Tanner Andrews, a DeLand-area attorney and tax watchdog, attends most of the Hospital Authority's monthly meetings. He said a key issue is the establishment of primary-care clinics for low-income people, so they don't have to visit hospital emergency rooms for basic health care. Another debate, Andrews said, is how much residents should be taxed to provide health care for the poor.
All three candidates have ideas and opinions on these topics.
Incumbent John D. Adams wants to maintain and expand the Hospital Authority's services to the DeLand and Deltona areas, if he is re-elected. He said his experience on the Hospital Authority, and other Central Florida government and law-enforcement work, give him the edge in this race.
Adams said the new clinics planned in DeLand and Deltona will help the indigent population of the area better than ever, and said adding third-party administration to handle oncology and other services was a good move on the authority's part.
Adams has lived in Deltona with his wife, Jeannette, since 1996. He has four children, three of whom live in New Smyrna Beach and one of whom lives in Clearwater, and four grandchildren.
Tracy Lunquist plans to increase public awareness and funding to further the goals of the West Volusia Hospital Authority, if she is elected to Seat 1. She will create a Web site to update the public on what the Hospital Authority is doing, as well as seek alternative funding sources to lessen the property tax, while increasing the quality of care.
Lunquist is a business coach and a 2007 graduate of Leadership DeLand. She describes herself as a fiscal conservative who will "collect all of the important information before making the best decisions possible."
Lunquist lives with her husband, Mike Bakula, in DeLand. Her mother lives in Michigan, and her father lives in Arizona.
Voloria Manning wants to expand affordable primary care for Volusia County's most needy citizens if she is elected to Seat 1 of the West Volusia Hospital Authority.
She said people seem to be desensitized to the needs of patients in nursing homes and hospitals, and said she will strive to make sure they are treated fairly and equally "with love."
Manning has taught physical education and health at elementary and middle schools in Volusia County, and is actively involved in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and at the DeLand Family YMCA.
She lives in DeLand with her husband, Forrest. Manning has three children, two of whom live in DeLand, and one who's in the U.S. Navy. She also has one granddaughter.
The Hospital Authority race is not among the high-dollar campaigns.
Lunquist and Manning are neck and neck in money-raising, and neither has more than $250 in her campaign war chest as of Aug. 5.
Manning reports a total of $235.87 in contributions, including a $25 loan from herself and a $210.87 in-kind donation from Tennant Printing in DeLand.
Lunquist reports raising $250, including a $25 loan from herself.
Adams does not have a campaign account, and isn't accepting contributions or campaigning.
All candidates used to be required to open campaign bank accounts, but the Florida Legislature recently ruled that candidates for special districts, such as the Hospital Authority, could opt not to open accounts if they decided not to campaign.
— Editor's note: Adams declined to provide The Beacon with a photograph.
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