Heidi Shipley said, again, that she will not seek re-election, leaving former mayor Jon Netts as the only other candidate for the District 2 seat so far.
PALM COAST — Palm Coast City Councilwoman Heidi Shipley intends to drop out of the race for re-election her District 2 seat.
Shipley was succint as she shared the news during council comments at the end of Tuesday night's meeting.
“I’m not going to run for office again,” she said. “I thought I’d let everyone know tonight.”
Shipley was elected in November 2014. District 2 covers Palm Coast’s C, F and L sections in the northeast corner of the city.
It’s at least the second time this campaign season that Shipley has publicly stated she would not seek re-election. In mid-January, she told The News-Journal she did not think she would be able to raise enough money to run against former Palm Coast mayor Jon Netts, the lone challenger who’s filed to run against her so far. Netts, at that point, was “seriously considering” running but had yet to file officially, which he did on March 22.
“It’s a money thing,” Shipley said at the time. “If nobody was running against me, I’d be fine. But I spent about $7,000 to run last time and I don’t have it this time around.”
Shipley began having second thoughts about her decision by late January and took to Facebook to ask friends if she should run.
Nearly 40 people, including fellow Councilman Steve Nobile, responded by encouraging Shipley to enter the race and she officially filed on Feb. 27.
Shipley did not say why she’s chosen again not to run. She did not return phone calls and an email seeking comment Wednesday but she did announce her decision on Facebook.
“It's official. I dropped out of the race,” she wrote. “I suggest anyone living in the C , F or L section get moving to find a candidate. Only one running right now (is) Jon Netts. If you want to run you will get my full support.”
Qualifying continues until June 22.
Shipley’s departure means Palm Coast is losing its two longest-tenured council members. Earlier this year, Nobile publicly declared his intention to step down at the end of his term in November. He announced April 23 that he will instead resign from his District 4 seat May 16 due to family medical issues that are prompting him and his wife to move across the state to Tampa. Nobile was absent from Tuesday’s meeting, as was Mayor Milissa Holland.
The council was slated to discuss the process it will use to replace Nobile. Palm Coast’s primary is Aug. 28 but the city’s charter calls for council members to appoint a replacement by majority vote if a council member resigns with fewer than two years remaining on his or her term. City officials have proposed a timeline to select Nobile’s interim replacement by June 12 but held off on the discussion Tuesday because of Holland’s absence.