Jeffrey Scott Brower (born November 16, 1955) is an American politician and farmer serving as the fourth

Volusia County chair The Volusia County chair, officially called chair of the Volusia County Council and sometimes called Volusia County Council chair, is the county executive and chairman of the County_council#United_States, county council of Volusia County, Florida ...

since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he was appointed leader of the

SunRail SunRail is a commuter rail system in the Greater Orlando, Florida, area. Services began on May 1, 2014. The system comprises 17 stations along a former CSX Transportation line connecting Volusia County and Osceola County through Downtown Orla ...

board in April 2024 and has served on the Central Florida Commuter Rail Commission since 2021.

Early life and career

Jeffrey Scott Brower was born on November 16, 1955, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. His family moved to

Daytona Beach, Florida Daytona Beach is a coastal Resort town, resort city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. Located on the East Coast of the United States, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is part of the Deltona� ...

, when he was 3 years old. He received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in agricultural science from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

. Brower worked for the Daytona Beach Patrol as a

lifeguard A lifeguard is a rescuer who supervises the safety and rescue of swimmers, surfers, and other water sports participants such as in a swimming pool, water park, beach, spa, river and lake. Lifeguards are trained in swimming and Cardiopulmonary ...

from 1970 to 1979. After college, he first worked for a plant nursery, then a

marketing Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

agency, and finally worked for six years as a recruiter for a pest control and fertilization business. He left the company to become a full-time farmer in 2000. He established a small

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal ...

company in 2004. He volunteered as an associate supervisor for the Volusia Soil & Water Conservation District. In 2018, Brower was defeated in the Volusia

County Council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

1st district primary election.

Volusia County chair (2021–present)

In 2020, Brower was elected county-wide as Volusia County chair with 56% of the vote, defeating Volusia County councilwoman Deb Denys. His campaign was based upon cutting taxes and waterway preservation. In March 2022, Brower endorsed

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

Anthony Sabatini in the 2022 Florida's 7th congressional district Republican primary. Sabatini lost the primary to

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

combat veteran

Cory Mills Cory Lee Mills (born July 13, 1980) is an American politician, businessman, and United States Army, Army veteran who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative from since 2023. A member of the Republican Party ...

, who went on to win the general election. Brower and county sheriff

Mike Chitwood Michael Jude Chitwood (born November 30, 1963) is an American politician and law enforcement officer who currently serves as the sheriff of Volusia County, Florida. He previously served as chief of police of the Daytona Beach Police Department f ...

attended a demonstration in support of Israel following the

Hamas attack The history of Hamas is an account of the Palestinian nationalist and Islamist – described by some as fundamentalist – socio-political organization based in the Gaza strip with an associated paramilitary force, the Ezzedeen al-Qassam Briga ...

of October 2023. In 2023, Brower and county councilman Don Dempsey voted against increasing the distance

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a Sex and the law, sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convi ...

s could live from schools, with Dempsey stating that the two councillors had opposed the bill because the increased distance could make it harder to track offenders. Brower has also voted for stronger

environmental regulations Environmental laws are laws that protect the environment. The term "environmental law" encompasses treaties, statutes, regulations, conventions, and policies designed to protect the natural environment and manage the impact of human activities ...

to stop

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and local flooding. In early 2024, Brower and county council vice chair Troy Kent voted in opposition to the construction of a fuel terminal in

Ormond Beach Ormond Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 43,080 at the 2020 census. Ormond Beach lies directly north of Daytona Beach and is a principal city of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach, FL Metropo ...

. The remaining county council members approved the project, and the moratorium vote ultimately failed by a 5-2 margin. Brower ran for re-election in the 2024 Volusia County chair election. He was challenged by Port Orange mayor Don Burnette; auto dealer Randy Dye, the father of stock car racer

Daniel Dye Daniel Wayne Dye (born December 4, 2003) is an American professional stock car racing driver. He competes full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet Camaro (sixth generation), Chevrolet SS for Kaulig Racing. He has previo ...

; and former county councilwoman Deb Denys. Denys and Burnette were eliminated in the August primary, and Brower went on to narrowly win re-election with 51.4% of the vote in the November runoff against Dye. During the race, Brower campaigned heavily on "stopping

overdevelopment In international economics, overdevelopment refers to a way of seeing global inequality and pollution that focuses on the negative consequences of overconsumption, excessive consumption. It is the opposite extreme to underdevelopment. In mainstre ...

", a stance which Sheldon Gardner of the ''

Daytona Beach News-Journal ''The Daytona Beach News-Journal'' is a Florida daily newspaper serving Volusia and Flagler Counties. It grew from the ''Halifax Journal'', which was started in 1883. The Davidson family purchased the newspaper in 1928 and retained control un ...

'' labelled as "anti-growth". The

Volusia County Volusia County (, ) is a county located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...

Republican Party voted to endorse Dye in the election. The election resulted in a "feud" between Brower and Chitwood, with each endorsing the other's opponent in their respective races.

Personal life

Brower is

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. He moved to DeLeon Springs in 1982. He married his wife Terri in 1985. They have 9 children, four boys and five girls.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brower, Jeff 1955 births Living people American climate activists American environmentalists County executives in Florida Florida Republicans Never Trump movement Protestants from Florida