about my county st johns county florida

You are a local elected official.  It doesn’t matter why you ran for office. What does matter is that you sign on for a four-year term and take an oath of office that says,

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support, protect, and defend the Constitution and Government of the United States and of the State of Florida; that I am duly qualified to hold office under the Constitution of the state; and that I will well and faithfully perform the duties of (title of office) on which I am now about to enter. So help me God.”

You accept the responsibility for a list of duties that would overwhelm a Chief Executive Officer.

Besides the twice monthly Board meeting that can be as long as 8 hours and in 2023 averaged 5 hours every other Tuesday, you have to add to it special meetings that the Board holds for purposes outside the regular agenda. 

Then figure that each agenda item has background information that the Commissioners must read to prepare and ask good questions of the presenter – and ultimately make a decision in the best interest of the County as a whole.  The content is often related to very specific knowledge, so you have to learn words and concepts along the way. 

And probably each stakeholder asks for time on their calendar, outside of Board meetings, to plead their case.

Then there are the special appearances.  Ground breakings, ribbon cuttings, community meetings, social invitations.

All on a part-time salary.

Now imagine, if you will

You are sitting in the Board meeting every other week, and it is time for public comment.  One by one, residents come to the podium for three minutes each.  And they call the Commissioners corrupt.  Over and over.  The same people every single meeting.  The same litany of accusations.

And some of the accusations refer to their predecessors’ decisions that they had nothing to do with.

And then, they infer that, because they accepted campaign donations from developers, that they are in the pocket of those developers, essentially stating that they are not capable of critical thinking on their own within the context of their duties – to consider the good of the County as a whole.  That instead, money has changed hands to pay for a vote.

Oh, and then there is social media.  How bold we are when we make angry posts on social media.  We can say anything we want on social media without accountability for providing facts.  We make inferences, and those who are eager to find blame for everything wrong in the world, jump on the bandwagon.

Imagine how difficult it is to sit for an average of five hours, on record on Government TV, and try hard not to react to the litany of accusations.

And imagine how humiliating it is to see your disembodied head in a pickle jar.  Or your face replaced by a state Senator.

Now, imagine that you are a resident who speaks out against those who are calling the Commissioners corrupt, asking simply for proof, not inference.

And you find your disembodied head in a bulldozer on Facebook. And you suddenly respect what the Commissioners must feel.

Time to Grow Up

I think people are better than this.  Let’s show that we can work together as a community and stop the political infighting and mudslinging, as suggested by a resident during public comment on December 19, 2023.