about my county st johns county florida

I have been represented on social media as a cheerleader for four County Commissioners.  That may be an accurate characterization.

According to Merriam Webster, a “cheerleader is one that calls for and directs organized cheering (as at a football game).”

This isn’t a football game, but it is, in some respects, a game.  And a childish one, at that.  There are a few residents of the County that claim four commissioners are corrupt and tied to developers who buy their decisions. They use social media as a propaganda platform to trash three elected officials running for reelection and advertise alternative candidates as having a “slow development” platform.  They are very good at saying what is wrong.  They have not been so effective at explaining what they will do differently, except that they will “slow development.”  They have offered nothing that tells voters that they know enough about running a county government to be effective as a Commissioner. 

What I see and read takes me back to the school playground where it was standard practice to call other children names, and to bully those who were different. I sure didn’t like that time and hoped that as adults we could learn courtesy and respect.  Like they say, hope is not a strategy.

So here I am, a target of the bullies. 

A cheerleader?  Maybe.

Cheerleaders cheer when the team is winning.  They cheer harder when the team is struggling.  A team that plays hard needs encouragement.

Being a local elected official is a tough job, and one where it is impossible to please everyone. Tasked with the vitality of the County overall, they are faced with decisions every two weeks that will please some and anger others. 

 Most of us are keenly aware that the County is growing quickly.  We see the development and the clearing of land.  It is so easy to say, “Let’s just slow that down.”  It is not so easy to do.

Economic growth is so critical that Florida Statute 125.045 states, “The Legislature finds and declares that this state faces increasing competition from other states and other countries for the location and retention of private enterprises within its borders. Furthermore, the Legislature finds that there is a need to enhance and expand economic activity in the counties of this state by attracting and retaining manufacturing development, business enterprise management, and other activities conducive to economic promotion, in order to provide a stronger, more balanced, and stable economy in the state; to enhance and preserve purchasing power and employment opportunities for the residents of this state; and to improve the welfare and competitive position of the state. The Legislature declares that it is necessary and in the public interest to facilitate the growth and creation of business enterprises in the counties of the state.”

Can you imagine if we slowed growth to the point where there is insufficient funding for our infrastructure? 

But realistically, the Commissioners don’t have the power to slow growth, only to manage it.  The business community – the Chamber of Commerce – is busy telling the story of how wonderful St Johns County is as a place to live and a place to do business.  They recognize that a vibrant business community provides jobs and workers need a place to live, work and play. That is the challenge before the Commissioners.  It is not a singularly focused platform of “slow development.”

Businesses are coming, new neighbors are coming. The balancing act of making our County viable for both is daunting.  There are no easy answers, yet the propaganda tells us it is as simple as “slowing growth.”

Being a Commissioner in St Johns County is a hard job.  So maybe I am a cheerleader, telling them that I understand and respect the challenge. I would certainly rather have that characterization than being a schoolyard bully.