County Commissioners
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SJC Firefighters Endorse the Incumbents
In this election season, there is a LOT of talk about what candidates want to do. “Want to” is admirable. Each of us, with our own paradigms, has opinions about what “should” happen. Those paradigms are informed by experience, life events, as well as personal values. The candidates challenging the incumbent commissioners have been sharing Continue reading
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“The Anns” and County Financials
The St Augustine Record posted two interviews last week with candidates challenging the incumbents for County Commissioner in Districts 1 and 5. Ann-Marie Evans is running in District 1 against incumbent Christian Whitehurst, and Ann Taylor is running in District 5 against Henry Dean. They call themselves “the Anns.” In the August 1, 2024 interview Continue reading
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The other “Ann” Interview
Okay, I must mention this before I address some of the elements of the St Augustine Record interview with Ann Taylor. Why, in heaven’s name, would any individual who is putting themselves out to their community to become an elected official, making important decisions about the County and its future, allow themselves to be part Continue reading
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Interview with commissioner candidate Ann-Marie Evans.
I have been following the St Augustine Record reporter’s recent candidate profiles and appreciate her hard-hitting questions. She doesn’t pull punches and, in a few paragraphs, manages to get to the gist of the campaign claims, promises and conflicts. She tackles big questions like bribery, transparency, laws, etc. in a fair and balanced way. I Continue reading
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Methinks thou doth protest too much
The candidates challenging the incumbents for County commissioner are finding themselves the targets of the same vitriol to which the incumbent Commissioners have been subjected for almost a year. They are using every public platform available to them to protest what is being said about them. They can do that. They can lie, they can Continue reading
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Election Alert: Don’t let misinformation inform your vote!
The St Johns County Chamber of Commerce hosted a Candidate Event on July 23, 2024 for residents to meet and talk with candidates for the upcoming August 20 primary. The event included a straw poll for attendees to indicate their preferred candidate. Two challenger candidates made the unfortunate decision to hand out a letter to Continue reading
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The Scope of a Commissioner’s Role
In an earlier post, I shared two things that Commissioner Whitehurst said at the July 9 Candidate Forum, and I expanded on his perspective on development after a brief follow up conversation with him. As we also talked about his work on the Northeast Florida Regional Council, I came away with new respect for the Continue reading
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A Strategic Approach to Development
At the July 9 Candidate Forum, Commissioner Whitehurst made a couple statements that drove home (at least to me) the concept that the commissioner’s role is so much more than spending two days a month on the dais listening to residents. He spoke of his voting record, not in terms of percentage approved or denied, Continue reading
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Commissioner Candidate Forum
This 2024 Commissioner election is important. Not to sound overly dramatic, but the viability of the county’s future is at stake. If you have not been following this election season, the Ponte Vedra Community Association and Palm Valley Community Associations hosted a candidate forum for the eight candidates. This was a forum, not a debate. Continue reading
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Important business not getting the County’s attention
The July 16, 2024, Board of County Commissioners’ meeting was a perfect example of how to waste time. Three gentlemen, all fishing charter captains, spoke at the 11:30 public comment about the challenges they have with keeping their businesses afloat because they have been told that they are not allowed to use the public docks Continue reading
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