Category: Politics

Posted in Politics, St. Johns County, BOCC

St. Johns County and the 2026 Election Year

Posted on by Beth Tate

Updated to correct a missing website link!

It’s an election year! And we already have some very heated races in St. Johns County!

Having lived here 23 years, I know that for those of us who work in Jacksonville or travel a lot for our work, we often don’t even have time to pay attention to local elections.

Many of us have no idea who our Commissioners are or what they do for the County. Not too long ago a local business person told me he was reaching out to Mayor Deegan for help on something. I asked him why, and he said because she’s the Mayor! I pointed out his business is in St. Johns County and he might want to reach out to our County Commissioners. He didn’t know who any of them are.

That’s not a reflection on this individual – it’s just an example of how in the northern part of the county so many of us work, shop and play in Jacksonville that we naturally know more about the Jacksonville scene than what is happening in St. Johns County.

Today I thought I would spend a little time sharing information about the 2026 Election process in St. Johns County so you can start educating yourself and be prepared to get out and vote in the Primary (August 18,2026) or General Election (November 3, 2026.)

Let’s start with, are you registered to vote? And is your voter registration current? Check out the Supervisor of Elections website and confirm your status. You can do that here: Check My Status

And if you are a newcomer to St. Johns County or Florida, you may not be familiar with our Closed Primary process. If there are qualified candidates from more than one Party, it will be a closed Primary. That means when you go to the polls you will be presented with a Ballot showing only the candidates in your registered party. As an example, if you are a registered Republican, you will only see the Republican candidates on your ballot. If you are a registered Democrat, you will only see the Democratic candidates on your ballot. And if you are not affiliated with any party (No Party Affiliation) you will only see candidates for Non Partisan positions.

Before a candidate appears on a ballot, they have to go through Qualifying. You can see the Qualifying dates for St. Johns County positions on this page: Qualifying Dates & Fees

Most of our County offices have a Qualifying date of June 12. That means that any candidates currently showing on the Candidate List have not yet qualified to be on the Primary Ballot in August.

Today I’ll share known info about 2 of our most visible elected positions, County Commissioners.

We have two County Commissioner seats up for election this year, District 2 and District 4. Those seats are currently held by Sarah Arnold, District 2 and Krista Keating Joseph, District 4.

Commissioner Joseph has filed and shared about her desire to return to the Board for another term. Commissioner Arnold has not filed and all indications are that she is not going to run for re-election.

For District 2, we have 3 Active Candidates. That means they have filed but have not yet qualified.

Timothy Ray Burres is a former SJSO Law Enforcement Officer and is actively running. He has a registered website that is not yet active: VoteTimBurres and has an active FaceBook (FB) page: Vote Tim Burres for SJC Commissioenr

Wilson Malcolm McMullan is a lifelong Floridian actively running. He has an active website: Save St. Johns County.com and FB page: Will McMullan for County Commissioner

Martin Valerian Pyszczymuka is a 4 year resident of St. Johns County. He has an active website and indicates that he has gathered enough petitions to qualify for the ballot. His website is here: VoteMartin2026.com and his FB page is here: VoteMartinForCountyCommissioner Interesting note on his website is that he is opposing Sarah Arnold who has not filed to run. His website also addresses questions regarding residency eligibility and states that he plans to relocate into District 2 prior to the election.

District 4 has 4 Active Candidates. Again, they have filed but not yet qualified.

James Austin Galloway – At the time of writing, I was unable to locate an active campaign website. Mr. Galloway appears to be using his personal FB page for his platform: James Galloway

Krista Keating Joseph – Sitting District 4 Commissioner. Thanks to the alert reader who pointed me Commissioner Joseph’s active website: Vote Krista She also appears to be using her personal FB page for her campaigning. KristaKeatingJoseph

Heather Lane Neville – Born and raised in Northeast Florida and resident of St. Johns County since 2007.  Has an active website: VoteHeatherLaneNeville and FB Page ElectHeatherLaneNeville

Samuel Paul Willaims – Also a former SJSO Law Enforcement Officer with an active website: samforstjohns.com and FB page: Williams for St. Johns County Commissioner

As you evaluate candidates this year, I encourage you to spend time learning what each candidate stands FOR — their priorities, leadership style, and vision for the future of St. Johns County.

Local government decisions shape our roads, growth, schools, public safety, and quality of life in very real ways. Thoughtful participation matters.

In a climate where political conversations can quickly become negative, perhaps we can focus more on ideas, solutions, and the future we want to build for our County together.

If you are finding value in these updates, please subscribe to my blog so you get notifications when I publish an update. Feel free to share with others who may find value in the content.

Posted in Florida Legislature, St. Johns County, Transportation

St. Johns County State Senate Appropriations Requests

Posted on by Beth Tate

As the 2nd week of the 2025 Florida Legislative Session ends, let’s take a look at the Appropriations Requests that have been submitted by Senator Thomas (Tom) Leek.

This list follows my March 9 blog post identifying the Appropriations submitted by our State Representatives.

This is a manual review so forgive me if I miss anything!

The Senate process is a bit different from the House of Representatives Process. From the Florida Senate website:

“The appropriations bill is one of the most important bills considered by the Legislature. This bill is the state’s budget and it specifies the amount of money available to various state agencies during the next year.  The appropriations bill follows the same course as other general bills, but because it is difficult to get both houses to agree on all items in the bill, a conference committee is usually appointed to resolve the differences.”

On the Senate side, there is a 7 page form to be completed. You can view the blank form here: Funding Initiative Request Form

Let’s walk through an example with a 30 Million dollar request for St. Johns County State Road 16, Phase II.

This Request reads as follows:

“FDOT is scheduled to spend $30 million to resurface State Road 16 from International Golf Parkway to I-95 over the next year. This newly resurfaced road will then undergo milling and paving a second time during the construction phase of the SR 16 Capacity Improvements project. St. Johns County sees an opportunity to enhance government efficiency, eliminate duplicative costs, and to better utilize state resources by re-appropriating this $30 million toward the SR 16 Capacity Improvements project. This appropriations request will widen SR 16 to 4 lanes from International Golf Parkway to I-95.”

This looks like a St. Johns County version of DOGE – currently there is $30 million slated to resurface State Road 16 from IGP to I-95 in the coming year. Much needed work! However, the State Road 16 Capacity Improvements will require the road to be milled and paved again! (duplicative work!)

This request from Senator Leek is to re-appropriate the $30 million to the Capacity Improvements project that will widen SR 16 to 4 lanes from International Golf Parkway to I-95.

The type of funding for this project is “Fixed Capital Outlay.”

The Total Project cost for Fiscal Year 2025-2026 (including matching funds) is 51,708,000. Matching funds come from Federal, State, Local and “Other.”

The project has previously received state funding of $7,500,000 in 2024-2025 (Appropriation 2069A)

Future funding will likely be requested in the amount of 10,000,000 per year!

It is noted that St. Johns County has identified additional developer contributions and a federal competitive grant as future matching funds to state funding beyond FY 26 – this could reduce future financial contributions by the state.

This project is currently in the Construction Phase, is noted as “shove ready” and construction slated to starte 7/1/2025 with completion by 1/30/2027.

The purpose of the 30,000,000 is notes as “Design, permitting, right of qay acquisition, construction, post-design services and CEI for the four-lane widening of State Road 16 from International Golf Parkway to I-95, with option to include bike lanes, sidewalks, or multi-use paths where appropriate.”

The form requires answers to questions such as purpose and goal of the project, activities and services provided to met the intended purpose, what services provided to citizens, who is the target population, and the expected beneift or outcome of the project

You can read through the full request here: St. Johns County State Road 16 Phase II

This request will be reviewed by the Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Tourism, and Economic Development.  You can check their calendar and find the contact information for the committee members here: Transportation, Tourism, Economic Development Committee

You can share your thoughts on any of the Appropriations requests with Senator Leek and members of the Appropriations Committee.

Senator Leek’s contact information can be found here: Senator Leek State Senate Page

There is a link on the page to send him an email directly from there.

Here is a list of the Appropriations Requests from Senator Leek that appear to be directly impactful to St. Johns County. There is a much longer list of requests he has made (link below) but remember his district covers more than just St. Johns County.

If I could locate a corresponding request from one of our Representatives, I’ve noted that as well. If the column for Corresponding House Request is blank, I did not see a corresponding request.

NumberRequestAmountCorresponding House Request
2524Equine-Assisted Regional Rehabilitation Center for Children and Veterans1,700,000Sapp2223
2530St. Augustine Teen Center Boys & Girls Club400,000Greco2092  
2531Historic St. Johns County Police Athletic League Diamond of Dreams1,000,000Sapp2184  
2533The Florida Museum of Black History Phase 1 – St. Johns County2,000,000  
2535District 23 Medical Examiner’s Office6,000,000Sapp2172
2539I-95 Interchange Improvements at International Golf Parkway3,500,000Kendall1499
2542St. Johns County Career and Job Readiness Program245,000  
2543St. Augustine Airport Student Maintenance Training Program250,000Kendall1722
2544BRAVE (Be Resilient and Voice Emotions) Program3,000,000  
2546St. Augustine Land Purchase, Continued Design and Construction of Resilient Structure Anastasia Blvd.2,500,000Greco2110  
2547St. Augustine Volusia Woods Extension – West Augustine Septic-to-Sewer Project1,000,000Greco2886
2549St. Augustine Beach Stormwater System Resiliency1,910,000Greco2095
2550The Arc of the St. Johns, Inc. Transportation Facility Project750,000Greco2125  
2551First Coast Technical College – Firefighter & EMT Program Enhancement/Expansion760,285Kendall2285
2553Hastings Museum and Community Civic Center400,000  
2554St. Johns County State Road 16 Phase II30,000,000  
2555The Institute for Classical Education at Flagler College1,500,000Greco2890  
2556St. Johns County Historic Markland House Restoration2,000,000Greco2094
2557St. Johns County Road 2209 Central Segment – Phase 38,000,000  
2840St. Johns County EPIC Sober Living Transitional Housing Expansion Project2,500,000Greco2083
2841St. Johns County EPIC Recovery Center Women’s Substance Abuse Residential Treatment Beds750,000Greco2098
2870St. Johns County Council on Aging Shelter & Shade Project572,000Greco2080
3013St. Augustine Youth Services Intensive In-Home Therapeutic Programs450,000Greco2100
3177Home Again St. Johns, Inc. Homeless Veterans Support & Housing250,000  
3184Anastasia Island Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Improvements500,000  
 TOTAL72,587,285  

All Appropriations Requests for the 2025 session can be found at this link: 2025 Session Appropriations Requests

You can filter by Leek to pull up just ones Senator Leek has submitted. You can click the request name and link through to the full request.

If you are finding value in these updates, please subscribe to my blog so you get notifications when I publish an update. Feel free to share with others who may find value in the content.

Posted in Florida Legislature, St. Johns County

St. Johns County State Legislative Appropriations Requests

Posted on by Beth Tate

EDITED: I HAD INADVERTENTLY PICKED UP THE WRONG LINE ITEM FOR KENALL REQUESTS 2285 AND 2136. THE NUMBERS HAVE BEEN ADJUSTED BELOW.

The 2025  Florida Legislative Session opened on Tuesday, March 4. In my last update I outlined the process that is generally used as County’s request Legislative Funding. I used the very important request for funding to address the traffic issues at I-95 and International Golf Parkway as an example of the process.

This week I’ll provide an update on that specific request and some of the questions asked, as well as sharing a list of all Appropriations requests I could locate for St. Johns County from our Florida Representatives.

A later post this week will include Appropriations Requests from Senator Tom Leek.

Update on the I-95 Interchange Improvements at International Golf Parkway

The Improvements for the I-95 Interchange at International Golf Parkway are certainly much needed. In my last post I had noted some differences between what the County had submitted and what was in the Appropriations request. I have found a few answers that I will share here.

  • Representative Kendall had continued to work with FDOT representatives after the initial reviews and a lower cost estimate for the county was submitted, thus explaining the reduction from 6,000,000 to 3,500,000 and an increase for the Federal Funding from 32,000,000 to 34,000,000.
  • It appears there may have been a gap in communication of the numbers back to the county and that has now been addressed.
  • In the Attestation Form submitted by the County on March 5, some caveats were added that addresses some differences.
    • The Lobbyist name was changed to Joe Mobley
    • A statement was added, “If state and federal funds are appropriated, the County is prepared to provide $2 million as a local match.”
    • Study was changed from Yes to No – FDOT has directed $500,000 to PD&E, which will start this spring or early summer.

As of Friday, March 7, there was no indication that Congressman Rutherford had submitted a request for the needed Federal funds. Important to note that as a federally funded Interstate, that is a key element in getting this project approved. A question to be asked is, how does this fit into the I-95 widening project? (planned for 2026 – 2027.) And another question, will the state approve funding for this project if there are no federal funds available? We will continue to follow along!

 Here is a list of the Appropriations requests I was able to identify as being specific to St. Johns County. Representatives Sapp and Greco have districts that cover multiple counties. I tried to identify as closely as possible which of their requests would impact only St. Johns County.

From Representative Kim Kendall

NumberRequestAmountAttestation Received
2285First Coast Technical College – Firefighter & EMT Program Enhancement Expansion760,285Yes  
2136St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office Re-Entry/Co-Responder Program300,000Yes
1857Switzerland Vocational & Community Center70,000Yes  
1847First Coast Technical College – Industrial Agriculture Program Enhancements650,000Yes
1722St. Augustine Airport Student Maintenance Training Program250,000Yes
1499I-95 Interchange Improvements at International Golf Parkway3,500,000Yes, with caveats
Total 5,530,285 

From Representative Sam Greco

2890The Institue for Classical Education at Flagler College1,500,000Yes
2889World War II Themed Education and Exhibit Building500,000 
2886St. Augustine Volusia Woods Extension – West Augustine Septic-to-Sewer Project1,100,000Yes  
2125The Arc of the St. Johns – Transportation Facility750,000Yes
2110St. August land Purchase engineering, Design and Construction of Resilient Structure on Anastasia Blvd2,500,000Yes  
2100St. Augustine Youth Services – intensive In-Home Therapeutic Programs450,000Yes
2098EPIC Behavioral Healthcare – St. Johns EPIC Recovery Center Women’s Substance Abuse Residential750,000Yes
2095St. Augustine Beach Stormwater System Resiliency1,910,000Yes
2094Historic Markland House Restoration2,000,000Yes
2092St. Augustine Teen Center Boys & Girls Club400,000Yes
2083EPIC Community Services – Sober Living Transitional Housing Project Expansion2,500,000Yes
2082St. Johns County Intracoastal Flood Management8,000,000Yes
2081K9s for Warriors – Veterans Suicide Prevention Program1,500,000Yes
2080St. Johns County Council on Aging Shelter & Shade Project572,000Yes
Total 24,432,000 

From Representative Judson Sapp

2223HorsePlay Therapy Center – Equine – Assisted Regional Rehabilitation Center1,700,000Yes
2184St. Johns County Police Athletic League (PAL) Diamond of Dreams1,000,000Yes
2177St. Johns River State College – Renovation of Classroom Building and Workforce Training Center Addition18,773,926Yes
2172District 23 Regional Medical Examiner’s Office6,000,000Yes
Total 27,473,926 
    

To do your own research and read the details of each request, here is a link to Search Appropriations: 2025 Appropriations Requests

Learn more about each Representative, including how to contact and share your opinions on any of these requests, at the links below. At each link you will find an email form as well as phone number for the Representatives. You will also find a link to all of their Sponsored Bills. More to come on some of those bills as the Session progresses.

Representative Greco: Link for Representative Sam Greco

Representative Kendall: Link to Representative Kim Kendall

Representative Sapp: Link for Representative Judson Sapp

If you are finding value in these updates, please subscribe to my blog so you get notifications when I publish an update. Feel free to share with others who may find value in the content.

Posted in BOCC, Politics, St. Johns County

Special Edition – St. Johns County Commissioner’s Candidate Forum

Posted on by Beth Tate

The St. Johns County Primary Election is on August 20. This is an important election for the County as 3 Commissioners are up for re-election.

The Ponte Vedra and Palm Valley Community Associations held a Candidate Forum on July 9. It was moderated by a UNF professor. All candidates were present.

The Community Associations have graciously made available a video of the evening. It is about an hour in length.

Please watch and vote in the upcoming Primary election.

If you are finding value in these updates, please subscribe to my blog so you get notifications when I publish an update. Feel free to share with others who may find value in the content.

Posted in Politics

Interested in Running for Office?

Posted on by Beth Tate

Check out this course!

If you’ve ever considered that you might want to run for office, I recommend you check out this non-partisan, virtual training offered by The Florida Institute for Political Leadership (FIPL).

The course is called Campaign School & Community Leadership Training and is scheduled for 2 nights in June, the 14th and 15th, from 5:30 – 8:00 PM each day.

I took this course last year and found it to be very valuable in understanding the process for running for office. It is recommended for not only those who want to run but for those who may be interested in working in a political campaign or interested in serving the community through some other organization.

This course is FREE to attend and non-partisan.

You can register on-line at this link: http://www.FIPL.org/Register

FIPL Campaign School & Leadership Trainings provide a comprehensive briefing on emerging local and state issues, teach attendees what local opportunities are available for appointed or elected positions, offer guidance on how to prepare to run for office, and provide training on how to run winning campaigns.

If you are finding value in these updates, please subscribe to my blog so you get notifications when I publish an update. Feel free to share with others who may find value in the content.