What’s going on between the Veteran’s Council and the new BOCC Chair?
Since the November 19 Board of County Commissioner’s Meeting there has been news coverage and a press release about changes the new Chair of the Board of County Commissioner’s, Krista Joseph, has made to the agenda. Included in this coverage has been discussion about how the leading of the Pledge of Allegiance has been and will be conducted at the Board meetings.
Read the coverage in the St. Augustine Record here: Veteran’s Council Upset
Chair Joseph has countered that narrative with a press release from the county stating that the Veteran’s Council will continue to be involved in leading the pledge, and that she has expanded the number of veterans who will be involved to include residents and county employees.
Read the Press Release here: Chair Joseph Press Release
What’s going on here?
I reached out to William Dudley, (LTC, USAF Retired) Chair of the St. Johns County Veteran’s Council for more information.
Col. Dudley shared that the Veteran’s Council has a long standing tradition of partnering with the BOCC to lead the Pledge. The Veteran’s Council represents 28 different veterans organizations and 23,000 veterans. They already include residents and county employees in the roster of individuals leading the Pledge. There is no extension of the participation to residents and county employees – this is already in place.
The Press Release from the County seems to indicate that the disagreement has been resolved. Col. Dudley has a different perception.
Col. Dudley has been reaching out to individuals and heads of organizations asking for a show of support for the Veteran’s Council by emailing or calling the County Commissioners with a request to remove Commissioner Joseph from the Chairmanship.
He is also asking for support from County residents to express their disapproval of this action by Commissioner Joseph and to express their concern about her qualifications to lead the Commission.
That’s a pretty strong indication that the disagreement between Chair Joseph and the Veteran’s Council is on-going.
Learn more about the work of the Veteran’s Council in St. Johns County at this link: Veteran’s Council Website
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Beth Tate 