By Willow Logue
Take a breather from all the fun that is the presidential election, and make your voice heard locally. Recently, I got my sample ballot for the local elections here in Ponte Vedra Beach and realized I needed to be more informed before I go cast my vote.
As chance would have it, the Municipal Service District of Ponte Vedra Beach was holding their monthly meeting and the candidates were going to be there. If you have not been to a meeting, I highly recommend it. It is a great way to meet the people who volunteer for a term of at least FOUR years (!!) to keep our little area a great place to live.
This is the first time in 16 years they have had to have an election and all the candidates are great contenders with their heart in the right place and not one of them wants sewage in our streets. For seat 2, Dominic Sanfilippo, a local resident for 10 years who has recently opened his business here, is running again Kitty Switkes, former Ponte Vedra Community Association president and member of the Friends of the Footbridge, as well as a master gardener who raised her children in PVB.
John Cellucci, who retired from the Ponte Vedra Zoning Board to be eligible for a seat and is a member of the Ponte Vedra Sidewalk Connection, is running against Jake O’Keefe, recent Jacksonville University graduate and teacher at Ocean Palms, for seat 4.
Seat 6 is a contest between incumbent Adam Hammer, who has been on the board for four years which saw pavers added to beach access and installation of some new sewers as well as other indicatives, and Brad Wester, an FSU graduate who has served on the Ponte Vedra Overlay Committee, was previously on the MSD in 2007 and has extensive urban planning experience. More information on the MSD can be found on their website http://www.pvmsd.org.
I am still looking for insight into the Circuit Judge elections and welcome any constructive comments about it and any other local elections.
Information about other contests in St. Johns including the County Commissioner contest check out this link: https://www.votesjc.com/Candidate-Information/Candidate-List-Reports-Profiles and this article from the St. Augustine Record.
Early voting is open from August 20th – August 27th at the Ponte Vedra Branch Library from 9am – 6pm or vote on Primary Election Day August 30.
