The Municipal Service District of Ponte Vedra Beach welcomed Robert A. Hardwick, chief of police for St. Augustine Beach, and Donna Deegan, former First Coast News anchor who is now running for U.S House of Representatives.
Hardwick, who is currently running for sheriff, discussed the area’s traffic concerns and his background working for the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
“The district is very unique,” Hardwick said. “We average about 41,000 cars compared to 12,000 on Beach Boulevard. You got a lot of traffic coming up through here in St. Johns County. You average about 165 traffic tickets in the area monthly, which is pretty impressive. Very similar to the status in St. Augustine Beach, but add a one in front of that. We average about 11,000 tickets with almost the same exact traffic flow.”
Hardwick credits the low traffic violations and crime to the area’s community police involvement.
Additionally, Hardwick addressed the SJSO’s initiative toward increasing the division’s attention to mental health issues.
“I never thought the police officers as a profession were going to be dealing with a first-line attack on mental health and mental illness,” Hardwick said. “We are working toward educating officers in crisis intervention and alcohol dependency. We’ve come a long way as a profession.”
Donna Deegan also spoke about her campaign initiatives, which are mainly focused on combating healthcare problems and climate change.
Deegan, a three-time breast cancer survivor and founder of the DONNA Foundation, said hearing women relate their stories about their struggles with their insurance providers during treatment inspired her to make universal health care a top issue of her campaign.
“I started hearing from women all the time that said, ‘I am having to choose between putting food on the table for my kids and life-saving care,’” Deegan said. “It’s why I started the DONNA Foundation, to be able to help women pay for their critical needs. I am absolutely certain that our healthcare system needs to be fixed.”
Deegan said she believes in protecting pre-existing conditions and allowing children to stay under their parent’s coverage until they are 26.
“That will be my number one priority in congress,” Deegan said.
To find out more information about Officer Hardwick’s and Donna Deegan’s campaigns, go to VoteHardwick.com and DonnaDeeganforCongress.com.
