As the Nov. 6 general election approaches, one race of local interest is the seat for Florida’s 4th Congressional District, which represents Nassau County and portions of St. Johns and Duval counties. Currently held by Congressman John Rutherford and historically a seat with a Republican stranglehold, the Democratic candidate in the race is a nearly 10-year resident of Ponte Vedra who firmly believes he has a chance in flipping the district from red to blue.
“This is not a long shot,” Ges Selmont told the Recorder. “The data shows that we are right on John’s heels.”
Selmont is referring to two straw polls that took place in July and August as part of the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce’s Politics in St. Johns events. Administered by the St. Johns County Supervisor of Elections office, the straw polls resulted in Rutherford receiving a combined 283 votes, and Selmont receiving 243.
History, however, is not on Selmont’s side, as Republicans have won the seat in lopsided fashion, especially in recent years. In 2016, Rutherford defeated his Democratic opponent, David Bruderly by nearly 175,000 votes, and in 2014, former Rep. Ander Crenshaw, a Republican who served the district from 2001 to 2016, defeated Independent opponents by more than 142,000 votes. Not to mention, Rutherford has name recognition as the former sheriff of Duval County and incumbent of the seat.
Selmont, however, believes the district is changing.
“This is not a red area; it’s a purple area,” he said. “There are tons of northern migration into the First Coast and in just the last two years, the population has changed. That’s a good thing. Our elected officials should reflect the population.”
As to be expected, the candidates in this race have differing priorities and opinions on issues of local and national interest. The Recorder asked the candidates to weigh in specifically on their priorities and strategies to address the district’s fledgling beaches, gun control and school safety.
Priorities and issues
An attorney, entrepreneur and most recently a special advisor to the president of Edward Waters College in Jacksonville, Selmont’s No. 1 priority is to be a congressman for the Beaches, noting that the 4th district is mostly coastal.
With that population in mind, Selmont plans to protect what he said is most important to the people of the Beaches, including the region’s beauty, low taxes and environment. A significant priority, he said, would be to work on infrastructure for the First Coast.
On the other hand, Rutherford told the Recorder via email he would continue building on efforts to grow the economy, create jobs and increase wages to rebuild the military, serve veterans, secure borders, enforce immigration laws, reduce the cost of healthcare and improve infrastructure.
“I will continue to tirelessly advocate for the people of Northeast Florida and work with our state and local officials to keep our communities thriving,” Rutherford said.
As for how to build back and maintain the beaches, Selmont said Congress must help in not only replenishing the beaches but also replenishing access. He also said Congress cannot expect local government to address climate change, so he would help in securing funding for resiliency of septic tanks, raising roadways, making bridges more resilient, expanding drainage systems and more.
Rutherford has supported significant federal funding for beach renourishment and shore protection efforts in Northeast Florida during his first term. He noted that he helped in securing more than $36 million for the Vilano Beach renourishment project and pledged to continue working with leaders to maintain and protect area beaches.
On the topic of gun control, Selmont believes an assault weapons ban should be implemented. On a similar note concerning school safety, he said schools need to be hardened and built with the understanding that they’re targets.
Rutherford is a strong supporter of a citizen’s constitutional right to bear arms. He said he supports and has voted to strengthen the National Instant Background Check System (NICS) and believes in eliminating the root causes of violence by strengthening the mental healthcare system. Rutherford also supports red flag laws that allow one to petition for a gun-violence risk protection order that takes firearms from people deemed to be a risk to harm themselves or others, while also providing those persons with due process rights.
On school safety, Rutherford authored the STOP School Violence Act with Rep. Ted Deutch, which focuses on prevention by investing in early intervention, violence prevention and training for teachers, students and administrators to help them identify red flags and what to do when they arise. The legislation also strengthens mental health networks and encourages Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design.
“While I am pleased by the successes we have had, there is much more work to do to continue our progress in these and other areas,” Rutherford said. “We owe it to the American people to continue working to create more opportunities for our citizens and uphold their constitutional rights.”
Selmont, on the other hand, believes a change is in order and said there is “pent up demand” for Democratic representation in the area.
“The biggest thing I’ve heard is ‘I don’t like my government anymore,’” Selmont said. “There are so many people asking me to be civil, to be positive, to not attack the other side … that’s the No. 1 thing I’m hearing, to be better.
For more information on the race for Florida’s 4th Congressional District, which also features two Independent candidates, flip to page 22.
