With the primary election set to take place next month on Aug. 28, Ponte Vedra voters packed into the Ponte Vedra Concert Hall Monday night for the Politics in St. Johns Ponte Vedra event hosted by the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce.
Sponsored by Advanced Disposal, Ameris Bank, Rogers Towers, VTrips and the Ponte Vedra Recorder, the free event offered voters the opportunity to engage both local and state-level political candidates individually regarding the key issues impacting St. Johns County.
“It was really a nice turnout,” said Vicky Oakes, St. Johns County supervisor of elections. “It was really nice to see a lot of the candidates came, and it was the perfect opportunity for voters to meet and be able to speak one-on-one with candidates, a lot of which are going to be on the ballot in the primary in August.”
Among those candidates were District 4 County Commission contenders Erika Alba, Jeremiah Blocker, Nicholas “Mike” Dudynskay and Dick Williams; as well as District 4 School Board candidates Kelly Barrera, Denver Cook and Dr. Abigail Levrini.
The main highlight of the event was a straw poll conducted by Oakes’ office, which allowed registered attendees to vote for their preferred candidates. The results, listed below, were announced at the end of the event.
As for the upcoming primary, Oakes noted the deadline to register to vote is coming up fast on July 30, and the same deadline applies for those seeking to change their party affiliation, but she had good news for those who have yet to do either.
“On Oct. 1, 2017, Florida went online with voter registration, so you can actually register to vote online,” she advised. “The easiest way, instead of having to go somewhere to make changes to your party affiliation, is to just do it right online.
“And we already have our sample ballots available on our website,” Oakes added. “Those will be going in the mail the week of Aug. 5, but if people want to see what’s on their ballot, they can go to our website, www.votesjc.com.”
On Aug.1, the St. Johns County Chamber of Commerce will host another Politics in St. Johns event for St. Augustine residents from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Solomon Calhoun Center at 1300 Duval St. Those interested in attending that event can visit www.sjcchamber.com for additional information.
To register to vote, visit https://registertovoteflorida.gov.
Straw Poll Results
United States Senator
119 - Rick Scott (R)
115 - Bill Nelson (D)
United States Representative District 4
130 - John H. Rutherford (R)
96 - George “Ges” Selmont (D)
Governor
64 - Ron DeSantis (R)
13 - Bruce Nathan (R)
44 - Adam H. Putnam (R)
48 - Andrew Gillum (D)
24 - Gwen Graham (D)
16 - Jeff Greene (D)
18 - Philip Levine (D)
Attorney General
98 - Ashley Moody (R)
24 - Frank White (R)
59 - Sean Shaw (D)
25 - Ryan Torrens (D)
Chief Financial Officer
97 - Jimmy Patronis (R)
99 - Jeremy Ring (D)
Commissioner of Agriculture
31 - Matt Caldwell (R)
37 - Denise Grimsley (R)
21 - Mike McCalister (R)
18 - Baxter Troutman (R)
76 - Nicole “Nikki” Fried (D)
9 - Jeffery Duane Porter (D)
5 - Roy David Walker (D)
State Representative District 17
130 - Cyndi Stevenson (R)
93 - Jaime D. Perkins (D)
County Commissioner District 4
40 - Erika Alba (R)
42 - Jeremiah Blocker (R)
8 - Nicholas “Mike” Dudynskay (R)
74 - Dick Williams (R)
55 - John C. "Jack" Gorman (No Party Affiliation)
Circuit Judge – 7th Circuit – Group 15
45 - Linda L. Gaustad
83 - Sebrina L. Slack
49 - Ryan Will
School Board Member District 4
123 - Kelly Barrera
20 - Denver Cook
71 - Abigail Levrini
Anastasia Mosquito Control District Seat 2
64 - Karen Cornwell
71 - Jeanne Moeller
25 - Merrill Paul Roland
Anastasia Mosquito Control District Seat 4
78 - Trish Becker
26 - Catherine Brandhorst
60 - Peter Miele
St. Johns County Airport Authority Group 2
93 - Justin Mirgeaux
80 - Victor Raymos
St. Johns County Airport Authority Group 3
104 - Bruce Maguire
64 - Carl Youman
