Ponte Vedra voters polled at Politics in St. Johns event

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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