Cheryl Strickland: Thank you, to our courageous retiring St. Johns County Clerk of Courts, who protected human rights and public fisc

Last December, St. Johns County Clerk of Courts, Ms. Cheryl Strickland, announced her decision: she would continue Courthouse weddings.
In the place Dr. King once called "the most lawless" in America, Ms. Strickland respected Gay and Lesbian rights, despite a hatfull of hate from all-hat-and-no-cattle-KKK-bigots, who persuaded other North Florida counties (including Jacksonville jackasses under the influence of Baptists and KKK) to stop Courthouse weddings when marriages of Gays and Lesbians were ordered by a federal judge.
I spoke with Ms. Strickland in December 2014 and asked her to respect federal law: she did, and she was correctly advised by her counsel, Geoffrey Dobson. In the spirit of my mentor, Nashville Tennessean Pulitzer Prize winner Nat Caldwell after the Supreme Court's landmark 1954 decision in Brown v. Board of Education, I respectfully asked Ms. Strickland to respect federal courts: she agreed, avoiding embarrassment for St. Augustine (as endured in 1964).
The "technology transfer" worked: Nat's stories taught his young acolyte in 1978-79 (little 'ole me) by stories on Africian-American civil rights how to approach public officials in 2014 on Gay rights: Middle Tennessee counties peaceably desegregated because
Nat spoke to County Judges (now County Mayors) in a number of Tennessee counties, sharing moral reasoning.
Thanks, Nat! (Was this another miracle? Have I lost count?)
Retiring St. Johns County Clerk of Courts Ms. Strickland earned a place in American history, when KKK bigots picketed, with her name on signs shown on John Stewart's "The Daily Show."
Being picketed by bigot DOUG RUSSO is an honor, like being picketed by the tatterdemalion WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH.
Ms. Strickland has endorsed a successor (see below), but that's up to voters next year.
What matters most is Ms. Strickland's integrity, which also includes investigating County waste, fraud and abuse and refusing to sign checks based on fraud (or worse). Thank you for your years of service! Three cheers for Cheryl Strickland!
St. Johns County clerk of circuit court will retire in September
Posted: August 12, 2015 - 1:56pm
Cheryl Strickland, clerk of the circuit court and comptroller for St. Johns County, announced her retirement today via a press release.
Her retirement will be effective Sept. 18.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to have served the citizens of this county for the last 19 years as the elected clerk with a total of 31 years of service in the office,” according to a statement from Strickland.
Strickland is recommending the appointment of George Lareau, chief deputy clerk, as her replacement.
“With 32 years of experience in the clerk’s office, he is the only person qualified to lead the office forward through the budget crisis that clerks statewide are continuing to face,” according to Strickland. “He would be able to provide continuity of services to the agencies that we work with, the public, and the dedicated staff that has been loyal and kept this office running smoothly through these difficult economic years.”