Update July 25, 2026: I have asked St. Johns County and Governor DeSantis for copies of the letter from the Commission to the Governor.
From Ponte Vedra Recorder:
St. Johns County Commission adopts no-confidence vote for two commissioners
The St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday, July 21, to adopt a formal vote of no confidence regarding two board members charged in an unauthorized voter guide case and direct County Attorney Rich Komando to draft a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis requesting they be suspended.
The vote was 3-2, with the dissenting votes cast by the commissioners in question, Christian Whitehurst and Sarah Arnold.
Whitehurst and Arnold were among five people charged in the case and each faces misdemeanor charges related to criminal conspiracy and the dissemination of an unauthorized voter guide.
The guides were distributed ahead of the 2024 Republican primary election and endorsed different political candidates than those endorsed by the St. Johns County Republican Executive Committee. Among those endorsed by the committee but not the unauthorized guide was Ann-Marie Evans, who was defeated by Whitehurst by a margin of 2%.
Tuesday’s motion was made by Commissioner Ann Taylor and seconded by Commissioner Krista Joseph.
Commission Chair Clay Murphy said he agreed that public trust had been broken but was mindful that, by law, people are to be considered innocent until proven guilty. While saying he couldn’t support the motion, he said he could support a censure.
However, after Komando suggested that censure applied to actions taken as part of a commissioner’s duties, Murphy voted with Taylor and Joseph, apparently misunderstanding that the letter was part of the same motion. He said he wasn’t in favor of the letter but realized he’d made a mistake.
“I voted for it,” he said. “Let’s just live with it.”
Whitehurst and Arnold participated in the meeting remotely.
During the public comment portion of the meeting, several residents went to the microphone to express their displeasure with the two commissioners and their participating remotely rather than in person.
Some requested they resign for the good of the county.
“The honorable thing to do in a position like this is to step down,” said Justin Miller. “… People respect a sincere redemption story, and that always begins with accountability.”
Former County Commission candidate Ann-Marie Evans made her point by not making it — in keeping with the rules of decorum for county meetings.
“We are not to address the board with personal or impertinent remarks,” she said. “Things one might feel compelled to do were it not for such rules. One might discuss alleged charges having involved specific commissioners or demand resignations. One might even do it boisterously.”
Instead, she made a suggestion that the National Association of Counties’ Code of Ethics be posted in every county building.
County resident Charlie Hunt ran video from a 2023 meeting where Whitehurst and Arnold are shown discussing a censure of Joseph that was later dismissed by a judge.
In the video, Whitehurst says, “There are consequences when you break laws; there are consequences when you break rules. Nobody’s immune from that. Not one of us is immune from that.”
In the video, Arnold says, “We are elected by the people to uphold the law.”
Hunt followed up by saying, “They need to resign. Bottom line.”
No comments:
Post a Comment