Mosquito Control and Overdevelopment

May I please have your vote on or before November 3 for Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County, seat 2? The next global pandemic could be a mosquito-borne disease. We must be prepared with data, research, education, and environmentally-friendly, non-toxic natural pesticides.

I am running for Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County in the November 3, 2026 election.  May I please have your vote?

Flooding is increasing.  Increased flooding flows from every single proposed "development" here. Mosquitoes flourish amid flooding. 

The frequency and severity of storms and flooding is increasing.  We must use good science to prepare for the storms and remediate the flooding.  

We must protect people from persistent flooding, evidenced by testimony at government meetings.  

Whenever a development (sic) proposal is discussed, residents testify about flooding.  Too often, our governments are flummoxed, failing to present scientific evidence in response. 

Our Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County does its best to apply good science to mosquito control.  It has five Ph.D. scientists.

But our St. Johns County Commission has no Chief Scientist, no Chief Economist, and makes decisions substantially unencumbered by good data and good science.  

Poorly-staffed County Commissioners rather remind me of what Sir Winston Spencer Churchill said in 1937, "The Government simply cannot make up their mind, or they cannot get the Prime Minister to make up his mind. So they go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent. So we go on preparing more months and years – precious, perhaps vital to the greatness of Britain – for the locusts to eat."

Mosquitoes are eating us alive.  Building "developments" in mosquito swamps is unwise and unscientific.  It needs to stop. 

Our St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners and our Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County are two separate local government agencies, with their own boards.  

SJC abolished its Intergovernmental Relations Committee under  controversial former County Administrator MICHAEL DAVID WANCHICK (2007-2019), who sought a County takeover of mosquito control.  We, the People stopped him. 

Our County must better regulate "development" by greedy "developers," who build homes in swamps, exposing residents to hordes of mosquitoes. 

Worldwide, some 1,000,000 people die every year after mosquito bites. My Father was bitten by a mosquito in Sicily in 1943, contracting malaria.  We saw his suffering.  Due to the effects of malaria, I was born fourteen (14) years later, after my parents prayed to Saint Jude (patron Saint of hopeless causes).. 

Our County's "Growth Management (sic)" staff must consult with experts with our Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County and AMCD's scientists and professionals.  

Every single "development (sic) order" must include a mosquito control plan. Every single one. No excuses. Protection against mosquito-borne diseases must not be a "hopeless cause."

I am running for Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County (Seat 2) in the November 3, 2026 election.  

May I please have the honor of your vote?

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

Box 3084

St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084

www.edslavin.com

http://www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

http://www.staugustgreen.com

(904) 377-4998

Ed Slavin endorsed by former St. Augustine Beach Mayor S. Gary Snodgrass. Thank you, I am honored, sir!

Thank you! I am honored by the October 19, 2026 endorsement on Facebook by beloved former St. Augustine Beach Mayor S. Gary Snodgrass. He wrote "Ed and I may not always agree, but I have never doubted his commitment to doing the work, understanding the issues, and doing what he believes is right. He is a hardworking advocate for mosquito control, open and honest government, and accountability. He listens, speaks plainly, and is willing to hold elected officials responsible to the people they serve. Ed’s commitment to mosquito control is also deeply personal, shaped by what malaria meant for his family. I strongly support his candidacy for the Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County. I hope you will join me in voting for Ed on or before November 3."

Remembering the Holy Thursday Agreement for Historic Preservation (April 13, 2017, updated September 1, 2026)

On September 1, 2026,  I reminded St. Johns County Commissioners of the Holy Thursday agreement. It was within the context of the greedy DAVIS FAMILY's demand to rezone some 4400 acres of land pursuant to a corrupt special interest bill that their louche lobbyists enacted.

 Commissioners rightly voted to seek an injunction. 

At their September 15, 2026 meeting, County Commission voted 3-2 to deny the wealthy, entitled entrenched WINN-WINN-DIXIE DAVIS FAMILY's indecent proposal.  

So let the DAVIS family sue, or request a special magistrate pursuant to F.S. 70.51.  

Everyone who spoke on their proposal can and would be heard before the Special Magistrate. 

The Holy Thursday agreement points the way to a possible compromise and the "just, speedy and inexpensive" determination of this action. 

 As President John Fitzgerald Kennedy said in his Inaugural Address:

 "Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate."

Mediator Terrence Edward Schmidt, a former U.S. Navy weapons officer, who helped Florida Bar disbar F. Lee Bailey..

Big victory in 2017.  

Faster than a speeding dump truck, what we know and love in St. Augustine and St, Johns County is being demolished,  I convinced our Historic Architectural Review Board to declare the 1880 Victorian a local historic landmark.  The City of St. Augustine City Commission affirmed it, 4-1 (Vice Mayor "Odd Todd" Neville, dissenting).  Then the applicant requested a 70.51 mediation.  The historic Victorian, Wisteria House, was saved, from demolition.  Yes we did.  Yes we can!

The 1880 Victorian home on Grenada Street, across from City Hall, was moved and saved.  It is now a restaurant (Lobstah on a Roll) and one or two apartments.  

We, the People triumphed over the formidable feculent fascist forces that seek to destroy our history and nature here in St. Augustine and St. Johns County.   

Longtime locals, including former County Commissioner Isaac Henry Dean, and me, call St. Johns County "God's country."

It takes a village.

I wrote on this blog that day:

IT TAKES A VILLAGE TO SAVE A VILLAGE, AND ONE SPECIAL VICTORIAN

The lovely historic home at 32 Grenada Street will be preserved by mediated settlement, subject to City Commission approval. KUDOS to the participants in today's successful mediation before Terrance Edward Schmidt, including Lee Geanuleas, U.S.N. (Ret.), Melinda Rakoncay, Trey Asner, B.J. Kalaidi, St. Augustine City Manager John Patrick Regan, P.E., Assistant City Attorney Denise May, Planning and Building Director David Birchim, Historic Presevation Director Jenny Wolfe, 32 Grenada Street (now called WISTERIA HOUSE) building owner Louis John Arbizzani and lawyer Sidney Franklyn Ansbacher of Upchurch, Bailey & Upchurch.

The St. Augustine Record was not there. So much for its bragging Palm Sunday house ad, in which it claimed to cover the news in City Hall, while attacking blogs.

I was there, taking copious notes (almost half a legal pad) and helping our City secure the victory for historic preservation.

WISTERIA HOUSE, will be preserved and moved one lot to the south to a lot where the current building has an authorized demolition permit. There will eventually be town homes built on the adjacent lots. The City will not pay to move WISTERIA HOUSE.

The marathon seven hour session was anxiously awaited by local residents who say, "enough is enough" when it comes to preserving and protecting our history and nature in St. Augustine, Florida.

It takes a village to save what County Commission Vice Chair Henry Dean has called "our village."

Today we saved a building. 

Each of the 63+ public interest victories here since June 2005 represents a tribute to the character of our community, and the cooperation of people who love St. Augustine. Like any good diplomats, we will not take "no" as if it were an answer.

From this day forward, our City officials know they are empowered to declare buildings local landmarks, and halt the damn demolition derby perpetrated by the likes of FLAGLER COLLEGE, FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND, and assorted sordid "developers" (read: speculators).

From this blog, from April 20, 2017:

32 Grenada Street, forever declared a local landmark after LOUIS JOHN ARBIZZANI demanded demolition permit

Did you read interesting St. Augustine Record article, five (5) days after our successful mediation preserving 32 Grenada Street (Wisteria House)? Northern Ireland has its "Good Friday Agreement," making the peace among warring tribes of Catholics and Protestants. Will April 13, 2017 go down in history as St. Augustine's "Holy Thursday Agreement," freighted with meaning?  Will the Holy Thursday agreement mark the beginning of true historic preservation, stopping the wrecking crews and demolition derby of our historic homes, nature and culture in the Nation's Oldest City? 

Each of the 63+ public interest victories here since June 2005 represents a tribute to the character of our community, and the cooperation of people who love St. Augustine. Like any good diplomats, we will not take "no" as if it were an answer.

From this day forward, our citizens and City officials know they are empowered to declare buildings local landmarks, and halt the damn demolition derby perpetrated by the likes of FLAGLER COLLEGE, FLORIDA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF AND BLIND, and assorted sordid "developers" (read: speculators).

What do you reckon?


Posted April 18, 2017 12:02 am
By SHELDON GARDNER sheldon.gardner@staugustine.com

Local landmark in St. Augustine to be restored under agreement


The house at 32 Granada St. in St. Augustine, recently named a local landmark, appears to have been saved from destruction.

Attorneys for both the city and John Arbizzani, property owner, met recently to resolve the building’s future. The plan now is for the building to be restored, said Denise May, assistant city attorney.

The main issue had been whether the late 19th century building is historically significant. Some have pointed to its Victorian style and former residents as reasons to keep it.

Arbizzani, whose team contested the building’s significance, wanted to demolish it so he could develop the property, but residents pushed back.

The Historic Architectural Review Board named the building a local landmark in September, which gave board members the option of denying demolition. The City Commission upheld the landmark designation in January.

After that, the city and Arbizzani went into dispute resolution, which avoids a potentially costly court battle.

“The city’s position was to save the structure,” May said. “That was our goal and we met that goal.”

May said complete details about the agreement will be available in a couple of weeks from the special magistrate who oversaw the case, but she shared some highlights. Once the language is fine-tuned, the agreement will go to the City Commission for a vote, she said.

Under the agreement, the house will not only be saved, but also will be restored, she said. The building will be moved to the lot just south so more parking can be developed. Arbizzani will pay for moving the house, May said.

The city plans to create and manage the added parking spaces and take in revenue to cover the cost, she said. The city already leases land from Arbizzani for the parking lot just north of 32 Granada St.

Arbizzani could develop 32 Granada St. into a commercial venture under its zoning of Commercial Low-One. Under the agreement, the city will also defer the cost of utility connection for 10 years, she said.

Spanish Colonial-style townhomes are another option discussed for the site, said Lee Geanuleas, a city resident who attended the dispute resolution meeting.

He voiced concern about the possibility of townhomes and their compatibility with that slice of town. And while he’s also worried about the stability of the house when it is moved, Geanuleas called the agreement a “reasonably good outcome.”

Neither Arbizzani nor his attorney responded to a request for comment.

Of the history that people touted when trying to save the building, artist Antonio Vedovelli was one of the main figures.

Vedovelli retired in St. Augustine and starting painting in the 1920s, developing “a highly personal folk style often described as primitive or naive,” according to a book on Florida paintings called “Reflections” by Garry Libby. His paintings include one of the Ponce de Leon Hotel (now Flagler College) in the 1940s.

An army sergeant who was on his honeymoon bought one of Vedovelli’s paintings, and that connection led Vedovelli to show his work at the Perls Galleries in New York, according to the book.

“Antonio Vedovelli’s reputation soared after the exhibition, allowing him to purchase a large house at 32 Granada Street in St. Augustine,” according to the book.

Melinda Rakoncay, a city resident who also went to the meeting, said she was happy to see the city stand up for the property and its status as a landmark.

“To see our city staff going to bat for [the property], that made me feel really good about the city,” she said.

NASA's Preventable Disasters: Whistleblower Retaliation Caused Them All (Ed Slavin, St. Augustine Record column, February 20, 2003)

October 26, 2026 UPDATE:  I support scientific free speech about potential environmental problems. I would be honored to be your government watchdog on our Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County, seat 2. Scientists should not be harassed or forced to clean toilets at AMCD. Please vote for me on or before November 3, 2026.

April 29, 2026 blog post: Some NASA Houston space flight engineers told me that stopped watching Space Shuttle launches after the Challenger Disaster in 1986, knowing that NASA's retaliatory, lax, lazy, mendacious authoritarian management could do it again.  And they did.  It did happen again in 2003.  NASA is increasingly outsourcing our manned space programs to piratical billionaires like JEFF BEZOS and ELON MUSK.  Will they respect workplace free speech rights?  You tell me.  From St. Augustine Record: 

NASA's Preventable Disasters: Whistleblower Retaliation Caused Them All (St. Augustine Record column by Ed Slavin, 2003)

During the 1990s, I was honored to represent the first two (2) environmental whistleblowers at the NASA Johnson Space Center in their U.S. Department of Labor whistleblower actions.  

For insights into "root cause analysis" or "lessons learned," here is my February 20, 2003 St. Augustine Record column about NASA's two (2) fatal Space Shuttle disasters, made possible by NASA's hostile working environment toward protected activity and its lack of a safety culture. 

From St. Augustine Record: 

NASA's Preventable Disasters: Whistleblower Retaliation Caused Them All (St. Augustine Record column by Ed Slavin, 2003)

Letter: Shuttle whistle-blower retaliation is root cause
Edward A. Slavin Jr.
St. Augustine
Published Thursday, February 20, 2003
Editor: America's second space shuttle disaster could have been prevented if "whistle blowers" were heeded and protected from retaliation by managers.

Now NASA has appointed yet another panel to investigate itself. As the song asks, "When will they ever learn?"

NASA ignored warnings about tile failure for decades because "NASA family" and contractor employees fear to speak out about safety, fearing retaliation. The New York Times reports that NASA fired safety advisory panel members and consultants criticizing budget cuts as unsafe. The Presidential Challenger Commission found NASA's culture chilled free speech rights the same as cold temperatures chilled the O-rings. NASA ignored numerous disaster warnings and cut safety. At the Johnson Space Center, many engineers did not watch space shuttle launches since Challenger, because they feared it could happen again. The Columbia 7 deaths are sadly rooted in a dysfunctional management culture that retaliates against whistle blowers and helped cause the Challenger disaster. NASA exacts an oath of "omerta" on raising concerns.

Secretive, authoritarian managers destroy the careers of too many ethical employees like Morton Thiokol engineer Roger Boisjoly and colleagues, who warned against the O-ring problem that caused the Challenger to blow up on launch in 1986.

Johnson Space Center banned one shuttle whistle blower from Johnson Space Center property, issuing a gag order against speaking to NASA employees about concerns about toxic chemical residues in shuttle cabin air. Rather than investigating risks to shuttle astronauts from chemicals and ill-sterilized medical hardware, the Johnson Space Center medical "investigation" concentrated on "Ancestry of Quotes," identifying the source of the inspector general complaint through text analysis. NASA Administrator Dan Goldin did nothing to remedy NASA's hostile working environment. The Johnson Space Center director was later promoted to be assistant secretary of energy in charge of Department of Energy's environmental cleanup.

NASA fought Department of Labor environmental whistle-blower jurisdiction. Chilling effects continued amid its smokescreen of "hardball" delay tactics. Another NASA manager was later suspended without pay for 15 days in another whistle-blower case, but too many retaliatory managers who destroy whistle blowers' careers get promoted.

Current laws do not adequately protect whistle blowers. In 1993, the Department of Labor inspector general found delays were ordered by several secretaries of labor. Last year the third circuit federal appeals court found it "completely inexplicable" why the Department of Labor took 13 years to adjudicate one simple nuclear whistle-blower case, while the law allows 90 days.

Citing the Challenger disaster, in February 1990 the American Bar Association recommended protecting all corporate, federal, state and local government whistle blowers from discrimination, with a federal administrative remedy. In our complex technological society, too many of us are required to agree with the boss or be fired. Whistle-blower laws remain a patchwork with loopholes, though a 2002 law is a positive step to protect some corporate whistle blowers. All must be protected from workplace retaliation and guaranteed freedom of conscience.

Let's free the "mind slaves," ending what Lincoln might have called "Idolatry that practices human sacrifice."

Slavin family values -- putting people first

On June 6, 1944, my late paratrooper Father parachuted into France and helped liberate the first French town from the Nazis, before the sun even rose that day.  

My Dad taught me, as JFK's dad taught me him, that "you have to stand up to people with power, or else they walk all over you."

In his spirit, my Mother helped organize the employees of Camden County College in Blackwood, N.J. into what became International Union of Electrical Workers Local 440.  Mom got some 40 union cards signed in an hour in 1970.  The clerical and custodial employees prevailed.  

One of my law professors in Memphis told a mutual friend that I was a "natural born attorney."  My Mother said, "I always knew you were an S.O.B."

My late mentor, the Honorable Nahum Litt, was the Chief Administrative Law Judge of the United Staes Department of Labor, 1979-1995.  

Chief Judge Litt stood like Horatius at the bridge, protecting the independence of hearings in whistleblower and in workers compensation cases for Black Lung disease sufferers from the coalfields.

Judge Litt helped me to understand. We worked to understand administrative law's perversion of justice by rich and powerful corporations.  

I later wrote about ACUS for Common Cause Magazine.  In response, Congress defunded a federal agency from 1995-2010: the prestigious Administrative Conference of the United States lost funding because it wasted federal tax dollars on worthless studies by pro-agency law professors.  ACUS sought to inflict Alternative Dispute Resolution on workers and corporations. ACUS sought to defang and declaw the Freedom of Information Act.  ACUS sought to stifle lawyer representation of workers in cases against powerful employers, while encouraging non-lawyer representatives. 

My Mother, my Father, and Chief Judge Litt taught me valuable lessons. 

Here in St. Johns County, we're learning what happens when soulless corporations control and contaminate our governments.  

Deforestation. 

Flooding.  

Unplanned overdevelopment. 

Overcrowded schools with hundreds of unsafe portable classrooms. 

Since 1981, I've investigated and helped expose corruption in our country.

 I've lived in St. Augustine since November 5, 1999. 

We've seen the murder of a Sheriff deputy's girlfriend reported in The New York Times and PBS Frontline, 

My Mother had decades of experience in purchasing for Camden County College and corporations like F.W. Woolworth.

 

When I learned that our Mosquito Control Commission bought a $1.8 million no-bid helicopter, I asked my Mother if she would buy a helicopter withoutn competitive bidding: "absolutely not."  

Working with the late Robin Nadeau, John Sundeman,Jeanne Moeller, Don Girvan,  and other community leaders, 

We, the People helped persuade our Mosquito Control District to cancel the no-bid contract.  Taxpayers won a full refund of our MCD's 10% deposit. 

Chief Judge Litt was tight as a tick with government money. Judge Litt taught me that any government budget can be cut by 10%. Here in St. Johns County, we have a $4.5 million mosquito museum, with 41% cost overruns. There's too much waste in government. 

Mosquito-borne diseases kill one million people annually.  My Father was bitten by a mosquito in Sicily in 1943 as an 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper.  

I believe in miracles. They called me a "miracle baby."

Likely due to my Father's suffering from malaria, it took my patents a dozen years, praying to Saint Jude, (patron Saint of hopeless causes), before they were able to have their only child (me).   Mom said the chances of my being born were less than one in 100,000.

We, the People, have achieved dozens of public interest victories here in the 21st century. 

We can control pestiferous mosquitoes.

We can conquer corruption. 

Yes we can!

Help me help you save money and save lives. 

I would be honored to have your vote to serve on the board of the Anastasia Mosquito Control Commission, seat 2

Vote on or before November 3, 2026.

Thank you.

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

Box 3084

St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084

www.edslavin.com

http://www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

http://www.staugustgreen.com

(904) 377-4998   

Ed Slavin response to Sierra Club on Anastasia Mosquito Control of St. Johns County Board Race (2024)

Here's my response to the March 2024 Sierra Club questionnaire re: Mosquito  Control Commission;

Good evening:

Thank you for your patience!  Excellent questions. 

Questionnaire to Candidates for St. Johns County 

County Commission 2024

Please provide answers to the following questions below, or on a separate sheet:

1. On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 1 being the least important and 10 being the most important), where do

environmental issues rate when compared to other critical issues facing St. Johns County and

Northeast Florida? Please include a brief explanation of your rating.

Most important: 10.  Our frail planet, our city, county, state and nation are all threatened by pollution and climate change. Overdevelopment is destroying our quality of life.

2. What are the most significant environmental issues and challenges in St. Johns County? 

* Proposed St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore deserves our County's support.  First proposed by the Mayor of St. Augustine, Walter Fraser, both U.S. Senators and our Congressman in 1939, this is an idea whose time has come.  https://cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com/2023/10/support-st-augustine-national.html

* Developers demanding to be free of fair impact fees.  

* Secretive PACs and campaign contributions, corruption and conflict of interest. Corruption, as Al Gore wrote in 1992, in Earth in the Balance, often leads to environmental devastation.  

* Proposed 25 ideas for local government reform in 2022, one (1) heeded (County Sheriff body-worn cameras and dashboard cameras, long opposed by Sheriff David Shoar). County Commission has STILL not responded to 25 suggestions on government reform. Why not?

County Commission has STILL not responded to 25 suggestions on governmen... Our County Commissioners lack a welcoming spirit. Developers rule. Citizen concerns are ignored. That's why Kri...

+ Support meritocracy amidst one-party rule by mediocrities in St. Johns County Commission

+ Positive can-do spirit has contributed to dozens of local victories.  Don't Be Discouraged by Yul Nivver, Spouting "You'll Never" -- American History Teaches That Yul Nivver is Nearly Always Wrong!

Don't Be Discouraged by Yul Nivver, Spouting "You'll Never" -- American ... Updated January 27, 2024: Developer puppets, unjust stewards and corporate cat's paws voted 3-2 against stopp...

3. What actions have you taken in the past to demonstrate your concern or interest regarding our environment?

 

1. Opposing corporate welfare for developers. See ANOTHER VICTORY: LANDSLIDE DEFEATS DEVIOUS DEVELOPERS' PITIFUL "PENNY PLAN," A "RAPE OF THE TAXPAYER" -- 63% of VOTERS REJECT 15% SALES TAX INCREASE
   

   
   
2. Helping end pelagic whaling of endangered sperm whales by promoting development of jojoba oil seed crops, an exact duplicate for the oil of the sperm whale. The market system worked. (Working as intern and staffer for Senator Ted Kennedy, 1974-76).  
   
3. Helping defeat coal slurry pipeline eminent domain legislation in U.S House of Representatives, helping preserve and protect precious scarce water from Madison Formation aquifer.  (11,500 word Crossroads Magazine (formerly Coal Patrol) investigative article, inserted into Congressional Record by U.S. Rep. Joe Skubitz, Republican of Kansas, except for parts on campaign finance).  July 19, 1978: House Defeated Coal Slurry Pipeline Eminent Domain Legislation
   
   

   July 19, 1978: House Defeated Coal Slurry Pipeline Eminent Domain Legisl... It was 44 years ago: activists defeated coal slurry pipeline eminent domain legislation in the U.S. House of Rep...
   
   
   
   
4. Exposing U.S. Tennessee Valley Authority purchasing and policies that encouraged steep slope strip-mining, corruption, coal quality fraud, antitrust violations and and conflicts of interest. With support from Fund for Investigative Journalism, helped secure GAO investigation verifying  concerns of Appalachian activists, led by Save Our Cumberland Mountains.  TVA's Coal Procurement Practices--More Effective Management Needed
   
   

   TVA's Coal Procurement Practices--More Effective Management Needed Because the coal purchases of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) have a major impact on its costs and power ra...
   
   
   
   
5. Winning declassification of world's largest mercury pollution event (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) and testifying about it in Congressional investigation.  July 11, 1983: Al Gore's Mercury Pollution Hearing in Oak Ridge, Tennessee -- Largest Mercury Pollution Event in World History (4.2 Million Pounds). 



July 11, 1983: Al Gore's Mercury Pollution Hearing in Oak Ridge, Tenness... 40 years ago today. Members of Congress wanted answers, or at least then-Rep. Al Gore and some others acted like...




6. Security clearance reforms protecting environmental, nuclear anjd other whistleblowers, and LGBTQ, people working for federal agencies and government contractors.  Helped win American Bar Association House of Delegates vote in February 1990, endorsing security clearance reforms that were implemented under President Clinton, halting a proposed Bush Executive Order that would have erased rights to fair hearings and due process.
7. Environmental whistleblower law victories and precedents at U.S.Department of Labor, including landmark whistleblower case protecting federal environmental crimes investigators against retaliation for recusals or refusing to coverup wrongdoing.  FBI, HUD, EPA Senior Special Agent Robert E. Tyndall (Ret.), R.I.P.
   
   

   FBI, HUD, EPA Senior Special Agent Robert E. Tyndall (Ret.), R.I.P. 1. I am heartbroken. My heart goes out to the entire Tyndall family and to all of Bob's many friends and former ...
   
   
   
   
8. Exposed intimidation of nuclear weapons plant whistleblowers. February 5, 1992
   
   

   February 5, 1992 Time flies. It was 32 years ago: On February 5, 1992, I was up early in the Northeast Washington, D.C. arctic co...
   
   
   
   
9. Questioned aerial pesticide spraying program and winning reversal of illegal, no-bid SJC Mosquito Control Board purchase of $1.8 million luxury Bell Jet helicopter unadorned by nozzles, tanks, pilots, hangar or any plans for aerial spraying, winning 100% refund of deposit.
   
10. Defeat of multiple unwise development projects in St. Augustine and St. Johns County,
11. Adoption of employee whistleblower policy and sexual orientation nondiscrimination policies for Anastasia Mosquito Control District of St. Johns County. 
12. Successfully reported City of St. Augustine illegally dumping a landfill in a lake to National Response Center, resulting in fines and consent decree, after City Manager William B. Harriss had said he would not agree to put the contaminated solid waste in a Class I landfill without a court order.  2008 Folio Weekly cover story by Anne Schindler called me an "environmental hero."
13. Reported City of St. Augustine illegal sewage pollution to National Response Center, resulting in fines and consent decree.
14. Helped elect Nancy Shaver as in St. Augustine Mayor and Krista Keating-Joseph as County Commissioner, defeating pro-developer incumbents. 
15. Helping secure preservation of historic iconic Fish Island as city park with state funds, rejecting proposed ruinous development by D.R. Horton, with fifty (50) witnesses, including former St. Augustine Beach Mayor Sherman Gary Snodgrass.

4. What organizations do you belong to? 

1000 Friends of Florida

National Trust for Historic Preservation

Democratic Party

St. Augustine Historical Society

Fort Mose Historic Society

Florida Historical Society

Sierra Club

Investigative Reporters and Editors  

American Assn. For Advancement of Science  

Florida Adventures in Railroading

WJCT

5. What is your position and suggested solution on these key issues affecting our county?   

- Climate change and sea level rise

+ Support federal, state and local legislation to preserve and protect us from carbon and methane pollution, protect our coasts and wetlands, promote biodiversity, restore balance,

+ Support County's acceptance of federal grants on climate change. 

+ Oppose Florida Governors' attacks on environmental protection, with frequent blog posts.

www,cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

+ Support a St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore. Spoke to every St. Johns County Legislative Delegation meeting since 2006 on National Park and Seashore.

- Growth management and development

+ Strongly support reform of our Land Development Code as we know it.  

+ We must have fair hearings, with full disclosures, lobbyist registration, expert testimony, cross-examination of all witnesses and background investigations of developers.  

+ Are our current local and state procedures are a honky-tonk medley of "regulatory capture," farce and kabuki dance?

+ James Madison wrote, "A popular Government, without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves with the power which knowledge gives. "

+ Affordable housing: we must reject "snob zoning," and allow duplexes and other auziliary dwellling units, preserving land and advancing affordable housing. 

+ We must adopt a Public Housing Agency.

+ We must comply with Fair Housing Act.

+ Let's start by re-writing our LDC and quasi-judicial hearing procedures.

+ For transparency, Commissioners must never meet with zoning applicants ex parte.  

+ St. Augustine Mayor Nancy Shaver refused such meetings during her 1550 days as Mayor (making an exception when an applicant was allegedly being treated unfairly).

+ What kind of administrative judicial system lets zoning applicants meet secretly with elected officials?

+  Reject this corrupt system and will not be embroiled by it. 

+ We must require fuller corporate disclosure and better data. 

+ Require background investigations on zoning applicants -- know your customer! 

+ Are any zoning applicants involved in money-laundering,  

+ Environmental violations by zoning applicants must be researched by County staff and discussed publly in hearings.

+ We need full information on ex parte contacts with Commissioners, disclosed before hearings.

+ All ex parte meetings with Commissioners and staff must be videotaped and made a public record.  

+ As Daniel Patrick Moynihan said, "Secrey is for losers, for people who don't understand the value of the information.

- Trees and the proposed 14 point tree ordinance

+ Support proposed tree protection ordinance and spoke in favor of it, as did dozens of residents.  

+ I objected to four Commissioners' harsh response to First Amendment protected activity, evident retaliation against reform Commissioner Krista Joseph..

- Management of traffic and infrastructure

+ Support transit, impact fees and reform of zoning and planning as we know it.

- Septic tanks

+ Explore ban on new septic tanks in new construction

+ Monitor septic tank inspections and code enforcement.

6. What is your motivation for running to be a County Commissioner?

+ My first American ancestor escaped the British government-caused Irish potato famine in 1849, immigrating to Philadelphia with Irish neighbors at age six, the rest of her family died in famine.  My father taught me, as JFK's father taught him, that "if you don't stand up to people in power, they walk all over you."   JFK was killed 22 days after I proudly wore a JFK costume on Halloween, at age six. At age 17.5, I went to work for his brother, Sen. Ted Kennedy, the day before my first Georgetown class, inspired after hearing Ralph Nader speak on August 28, 1974 (Feast of St. Augustine).   

Love this magical place. We need to preserve what we know and love, with National Park Service help.  http://www.staugustgreen.com 

Moved here November 5, 1999, after falling in love with St. Augustine when we visited in August 1992, right after first environmental whistleblower trial against Oak Ridge National Laboratory.  

Faster than a speeding dump truck, what we love about St. Johns County is being destroyed. 

7. If you are elected or re-elected, what initiatives would you introduce or promote to protect the environment of St. Johns County?

* St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore

* Environmental Regulatory Commission.

* Independent environmental impact statements for government project, as under NEPA.

* Lobbyist registration and background investigations.

* Video of every County Commissioner "ex parte' meeting with putative "developers."

* County whistleblower protection ordinance

* Reform zoning and planning as we know it. 

Thank you. 

With kindest regards, I am,

Sincerely yours,

Ed Slavin

Box 3084

St. Augustine, Florida 32085-3084

www.edslavin.com

http://www.cleanupcityofstaugustine.blogspot.com

http://www.staugustgreen.com

(904) 377-4998