Seraphin seeks Errol Jones' seat

Seraphin seeks Errol Jones' seat



By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 05/18/08


Judith Seraphin, a Lincolnville resident known for her dislike of City Hall, announced Saturday she will run against incumbent City Commissioner Errol Jones in the upcoming election.

"Our City Hall is an embarrassment to us all and it is time for a major change," Seraphin said in written statement to The Record. "Working together, we can restore democracy, decency and dignity to City Hall."

Seraphin, 66, moved with her husband, Tony, to St. Augustine from Philadelphia four years ago. She is owner of GlobalWrap.Com, a construction company that works on structures especially after disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina.

In the last two years, the Serpaphins took center stage during a conflict with the city over illegally dumped landfill material. In 2005, the city took dirt from an old landfill site on Riberia Street, near the Seraphins' home, and dumped it into a water-filled borrow pit on Holmes Boulevard. That violated state Department of Environmental Protection rules. The DEP fined the city and told it to remove the waste.

The city complied.

But when the city planned to return the material to the Riberia site, the Seraphins said no.

They filed a petition with Environmental Protection against the city's plan and the project was frozen while the state investigated the project.

The city has since changed its plan and is now taking the material to a landfill in Nassau County.

Judith Seraphin said it's wrong that the city doesn't listen to constituents and that residents "have to fight City Hall to get anything done."

"People feel pretty helpless," she said. "I'd like to make a change on that."

She will run against Jones for Seat 1, a four-year position.

Jones also lives in Lincolnville and was born and raised in St. Augustine, which "counts for something," he said. He has been a commissioner for six years.

"I have a good understanding of my constituents. I didn't just move here," Jones said. "I've been part of history here ... I think I've represented my district very well."

Judith Seraphin has also run three bed and breakfast inns in other areas and owns an art gallery in Philadelphia. For the past year, she has been vice president of the Lincolnville Neighborhood Association. She has three children, four stepchildren and eight grandchildren.




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