Judith Seraphin advocates transparency, involvement

Judith Seraphin advocates transparency, involvement



By KATI BEXLEY
kati.bexley@staugustine.com
Publication Date: 10/16/08


Lincolnville resident Judith Seraphin is known for her disdain of City Hall, and she is running for a City Commission seat "because the public deserves better."

Seraphin, 66, is vying for a four-year term on City Commission Seat 1 against incumbent Commissioner Errol Jones. Both live in the historic downtown St. Augustine neighborhood Lincolnville and disagree on many issues affecting that area.

"Nobody rattles cages (here)," she said. "People say, 'But we've always done it that way.' Maybe there's a better way to do it, maybe not. But we need to look at our options."

Seraphin 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.

She said the public doesn't trust the City Commission or the city manager.

She wants an independent audit of the city's finances so there is more transparency. She said the city uses "peanut butter accounting," meaning when a department has surplus money staff skims some off the top and spreads it into departments lacking money.

"You can never tell how much money a department or the city really has," Seraphin said. "That is especially important with the economy now. They need to scrutinize every penny they're spending."

If elected, Seraphin said she will use the money she makes as a commissioner -- roughly $15,000 -- to hire an assistant. That person will be stationed at her office located in Lincolnville and any city resident who has a problem can log their complaint there.

"If I don't have the answer, I'll tell them that. But I will get back to them with the answer," she said. "Right now people don't feel like they can trust (city staff and the City Commission). They want someone they can turn to."

She decided to run for the commission after fighting City Hall for the last two years.

The Seraphins 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.

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.

"I love this city, and it has so much potential," she said. "I think there's so much more the city could be doing."


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