1. Not only does "conservative" State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson support fracking -- she's ok with hard liquor in grocery stores. In April 2017, State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson reportedly "took a walk" while the legislature was voting on legalizing hard liquor sales in grocery stories. http://www.jacksonville.com/news/florida/2017-04-26/despite-passage-controversy-hangs-over-liquor-wall-bill
2. NO appointment book information, GPS data or other government document has been provided in response to Open Records requests on GPS location when the vote took place -- wonder why? (Bill passed by one vote margin, with Rep. Stevenson absent -- Governor's veto upheld). Negative "Profile in Courage" by taking a walk?
3. During the vote to legalize hard liquor sales in grocery stores, where was Rep. Cyndi Stevenson?
4. Was Rep. Stevenson present in her office meeting with constituents?
5. Or was she busily, working with "craft distilleries," whose bill she championed and won enactment of during the same 2017 legislative session?
6. Was she at a lobbyist's lair, like the exclusive "Governor's Club" (whose rules emphatically state: NO REPORTERS ALLOWED)?
7. Rep. Cyndi Stevenson and her local staff are indifferent to normal legislative constituent casework duties, e.g. assisting St. Johns County residents with Open Records requests to state agencies.
8. Rep. Cyndi Stevenson is all for the devious, clear-cutting "developers," and NOT for the People, or nature.
9. For eleven years, from 2004 to 2015, as a County Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson was a developer cat's paw County Commissioner, the last of those elected after being vetted by "THE ISSUES GROUP" (controversial Jacksonville developers front group chaired by St. Johns County Sheriff Neil Perry's wife Syd), Sad.
10. As Commissioner, Cyndi Stevenson was part of the all-Republican St. Johns County Commission wrecking crew that rubber-stamped hundreds of dodgy, deceptive Comprehensive Plan Amendments and rezonings for LLC front company developers, whose actual beneficial owners are NEVER disclosed.
11. Voters rue the day when St. Johns County became a one-party Republican fiefdom -- one where lobbyists even submarined modest St. Johns County lobbying registration ordinance.
12. Ms. Jaime Perkins deserves our support -- she is a breath of fresh air!
West Augustine resident Jaime Perkins challenges incumbent Cyndi Stevenson for state house
Cyndi Stevenson
HIDE CAPTION
Jaime Perkins
By Sheldon Gardner
Posted Sep 5, 2018 at 6:25 PM
Updated at 6:43 AM
St. Augustine Record
State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson has one challenger in November: A no-party affiliation candidate with long ties to West Augustine.
Jaime Perkins, 34, said she’s aware of the long odds in challenging Stevenson, a former County Commissioner, in the Nov. 6 election. But she said the timing seemed right.
“I know it’s a red district. I know the numbers are not completely in my favor,” Perkins said. “However, I’m optimistic, and I feel like I’m a real contender. ... I think people are ready to have some real change.”
St. Johns County is dominated by Republican voters and is part of two Florida House districts. District 17 covers most of middle and northern St. Johns County.
District 24 covers southern St. Johns County. The race for District 24 is another match-up between incumbent Rep. Paul Renner, a Republican and attorney from Palm Coast, and Adam Morley, a Democrat and environmental advocate from St. Johns County. Morley has unsuccessfully challenged Renner in the past two elections for that seat.
Perkins owns JDP & Associates, a business consulting firm, and has a master’s degree in public administration, she said. She has worked for the steering committee for the West Augustine Community Redevelopment Area, which uses tax revenue to improve the neighborhood.
Stevenson, 58, is a certified public accountant who lives in Northwest St. Johns County. She was elected to the St. Johns County Commission in 2004 and was elected to the State House in a special election in April 2015. She has since been re-elected to the District 17 seat.
She’s served on several State House committees, including the Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee, Health Quality Subcommittee and the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee.
Stevenson and Perkins differ on at least some issues.
Perkins supports raising the state’s minimum wage by 75 cents in 2019 and by $1 a year in the the following five years, according to her website. The current state minimum wage is $8.25.
“I think it’s of the utmost importance to the benefit of the economy,” she said. “Our income definitely should be rising with the cost of living, and it isn’t.”
Stevenson said she doesn’t support hiking Florida’s minimum wage, and she said that the state regularly increases the minimum wage.
The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity calculates the state’s minimum wage each year based on “the federal Consumer Price Index for southern ‘urban wage earners and clerical workers’” over the prior year, according to the Sun Sentinel. The state’s minimum wage rose from $8.10 to $8.25 an hour on Jan. 1, according to the article.
Hiking the minimum wage could discourage employers from hiring as many entry-level workers, which would make it harder for some people to get jobs, Stevenson said. Raising minimum wage could also encourage further automation of lower-skilled labor, she said.
Both candidates are focused on the environment, but they differ on some details.
Perkins supports more proactive work on sea level rise. She’s also against fracking and oil exploration in general near Florida.
Stevenson said she support more research and planning to make infrastructure tougher against storms and flooding.
She voted for a fracking-related bill in 2016, which failed to become law. The bill would have allowed hydraulic fracturing (a controversial process of exploring for oil and gas deposits) only after rules had been adopted based on a $1 million Florida Department of Environmental Protection study. The study would have focused on the impact of fracking and how chemicals would be disposed.
Some fracking is allowed under state law if the FDEP reviews and approves it for safety, but no one has applied to do so in Florida, according to FDEP Communications Director Lauren Engel.
Stevenson said she voted not for fracking, but to study the issue so the state could better regulate or defend against fracking.
“My whole goal ... is to protect Florida’s natural resources,” Stevenson said. “It is my understanding that it is currently legal and that it is not properly regulated and that we don’t have the facts to say, ‘If you drill here it jeopardizes public safety.’”
A couple of other key topics are on the agenda for Perkins.
She supports tighter gun restrictions on high-powered firearms, and she said supports legalizing marijuana for recreational use.
“Civil citations vs. criminal infractions for simple possession of marijuana can help to reduce crime and crime rates,” Perkins says on her website.
Stevenson said she hasn’t considered legalization of recreational marijuana.
She also isn’t supporting any further gun control for now, she said.
“I think we need to work on the gang violence issues and some of the other sources of violence,” she said.
Stevenson said one of her primary focuses is getting more funding for mental health or substance abuse issues, including supportive housing.
Among other things, Stevenson has supported state funding for a team of psychiatrists, nurses and other professionals who provide outpatient care to some of the most mentally ill people in Putnam and St. Johns counties.
Comments
Edward Adelbert Slavin
1. Not only does other-directed conservative Republican State Rep. Cynid Stevenson support fracking -- she's ok with selling hard liquor in grocery stores. In April 2017, State Rep. Cyndi Stevenson reportedly "took a walk" while the legislature was voting on legalizing hard liquor sales in grocery stories. http://www.jacksonville.com/news/florida/2017-04-26/despite-passage-controversy-hangs-over-liquor-wall-bill
2. NO appointment book information, GPS data or other government document has been provided in response to Open Records requests on GPS location when the vote took place -- wonder why? (Bill passed by one vote margin, with Rep. Stevenson absent -- Governor's veto upheld). Negative "Profile in Courage" by taking a walk?
3. During the vote to legalize hard liquor sales in grocery stores, where was Rep. Cyndi Stevenson?
4. Was Rep. Stevenson present in her office meeting with constituents?
5. Or was she busily, working with "craft distilleries," whose bill she championed and won enactment of during the same 2017 legislative session?
6. Was she at a lobbyist's lair, like the exclusive "Governor's Club" (whose rules emphatically state: NO REPORTERS ALLOWED)?
7. Rep. Cyndi Stevenson and her local staff are indifferent to normal legislative constituent casework duties, e.g. assisting St. Johns County residents with Open Records requests to state agencies.
8. Rep. Cyndi Stevenson is all for the devious, clear-cutting "developers," and NOT for the People, or nature.
9. For eleven years, from 2004 to 2015, as a County Commissioner Cyndi Stevenson was a developer cat's paw County Commissioner, the last of those elected after being vetted by "THE ISSUES GROUP" (controversial Jacksonville developers front group chaired by St. Johns County Sheriff Neil Perry's wife Syd), Sad.
10. As Commissioner, Cyndi Stevenson was part of the all-Republican St. Johns County Commission wrecking crew that rubber-stamped hundreds of dodgy, deceptive Comprehensive Plan Amendments and rezonings for LLC front company developers, whose actual beneficial owners are NEVER disclosed.
11. Voters rue the day when St. Johns County became a one-party Republican fiefdom -- one where lobbyists even submarined modest St. Johns County lobbying registration ordinance.
12. Ms. Jaime Perkins deserves our support -- she is a breath of fresh air!
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