Keating-Joseph says family, desire for change and hard work fueled primary upset. (SAR)

I still believe in a place called Hope.

Hoping for improved coverage of local corruption led by new St. Augustine Record Executive Editor John Dunbar. 

Good article in this morning's St. Augustine Record:

Keating-Joseph says family, desire for change and hard work fueled primary upset

Krista Keating-Joseph talked with The Record in the wake of her Republican primary victory over a well-funded incumbent

Bt Sheldon Gardner, St. Augustine Record

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Krista Keating-Joseph said it took long days, tenacity and creative thinking to fuel her Republican primary victory over St. Johns County Commissioner Jeremiah Blocker, who had much more funding backing him than she did.

The combination of hard work on the part of herself, her family and the campaign crew tapped into the community's upset over growth and development and residents' desire for change, she said in an interview with The Record days after her slim victory.

"I felt in my heart that I was going to win," she said. 

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Keating-Joseph, of Ponte Vedra Beach, is all but guaranteed a spot on the commission now because she faces write-in candidate Michael Lanza in the general election, who will only have a blank line on the ballot in November. He's raised $0, according to the supervisor of elections. 

Meanwhile, Blocker raised $292,118 to Keating-Joseph's $26,160, according to the supervisor of elections. Blocker spent $256,812.28 of his funds, while Keating-Joseph spent $20,093.84

Keating-Joseph beat Blocker by 175 votes out of 37,635 votes cast in the race, according to the supervisor of elections. Blocker conceded before a state-mandated machine recount on Saturday.

“It has been my honor to serve the citizens of SJC as the commissioner from District 4 over the last four years,” Blocker said in a letter to Supervisor of Elections Vicky Oakes. “With all of the ballots now officially accounted for, it appears my campaign has come up short. Therefore, I am not seeking a recount in my race for St. Johns County Commission District 4. I appreciate the hard work of the elections staff during this cycle.”

'Unbridled growth' a concern in St. Johns

Keating-Joseph launched her campaign on St. Patrick's Day, posing for a photo outside of the supervisor of elections office with her husband, Ron Joseph, and Ali, their daughter. 

She cast herself as the candidate who would be tougher and smarter on proposed development than Blocker. 

In her response to The Record's candidate survey, she said her top concern was "unbridled growth."

"My opponent, Commissioner Blocker, approved 71 out of 73 new developments (on previously undeveloped land) his first three years (Dec. 4, 2018 to Dec. 21, 2021). That’s an excessive rate of growth which is harming our quality of life – particularly that of our children," she wrote.

In her response, she said she is opposed to a sales tax increase, which Blocker supported adding to the November ballot to help fund infrastructure projects. She also pointed to his support of "the 5,600-home SilverLeaf Expansion despite overwhelming opposition to it, and despite county staff warning that it would adversely impact 19 major roads. The voice of the people will guide me if I am elected – not just the voices of developers."

Blocker did not respond to messages for comment.

A family affair for Keating-Joseph's campaign

With much less money in hand than Blocker, and never having campaigned for public office, Keating-Joseph looked for any place that might bring a large gathering of people to spread the word about her candidacy, she said. She also had to think about the entire county because county commissioners are elected countywide instead of by district. 

Her efforts included attending farmers markets and carrying campaign signs while participating in local runs. Ali, 17, participated, too, even wearing campaign bumper stickers on her T-shirt during a run. 

"I was just trying to do things that were out of the box," Keating-Joseph said.

As for her husband, an orthopedic surgeon, he would get up well before dawn to place campaign signs, and he'd watch throughout his days for crowded places to hold a campaign sign, he said. 

"If there was a corner with a traffic jam, I parked my car, got out and started waving, and in St. Johns County, you can find a traffic jam anywhere," Ron Joseph said. 

One of her five children couldn't be with her to celebrate her victory. Her son Charlie died in 2016 in a firefight with ISIS while serving as a Navy SEAL, according to her campaign website. She wrote a book series about him. 

He has been on her mind during the campaign, she said. 

"I have felt him with me from day one to today," Keating-Joseph said. 

Beyond the family, Keating-Joseph described the campaign as a community effort led by a tight circle, including her campaign manager Jackie LeBlanc. 

"We had a great candidate," LeBlanc said. "We put together a great team. And I think probably the third thing that really was on our side a lot … there's just total dissatisfaction with the current board of county commissioners and how they vote consistently to approve overdevelopment."

Keating-Joseph, who has lived in St. Johns County for about 10 years, served on the Citrus County Hospital Board after former Gov. Rick Scott appointed her to the position. 

Assuming she beats the write-in candidate on Nov. 8, she will be sworn in on Nov. 15. 

In addition to slowing growth and putting more pressure on developers to cover the costs of infrastructure impacts, Keating-Joseph said on her campaign website she will focus on discouraging clear-cutting of trees, increasing salaries for starting first responders, maintaining beaches and preserving more green space. 

In the meantime, there's more work to be done. 

"I'm just going to kind of keep out there and talking to people. Other than that, I'm really going to take the time to catch up on what is going on out there that's coming up to the Board of County Commission meeting in November so that I'm ready to go," she said. 

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