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FROM REPUBLICAN COUNTY COMMISSION, SEAT 5 CANDIDATE ANN TAYLOR'S WEBPAGE, 3:20 PM, JULY 26, 2024
Together, We Can
Take Back Our County.
Ready To Lead St. Johns County With Heart, Vision, And Determination
I’m Ann Taylor, mother of two teenage sons who currently attend St. Johns County schools; they are the inspiration for my candidacy, as our schools struggle to keep up with our county’s unbridled growth. A top priority of mine as County Commissioner will be to responsibly manage the growth and ensure that we have a safe, supportive, and nurturing environment for our children.
My husband Jeff is my rock, and I’m grateful to have him by my side on this journey to help take back our county from developer-driven government and the impacts it’s had on quality of life, county-wide.
I am honored to have the endorsement of Commissioner Krista Joseph. For us to have a majority on the board representing residents, not developers, we need at least two more commissioners who will vote to slow the growth and govern our county, free of financial pressure from developer interests.
I am ready to be one of those commissioners, and I hope I can count on your vote.
It’s over for commissioners who can’t stop hitting the YES button for development.
Together, we can vote out Commissioner Henry Dean who voted YES to developing undeveloped land EVERY SINGLE TIME, for three straight years.* My expected opponent in District 5, Henry Dean then started voting NO on some developments in anticipation of the upcoming election.
Click HERE to download Henry Dean’s first five-year voting record on development of undeveloped land.
Re-elect him and watch his development votes skyrocket again. Commissioner Dean also spearheaded a referendum for a 15% higher sales tax, and he pushed it hard. He is not a fiscal conservative, which I am. I am opposed to new taxes.
Fortunately, Dean’s sales tax was defeated in a landslide vote. But we have no control over his development approvals. Time and again, he has ignored opposition to developments that are overburdening our infrastructure.
When elected, I will vote with Commissioner Joseph, who endorses me, to slow down the growth of St. Johns County.
Over 600 portable classrooms countywide (and growing) while our quality of education is declining.
St. Johns County schools are no longer ranked #1 in the state.
It’s time to focus on the quality of life of people who live here now.
I have two teenage sons in public school, both very impacted by the overcrowding, and I decided to do something about it.
First, I did my homework.
And here’s what I learned is the root of the problems with our schools: our development-happy commissioners. St. Johns County has the highest income by school district of any county in the state. Our average income is $88,794 per year which is $11,000 more than the next highest income ranked county.
Now guess what our county’s rank is for spending on elementary and secondary schools per pupil. We are nearly last, statewide – 64th in spending per pupil. Yes, 63 school districts statewide spend more per pupil than we do. How can that be when our income is so high?
Our schools are being flooded with more students than we can handle, and even after we raise our school budgets, we’re still overwhelmed by the influx. The trend is frightening – our spending per student is decreasing every year. In 2017-18, we spent 11% less per student than the state average.
Last year, that difference widened to 17%!
We try to “fix” the problem by bussing children out of schools that get too crowded, increasing class sizes and putting more students in portable classrooms – all of which is very disruptive to our children’s education and causes teachers to leave.
Our children are our future.
But there’s still more to my candidacy than improving education and slowing the growth.
I will support Commissioner Joseph in her fight to preserve more land, more trees, and more of the beauty that makes St. Johns County special. Our current commission voted down all 14 of her proposals to reduce clearcutting and protect more trees. Our commissioners are in the pockets of way too many developers.
I want to see a robust and diverse economy in St. Johns County, without resorting to businesses that are destructive to our communities such as massive warehouses that increase truck traffic – sometimes through residential areas.
I will support our farmers who help feed the entire eastern half of the U.S. I’ve seen commissioners turn a blind eye to farmers when they request funding for their infrastructure needs such as underground irrigation which saves money and water.
that are central to our quality of life and to our tourism industry.
Traffic on virtually all major roads exceeds the capacity they were designed to carry. (Source: TAS) I believe roads should only operate up to their design capacity and if they exceed that, then more traffic should not be added.
Here’s some good news.
Every voter in St. Johns County can vote for every commissioner. So together, we can replace the three commissioners who have been so destructive to our county while serving the developers who fund them.
Please register if you haven’t already to vote in the decisive Republican primary election on August 20th 2024. And I hope you will donate to my campaign. I’m up against big developer dollars.
Please take a few more minutes to learn about my background and why I believe I’m very qualified to be your County Commissioner.
Request a Vote By Mail Ballot for the 2024 Election in St Johns County
1 comment:
"Fiscal conservative" and "Republican." Guess what? In order to empower local government and take power from state and federal government, you're gonna have to have bigger government locally and provide services or economic solutions. Otherwise, here comes the state and federal government to "help out" and there goes your power. That's what a lot of Republicans don't understand. People will reach out to state and federal government if the local economy or leaders aren't cutting it. Federal programs are a good example of needs that state and local government aren't meeting.
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