The Ponte Vedra Republican Club hosted a candidate forum featuring Circuit Judge (7th Judicial Circuit, Group 15), County Commission District 4 and St. Johns County School Board District 4 candidates on Friday, Aug. 10 at the Coastal Oaks Clubhouse in Nocatee.
Circuit Judge candidates Sebrina Slack and Ryan Will, County Commission candidates Jeremiah Blocker and Nicholas “Mike” Dudynskay and School Board candidates Denver Cook, Chad Levrini (the husband of Dr. Abigail Levrini) and Kelly Barrera participated.
The forum began with the Circuit Judge candidates, who fielded questions from the audience on the role of the court, their experience in the field of law and more. One resident asked if either candidate has ever had a complaint filed against them.
"I have actually never had complaints filed against me," Slack said. "There's a variety of places you can get a complaint as an attorney ... I've never had one."
Conversely, Will revealed he once had a complaint sustained against him for calling someone a “crackhead.”
"It was a trial 10 years ago and I called a crackhead a crackhead," he revealed. "A 56-year-old man lived in an apartment on U.S. 1 in Daytona Beach and wanted to purchase cocaine and he had been buying cocaine from teenage drug dealers for 10 years."
The man used his position of authority with the teens to arrange a deal that led to four people getting shot, Will explained, and one 19-year-old getting killed.
"I called it like I saw it," he concluded.
Later, School Board candidates discussed measures being taken by the district to keep students safe, such as single entry points, video surveillance and other initiatives.
Cook said he wants youth resource officers to be made available for students in every school in the county. Barrera, who is running for re-election, touted the district's safety efforts and said it is working with the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office and a company called U.S. Security.
Finally, Blocker and Dudynskay discussed fiscal policy, the Republican party, transportation, how to handle the growth of St. Johns County and more.
Dudynskay and Blocker reached a point of disagreement on sales tax, with Dudynskay stating he wouldn't mind raising the tax "by a penny" if it would pay the bills. Meanwhile, Blocker argued that responsible spending would help the county manage expenditures without the need for a tax increase.
