Thank yous from two great candidates

Jaime Perkins, State Legislature:

Post Election Sentiments... On November 6, 2018 St. Johns County saw a 103% increase in voter turnout from past mid-term elections. This mid-term election was historic for many reasons but the one that resonated with me the most was that I was on your ballot! I was vying for an opportunity to serve you in public office. While we were not successful at capturing the Florida House seat, I do not feel defeated. In fact, I feel victorious. Myself and my amazing team of volunteers had the audacity to launch a grassroots, progressive campaign in one of the most conservative districts in the state, with a first time candidate running as an NPA, against a 14 year political veteran. Not only that, but we had the nerve to capture 31,364 votes! I'm in awe at the amount of people who supported me and this campaign. Those thirty-one thousand votes are a clear indication that this county is ready for change and I am committed to helping influence just that. We may not have won the seat, but we are winners because we had an opportunity to watch democracy work. We gave the people a choice. "Thank You" often seems like such a mediocre phrase to offer to individuals who have done so much. But, from the bottom of my heart thank you; for volunteering, for canvassing, for phone banking, for being a surrogate, for donating, for voting, for believing! I could not have done any of this without your support. Respectfully, Jaime

Jeanne Moeller, Mosquito Control:

To all the Volunteers,

Thank you so much for your grassroots enthusiasm and dedication this past election cycle! Without your help I could not have won this election! With new residents since the last election - close to 50K of them! I could have never knocked on all those doors by myself or even with a small campaign team. You developed a strategic plan that has never had the impact that this election has had that helped all the races from top to bottom!

You all need to take a bow! I am so grateful to have been a part of your efforts to get the vote out!

I know this election was not just about me, but your hard work in getting out the vote,  and handing out my materials generated many phones calls to me from strangers wanting to know why we elected mosquito control commissioners. The other question I received was this is nonpartisan but are you a DEMOCRAT? Your hard work and dedication to this election cycle truly helped those of us at the bottom of the ballot. I’m sure other candidates also had phone calls or emails where they could interact with voters one on one. This was so important and so helpful because there were no debates for any of the nonpartisan races. I truly believe that your work in the field created this personal response to candidates. Getting the vote out was your major focus but the unknown benefit was some of us had interaction with voters who may have never attended a debate for the lesser known races.

Thank you all.

Jeanne