Conservative citizens of Nassau County are concerned about a runoff election on Dec. 13 that will pit two conservatives against two Far Left candidates for seats on the Fernandina Beach City Commission.
Both the conservatives ran second to the liberals in the Nov. 8 general election.
What makes that strange is this: Nassau County voted in favor of every Republican on the statewide ballot in the Nov. 8 general election and gave 77 percent of its vote to Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Vying for Seat 4 is John James Antun, a chiropractor.
He issued a statement explaining why he is running. “I was motivated to run for office due to severe frustrations with excessively delayed permitting for the construction of the space that is now home to my second business endeavor (Personalized Performance). What was most frustrating about this experience was the countless hours and the unfortunate need for legal measures to resolve this issue. We incurred the cost of an attorney and discovered an inconsistent application of city policies compounded with use of city code enforcement resources connected to a personal agenda. Based on my experience and feedback from others to support this not being an isolated incident I want to instill a level of accountability and consistency in these policies in order to ensure that no other business owner suffers the delays that I did.”
His opponent is Michael A. Lednovich.
Darron Ayscue, a firefighter and paramedic, is running for Seat 5, against Genece Minshew, the president of Fernandina Beach Pride, an organization of homosexuals.
This week Lednovich, who currently is a commissioner and lame-duck mayor, issued a proclamation on the “Transgender Day of Remembrance.”
The proclamation read, in part, “Transgender Day of Remembrance is an advocacy, education, and community-building organization that works to end discrimination on the basis of gender identity and expression.”
That curious wording, calling a day an “organization,” raised eyebrows.
The term “transgender” refers to people who imagine themselves to be a different sex, also called gender dysphoria. It has become fashionable in the past few years, promoted actively by President Joe Biden, who hired a man who dresses like a woman to be an assistant secretary for health.
Fernandina Beach Pride promoted a day camp for young children last summer that was homosexual oriented and would have included a segment with drag queens. It was postponed, possibly because of the upcoming election.
Eye on Nassau asked Jack Knocke, executive director of CCDF-USA for Nassau County, what is at stake in the runoff election.
“We are trying to create transparency about who the candidates are and let the voters make their decision,” Knocke said.
He said candidates in local elections were asked by CCDF to fill out questionnaires. Both Lednovich and Minshew declined. Antun and Ayscue gave answers that indicated they advocate conservative values and policies.
Knocke called it abominable that Pride tells children “If you are uncomfortable talking to your parents, talk to us.”
Pride also has been recruiting volunteers at middle schools and boys and girls clubs, he said, which he does not believe is appropriate.
Statements given to the local newspaper by the two liberal candidates have been the usual mush about listening to the voters and finding ways to cut costs.
The runoff election is worth watching because if the two liberal candidates prevail it would signal a surprising lurch to the left for the key city in a conservative county.
