St Augustine has newly reorganized Commission

Historic City News reporters were on hand for the biennial reorganization of St. Augustine’s City Commission — with the one new face on the commission unexpectedly arriving by wheelchair.

The St. Augustine City Commission is the elected governing body of the city.

Of the five commissioners, four serve 4-year terms, and one serves a 2-year term as Mayor. Every two years, city elections are held for two of the 4-year seats and the 2-year Mayor’s seat.

In this year’s elections, Joseph L. Boles, Jr. was re-elected to another two-year term as mayor, Nancy Sikes-Kline was re-elected to a four-year term as commissioner and William Laverne Leary was elected to replace Donald A. Crichlow.

Circuit Judge Michael Traynor installed the new and re-elected commissioners and mayor. Leary took his oath of office in a wheelchair; the result of a knee injury earlier in the evening. According to friends and neighbors who spoke to Leary, who has been playing tennis in recent weeks, he was seeing a doctor for problems with his knees. As he stepped down on his foot last night, Leary remarked that “he heard a pop” and his leg collapsed under his own weight.

The Mayor of St. Augustine is the official head of the city government and presides at all commission meetings and other official city functions.

The vice-mayor is selected by vote of the commissioners, themselves; Leanna Freeman will serve as Vice Mayor filling the position previously held by Errol Jones. Freeman and Jones will conclude their terms of office in two years.

The St. Augustine City Commission meets at 5:00 p.m. on the second and fourth Monday of each month in the Alcazar Room at City Hall; located at 75 King Street.

189 years of mayors for St. Augustine

Gabriel W. Perpall 1821
James Grant Forbes 1822
Walters Smith 1822-1823
Thomas H. Penn 1823-1824
Bernardo Segui 1824-1825
Williams Reynolds 1825
Davis Floyd 1826
Walters Smith 1826-1827
John Drysdale 1827-1830
E.B. Gould 1830
John Gray, Jr. 1831
Joseph L. Smith 1832
John Gray, Jr. 1832
Antonio Alvarez 1833-1835
Dr. Frederick Weeden 1835-1836
E. B. Gould 1836-1837
Bernardo Segui 1838
Francis L. Dancy 1838-1840
Antonio Alvarez 1840
E. B. Gould 1841
Abraham Dupont 1842-1843
William A. Forward 1843
Elias B. Gould 1844-1845
Benjamin A. Putnam 1845
Joseph S. Sanchez 1846
Gad Humphreys 1847
Joseph M. Hernandez 1848
Mathew Solana 1849
Elias B. Gould 1850-1851
George L. Phillips 1851
Peter C. Zylstra 1852
G. Humphreys 1852-1854
B. A. Putnam 1854-1856
George R. Fairbanks 1856-1857
Mathew Solana 1857-1858
Paul Arnau 1858-1860
Rafael B. Canova 1860
Paul Arnau 1861-1862
Gomacindo A. Pacetty 1862
Saumuel Buffington 1866
Venancio Sanchez 1866
Ramon Canova 1866
Paul Arnau 1867
George Burt 1867
Willam W. VanNess 1868
Frank H. Palmer 1869
William J. Watkins 1870-1873
Paul Arnau 1873-1974
T. T. Russell 1875
Emanuel Medicies 1875
William J. Watkins 1875
T. A. Pacetti 1876
Paul Arnau 1877
Capt. Thomas F. House 1877-1878
R. S. Felf 1878
George S. Greeno 1879-1881
Charles E. Johnson 1882
John G. Long 1883
E. M. Alba 1883-1884
John G. Long 1884-1885
Andrew Anderson 1886
George S. Greeno 1887
W. W. Dewhurst 1888
W. S. M. Pinkham 1889-1895
Henry Gaillard 1895-1897
F. B. Genovar 1897-1899
E. B. Boyce 1899-1907
Eugene Masters 1907-1911
DeWitt Webb 1911-1913
A. W. Corbett 1913-1914
James E. Ingraham 1914-1920
K. Lopez 1920
P. R. Perry 1920-1926
J. N. Fogarty 1926-1927
J. H. Manucy 1927-1928
Frank D. Upchurch 1928-1929
George W. Bissett, Jr. 1929-1931
C. A. Lamont 1931
T. Rogero Mickler 1931-1933
Edgar J. Wishard, Sr. 1933-1934
Walter B. Fraser 1934-1942
O. D. Wolfe 1942-1943
Aubrey K. Sessoms 1943-1944
Frank J. Tart 1944-1945
George D. Young 1945-1946
Frank F. Harrold 1946-1947
Herbert E. Wolfe 1947-1948
Leonard Drazba 1948-1949
Ronald F. Jackson 1949-1950
Dwight L. Brett 1950-1951
Hobson T. Cone 1951-1952
Everett B. Meade 1952-1953
R. Aubrey Davis 1953-1954
Dwight L. Brett 1954-1956
Hubert P. Hahn 1956-1957
Clyatt R. Powell 1957-1958
Walter Bugeski 1958-1959
J. Earl Mickler 1959-1961
James S. Lindsley 1961-1963
Joseph A. Shelley 1963-1965
John D. Bailey 1965-1967
Hamilton D. Upchurch 1967-1969
James S. Lindsley 1969-1971
Robert E. Barclay 1971-1973
Arthur H. Runk 1973-1975
Edward G. Mussallem 1975-1979
Fred A. Brinkhoff, Jr. 1979-1981
V. Noel Helmly ` 1981
Ramelle D. Petroglou 1981-1982
Paul L. Martz 1982-1983
Ramelle D. Petroglou 1983-1985
Kenneth H. Beeson, Jr. 1985-1990
Tracy W. Upchurch 1990-1992
Gregory E. Baker 1992-1995
Len Weeks 1995-2000
Mark Alexander 2000-2002
George Gardner 2002-2006
Joseph Boles 2006-

Photo credits: © 2010 Historic City News contributed photograph by Lindsay Wiles Gramana