Governor finally provides a partial list of applicants considered to fill Commission Seat 3

Historic City News made a request to the “Open Government” desk within the Executive Office of Governor DeSantis on Tuesday, November 1, 2022, at 9:47 a.m.  We requested a copy of any applications received by the governor’s appointment office from persons asking to fill the vacancy created by the death of St Johns County Commissioner Paul M. Waldron.

Finally, 2 months, 5 days, 5 hours, and 35 minutes later, at 3:22 p.m. on Friday, January 6, 2023, after the date that the seat had been filled, the DeSantis open government staff pieced together applications submitted by ten potential candidates – none of whom were ultimately appointed to the high paying job.

To loosely quote William Shakespeare, therein lies the rub. The life story of ten private citizens has been laid out before the public; while, in private, the governor appoints a former political aide to the part-time job, rewarding him with an $81,928.91 annual salary, plus benefits. And, unless they run in GOP political circles, the public knows relatively nothing about Roy Alaimo.

By way of introduction, in a one-paragraph presser, Governor DeSantis announced that Roy Alaimo, Jr is a local businessman.  He is associated with a limited liability company that bears his name and was only created on November 7th.  As far as his qualification to hold the office goes, the governor’s staff said that Alaimo obtained a four-year college degree in political science from UNF in Jacksonville.  Historic City News is currently awaiting verification.  Beyond that, no application details and no background information has been provided.

We know from recent real estate transactions that on May 6th, Alaimo and his wife Jennifer purchased a $695,000 home in the Markland subdivision, east of World Golf Village.  That residence is not in Commission District 3.  He is listed on corporation records as the registered agent and managing member of Alaimo Strategies, LLC, using his Markland home address.  He lists a private mailbox at the UPS Store in World Golf Village as his business address.  Therefore, he has paid no business tax and holds no local business license.

Here are the applications provided by the Executive Office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis:

• Undine George
• Derek Hankerson
• Jackson Burney
• Clay Murphy
• Garret Wolfe
• Scott Boutwell
• Gerald Dedge
• Eliut Alicea
• Mercer Clarke
• Jacqueline LeBlanc