Contest for St Johns County Supervisor of Elections

Historic City News learned this week that there are two announced candidates for the office of the Supervisor of Elections; the incumbent Republican Vicky Oakes and Ed Slavin who has declared to run as a Democrat.

If both Oakes and Slavin qualify, which won’t be known before their petitions are certified or qualification fee has been paid, with one Republican and one Democrat, there will be no Primary Election.  Rather, both candidates will appear on the November General Election ballot open to all registered voters.  That, of course, could change if another candidate enters the race.

Oakes was first appointed by Governor Rick Scott in September 2011, to fill the unexpired term of former Supervisor of Elections, Penny Haliburton.  She began her career in the Elections Office in March of 1988.  She served as the Assistant Supervisor of Elections for 23 years.  Oakes won election in November of 2012 and is currently serving her second term.

According to her bio on the Supervisor’s webpage, Oakes is fully committed to conducting safe, secure and accurate elections for St. Johns County.  Oakes is a Florida native.  She and her husband of 32-years, Paul, have resided in St Johns County since 1983.

A search of the Supervisor’s webpage on Friday, November 29, 2019, shows that Slavin has yet to file any biographic information; a privilege offered to all registered candidates.

Edward A. Slavin, Jr. is publicly known as a citizen journalist who publishes a personal blog titled, “Clean Up City of St. Augustine, Florida” where he comments on national and local government and specific issues clipped from various news media.  His controversial, provocative and often “in-your-face” personality makes the 62-year-old unpopular with those whom he alone chooses to ambush.

It is not believed that he has ever held office as an elected public official.  He has never worked for any office of St Johns County government, the City of St Augustine, or the City of St Augustine Beach, according to annual payroll records maintained by Historic City News that predate when he and his partner, 64-year-old David Brian Wallace, moved to St Augustine.

On a professional bio filed by Slavin he reports that he attended both the Memphis State University and the Memphis State University School of Law.  He also indicated that he graduated the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis.

Slavin was licensed to practice law in Tennessee in 1987.  He had his law license suspended during 2004, and later, in 2005, he was held in contempt of court.  Slavin was disbarred in Tennessee by May 12, 2006.  He was ordered to serve 10 days in a Tennessee jail and pay a fine on the contempt of court charges.  U.S. marshals arrested Slavin in St Augustine on March 29, 2011 on a warrant issued in that case.

The public information officer for the Tennessee Supreme Court told Historic City News that because Slavin had been disbarred, and because he’s not living in Tennessee, “The court is not taking any action at this point.”

In a February 2008 notice posted in a lawyer’s journal in Washington, DC, the Supreme Court of Tennessee found six reasons to disbar Slavin.  They found that he engaged in misrepresentation and deceit, both to the courts and his clients, he failed to preserve client property, he charged excessive fees, he violated court orders, he demonstrated incompetence and lack of diligence, and, he abused the legal process by habitually violating Tennessee’s rules regarding harassment and intimidation of officers of the court, opposing counsel, as well as the filing of abusive, insulting, untrue, and unprofessional statements regarding judges, litigants and opposing counsel.