The Nov. 8 election brought only one certain result to the Fernandina Beach City Commission— Commissioner Bradley Bean will become mayor and take the gavel on Dec. 20.
Bean was elected to the commission two years ago and ran for mayor against fellow commissioner David Sturges, who was elected at the same time.
“As mayor, I will be able to make sure Fernandina Beach remains a great place to live,” Bean told the News-Leader. “As mayor, you set the tone for the meeting, and by extension the tone in the city. I am going to promote positivity.”
As mayor, Bean can unilaterally place items on city commission meetings, something he said he could not do as a commissioner, which he said “can make a big difference.” He said he believes the way the commission handles proclamations and recognitions could be better, and he will work on improving that process.
Bean said he wants to make a big push in his first 100 days as mayor for major projects currently underway, such as the playground at Central Park, the new fire station at the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport and the opening of the Alachua Street railroad crossing.
Bradley’s father, Aaron, won his campaign for congress in a landslide victory. Aaron Bean began his political career in Fernandina Beach and was himself mayor. Asked if he planned to follow in his father’s political footsteps, Bradley did not deny or confirm.
“I am going to be a great mayor for Fernandina Beach,” Bean said. “I don’t know where I will be years down the road, but I am, for the next two years, going to be the mayor of a great place to live.”
The other two city commission seats up for grabs, seats 4 and 5, were not won by a 50% plus one vote margin and so will go to a runoff election Dec. 13. The top two vote getters will be on the runoff ballot.
Genece Minshew won 41.3% of the votes for seat 5, while Darron Ayscue garnered 32%. Current Mayor Mike Lednovich got 44.7% of the vote and James Antun received 33.6% in the race for seat 4.
“I am honored and excited to be in the runoff for City Commission Seat 5 on Dec. 13,” Minshew said. “It is time to make Fernandina Beach better, Better begins on Dec. 13. I will continue to reach out to the voters and listen to their concerns and ideas to make Fernandina Beach better.”
Antun did not respond to a request for comment.
“I look forward to continuing to meet and talk with city residents as this runoff nears,” Ayscue said. “It’s been a wonderful experience so far and I’m excited to continue the campaign until Dec. 13.”
“I want to thank the voters of Fernandina Beach for supporting my efforts over four years on the city commission to preserve our quality of life and to keep Fernandina Beach a special place,” Mayor Lednovich said. “This is an important election because it can result in a dramatic shift in how the city commission votes on future issues like rezoning of commercial property into residential use and the number of homes/townhouses the city will allow to be built on parcels being annexed into the city. The runoff election is about how much density we want in the city. I’m the only candidate in the runoff who has a four-year voting record of fighting against more houses/townhouses from being built. I’m the only candidate that as city commissioner/mayor that has fought to preserve our tree canopy, dunes, habitat and wildlife.”
jroberts@fbnewsleader.com
