School Board District 2 Race Heats Up
Incumbent Mary Bolla Has Not Publicly Declared If She Will Seek Re-election
Two school board seats are up for grabs in 2024. Mary Bolla and Beth Clark currently occupy the District Two and Three seats, respectively. Clark has qualified for the ballot but has yet to face any challengers for her seat.
On the other hand, Bolla has yet to announce whether or not she will run for re-election. Meanwhile, candidates are stacking up to challenge Bolla for the District 2 seat. Three people have currently filed, and one more is rumored to be in the process of filing.
Republican voters hold a large majority in Clay, but District 2 has the largest concentration of Democrats. As such, two candidates for the seat have connections to the Democrat party.
James Hughes is a former educator turned church musician. Hughes lists several accolades and accomplishments from his teaching and volunteer efforts in his profile submitted to the Supervisor of Elections website. Still, one thing he should have mentioned is his connection to the Clay County Education Association (CCEA). Hughes is the brother-in-law of teacher’s union president Vicki Kidwell.
While Kidwell and Hughes are registered Republicans, the CCEA is part of the larger state and national teacher’s unions, which are widely known to be arms of the Democrat party. Hughes appears to be mirroring Bolla, who has widely touted her career in Clay County schools and is also closely connected to the teacher’s union.
Sharon Flowers, a registered Democrat, has also filed. Flowers campaign treasurer is Bobby Poole, former chairman of the Clay County Democrat party. Flowers is an Army veteran and currently listed as an “Professor Adjunct at American Public University System” per her LinkedIn profile.
Roberto Alvero rounds out the three filed candidates. Alvero is a Cuban immigrant who escaped the clutches of Communism in Cuba and has served his community via the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department and the Florida State Guard.
None of the three candidates have submitted the required petition or fees to qualify for the August ballot. Anyone seeking a county office has until June 14th at noon to file and qualify via fee or petitions.
Have any candidates mentioned anything about repealing the tax put in to fund the now defunct school police force? Will we be getting a refund on our taxes?