Fort White: George Jacob Thomas Sworn In as Mayor – Encouraging Words and A Steep Learning Curve Ahead
November 20, 2024 4:05 am | 3 min read
George Jacob Thomas sworn in as Fort White Mayor. Wife
Maureen holds the bible while his two children,
Julia and Benjamin look on (faces blurred by request).
Mr. Thomas's brother Joshua Thomas is in the background
holding his daughter. Town Counsel Lindsey Lander
administered the Oath.
FORT WHITE, FL – Last night in Town Hall, George Jacob Thomas, Fort White’s newly elected mayor was sworn in, promising to uphold the Constitution, the laws of Florida, and the Town of Fort White.
On November 5, Mr. Thomas comfortably defeated incumbent Mayor Ronnie Frazier by almost eight percent of the vote. After the election, Mayor Frazier told the Observer he wished Mr. Thomas good luck, and he was looking forward to getting back to his businesses and coaching sports.
Mr. Thomas has never held public office and admittedly has a lot to learn.
After Mr. Thomas was sworn in by Fort White's Counsel, Lindsey Lander, he asked the council for permission to make a comment.
Mayor Thomas said, [abridged]:
I wanna thank everybody who voted and participated in this election. That is the American political process. You voted for who you wanted to, from the local to the national. I wanna thank former Mayor Ronnie Frazier.
I believe he has always wanted the best for Fort White.
I wanna make a quick note. Look, at the end of the day, we have First Amendment protections. Everyone can say what they want on social media. Just keep in mind, when you make a post on social media, most of us understand it is just words.
But there are people out there who it may be more than just words to them. I would encourage you just to maybe try to temper your language or how you go about it.
The last thing: there's a lot of rumors and hearsay about me and the county.
I don't know where those rumors came from. When I was knocking on doors and when I was speaking to people, I said that I would communicate with anyone and everyone. I'll be very open and very transparent. If I have a meeting with anything or anyone with the county, I'm gonna say it. I'm gonna say, ‘Hey, here’s what happened. Here's what they said. Here's, here's where we stand.’
Mayor Thomas explained that Commissioner Rocky Ford gave him a call, wanting to give him an update. Mr. Thomas said he turned down the update because he wanted to address the people of Ft. White first.
None of the other Council members had anything to add.
The Town then took care of the evening's business.
Mayor Thomas said he will follow the rules.
It was going around that Commissioner Rocky Ford was telling folks that he got his guy elected in Fort White.
After the meeting, your reporter spoke with Mayor Thomas about following the rules and following the Town Charter.
During 2020 through 2023, there was a lot of confusion regarding advertising latches and charter changes.
The process was overseen by then Town Attorney Fred Koberlein (now Judge Koberlein) and then Town Consultant Dale Williams (former County Manager and now LSHA Manager).
After a three-year circuitous route, the Town of Fort White Charter was approved by the Florida Legislature. The current Town Charter is here.
Mayor Thomas read through the Charter and found that he is not automatically the presiding officer of Town meetings.
Mr. Thomas, currently a law school student, told your reporter on Tuesday morning, “I believe in the integrity of the process. We have to play by the rules. The Charter is the Constitution of the Town. The Charter says the Town Council decides who presides over the Town Council meetings. I will be asking the Clerk to add that Council choice to the next meeting agenda.”
There was one new and one returning Council member.
Monica Merricks ran unopposed replacing Mary Flemming.
Incumbant Councilman Bill Koon ran unopposed.
