JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — There was a debate at the dais during this week’s Board of County Commissioners meeting in St. Johns County. Rather, a debate over who the commissioner chair says should have been there.
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Commissioner Chair Krista Joseph and Commissioner Sarah Arnold got into a clash over the rights of a county commissioner to vote on items during a meeting after Joseph tried denying Arnold’s ability to vote, since she did not attend in-person.
Joseph pointed out Arnold’s absence shortly after the meeting began, before roll call. After Arnold acknowledged she was virtually in attendance, Joseph asked, “do you have an emergency, ma’am?” Arnold responded, “no, Commissioner Joseph.”
Shortly after, Joseph said, “if you don’t have an emergency, you can’t vote, but if you would like to partake in the meeting, that would be fine.”
Arnold then turned to interim county attorney Rich Komando.
“Does Commissioner Joseph have the legal authority to prevent me from voting?” she asked Komando, “I believe it was my constitutional right granted to me by the voters.”
Komando responded, “correct,” then explained he was unaware of any legal grounds for commissioners to prevent Arnold from voting based on her attending the meeting virtually, rather than in person.
Joseph later pushed back on this, referencing St. Johns County’s rules of voting during meetings. The rules Joseph referenced are 4.501 and 4.502, which read:
“Unless otherwise required by State Statute, ordinance, or indicated by these Rules, all action by the Board shall be by majority vote of those Commissioners present…Every Commissioner who is present when a question is called, unless he/she is excused as provided in Rule 1.401, shall give his/her vote in the affirmative or negative.”
Joseph claimed that since Arnold wasn’t physically present, she did not have the right to vote. But the interim county attorney said this was not the first time a commissioner has called in virtually, without an emergency. He added that no rules, specifically, exclude those who virtually attend meetings from voting.
“You don’t have the legal authority to infringe upon the constitutional rights of each commissioner, just like she couldn’t do to you,” Komando told Joseph after she asked if she could introduce a motion denying Arnold’s ability to vote.
Over the phone, Joseph told Action News Jax she doesn’t believe this opinion falls in line with county rules.
“I definitely think there needs to be a secondary interpretation of the word ‘present’ and what that actually means,” Joseph said, “I wanted to make sure before roll call that she had the right to vote or didn’t have the right to vote, and, based on my board rules, she wouldn’t have the right to vote.”
Commissioner Arnold sent a statement to Action News Jax responding to the attempt to deny her ability to vote. This is what she told us:
“Commissioner Keating-Joseph’s attempts to block me from voting in yesterday’s meeting was unconstitutional, unprofessional and uncalled for…I and other Commissioners have utilized this policy before more than a dozen times. This is not the first time…If our attorney said I needed to be present in person, I would have absolutely made arrangements to do so.”
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