Rick Scott

Rick Scott was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2018 and is currently serving his first term representing the state of Florida. Prior to his election to the U.S. Senate, Rick Scott served two terms as the 45th Governor of Florida, working every day to turn around Florida’s economy and secure the state’s future as the best place for families and businesses to succeed. Rick Scott grew up in public housing in the Midwest as his adoptive father, a World War II veteran and truck driver, and his mother, a store clerk, struggled to financially support their family. After marrying his high school sweetheart, Ann, Rick Scott joined the Navy, where he served active duty as a radar man aboard the USS Glover. He used the G.I. Bill to attend the University of Missouri, Kansas City, and eventually opened his first business – a donut shop. Rick Scott went on to run the world’s largest healthcare company and continues to fight every day so families across the state can have the same opportunities he had to live the American dream.

Rick Scott knows firsthand that a good paying job is one of the most important things for a family, and following Florida’s economic collapse ten years ago, he made the decision to run for governor as a businessman with no political experience. During his term as Governor, he successfully championed more than $10 billion in tax cuts and cut thousands of burdensome regulations that led Florida businesses to create nearly 1.7 million new jobs. Under his leadership, the unemployment rate dropped from 11 percent to 3.3 percent, Florida paid down $10 billion in state debt, and record investments were made in what matters most to Floridians – education, the environment, and public safety.

Rick Scott and his wife, Ann, have been married for 51 years and have two daughters, Allison and Jordan, six grandsons, Auguste, Quinton, Sebastian, Eli, Louie and Jude, and one granddaughter, Zelda Ann.

Sheriff Sam St. John

The Suwannee County Sheriff is a Florida constitutional officer and a part of the state judicial branch. Sheriff Sam. St. John has been serving the residents of Suwannee County for over 40 years with 8 as your local elected Sheriff.

The Sheriff has a duty to enforce both the Florida Constitution and Florida state laws and statutes, local county and municipal ordinances, and to provide for the security, safety and well-being of its citizens. This is accomplished through the delivery of law enforcement services, the operation of the County Jail, and the provision of court security. The Office of the Sheriff functions as the Executive Officer of the court.

Under Florida law, The Sheriff derives his legal authority from the Constitution of the State of Florida. The Sheriff is vested with the ability to appoint and direct deputies who will act in his name and office to enforce the appropriate and applicable laws of the State of Florida. Those deputies of the County Sheriff’s Office who are Certified Law Enforcement officers must maintain a thorough working knowledge of the laws they enforce and the underlying principals from which they emanate.

Travis Land

Dear Voters,

My name is Travis Land. It has truly been an honor to serve as your County Commissioner in District 3 the past four years. I am running for re-election and with your support hope to continue to momentum of making Suwannee County a better place! I'm a born and raised Suwannee County native, moving away from the county only to receive an education and short term jobs. I graduated from Florida State University with two bachelor degrees, one in finance and the other in real estate. After college, I worked in the banking industry for eight years with both Wells Fargo and Columbia Bank. From there, I entered the real estate world as a full time Realtor for seven years with Daniel Crapps Agency and then ReMax, sellling property throughout North Florida and South Georgia. In January 2012, I started working for Jim Hinton Oil Company, where I still work today as the Sales Manager for our offices in Albany, Sylvester, Valdosta, Ga and here in Live Oak, FL (where my office is located). I'm married to Katy Land, who is currently a prosecutor with the State Attorney's office in Live Oak, but recently elected to Third Circuit Judge in 2024. Together, we have three children which all attend public schools here in Suwannee County.

Over past four years, we’ve accomplished many great things. Including the following: over $49mil in State funding, the eastern half of CR 250 into the FDOT program for widening/resurfacing, Wave Armor with 50 plus new jobs, fought to keep solid waste and fire assessments low, served as Chairman of the LTPT aiding SVEC in over $50mil in grants bringing highspeed fiber to every home they serve and the list goes on! 

It is with these roots in Suwannee County, my education, work experience and accomplishments over the past four years that I sincerely ask for your vote for County Commissioner-District 3.

 Lesley Fry 

Address5216 County Road 249Live Oak, FL - 32060Emaillesleyfry8@gmail.comPhone3863646571Candidate's Statement

Greetings Suwannee County, District 1

I am Lesley Townsend Fry and I am running for Suwannee County School Board District 1.

I was born and raised in Suwannee County. My mom is Margaret Townsend and my dad is the late Phil Townsend Jr. My parents were 3rd generation farmers.

I have been married to Chris Fry for 34 years and we have two sons, John and Jack Fry, both live in Gainesville away at college.

Currently, I am a success coach for Goodwill Industries of North Florida managing their Take Stock in Children program and a wellness ambassador for Madison County Memorial Hospital.

I have been an educator serving students in Suwannee County for over 30 years. I started as a substitute teacher in 1987 and walked out of my classroom in 2022 because I was looking for a better way to serve and impact students.

I have taught Kindergarten, second, third, fifth, and sixth grades for Suwannee County School system for 30 years. I have also taught as an adjunct professor for North Florida College for eight years. In addition, I am a National Board-Certified Teacher, which means I am certified to teach in all 50 states!

I hold a Master’s Degree in Vocational Education.

I cowrote, twice, the 21st Century Learning Community grant for all 4 Suwannee Elementary Schools. This is a $4 million dollar grant that provides morning and after school care for 560 students daily! I was Director of this grant for 8 years. The grant still continues today.

I am a business owner. I started Accelerated Learning of Live Oak, a tutoring company, in 2008. My company provided free tutoring services to the students of the Suwanee County School System through a grant with the Department of Education for 5 years.

I am a Clinical Educator Trainer. This means I host intern teachers.

I have taught at ALL 9 schools in this district! I have worked alongside or under EVERY principal in this district.

I personally wrote grants to provide white boards and Studies Weekly for every classroom at Pineview Elementary School. I wrote a $5000 grant to purchase the first books placed in the library at Pineview Elementary when it was first built.

My Garden Club, at Suwannee Middle School, was responsible for a $2500 beautification project providing landscape to the entrance of the school.

In 2001, I was Teacher of the Year.

In 2001, I was named People Making a Difference in Our Community by the Suwannee Democrat.

In 2004, I was Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers.

In 2008, I was Outstanding Alumni for North Florida College.

I am a breast cancer survivor and activist.

I am a member of First Baptist Church Live Oak

Service above self has always been important to me. You may have seen my Pink Flags around Live Oak. For the past 3 years, in October, I hold my Pink Flag Drive in Live Oak to raise $2500 for Shand’s Pediatric Oncology patients.

For 10 years my classroom held a food drive and wrapped presents at the old Kmart for the Humane Society of Live Oak.

In addition, I volunteer at Hooked on Heroes, Hurricane Shelters, Lion’s Club, and Salvation Army.

I am first and foremost an advocate for students and a voice for teachers!

I am passionate about after school care for students, recruitment for high quality teachers, promotion of our great district, and recruiting male role models to mentor our young people, especially males.

I am persistent about a vocational initiative to expand our CTE (Career Technical Education), mental health, homelessness, graduation rate,  CTE certifications, number of children in private and home schools, Ready to Work Florida, and Ruby Payne strategies.

Last year and my first year in my new position at Goodwill, I received a perfect score of 100 on my Balance Scorecard, which gave my program Luminary status!

I have proven my commitment to the Suwanee County School District for over 30 years. Running for School Board is just a continuation of my commitment to serve students.

My teacher friends will relate this……nothing says commitment more than teaching next to the 6th grade middle school boy’s bathroom for 10 years!!!!!!!!

Janene Fitzpatrick

• Home
• Letter from Janene
• Educational Experience
• Accomplishments
• Contact

Dear Residents of Suwannee County,

Hello!  My name is Janene Fitzpatrick, and I am requesting your support to become the next Superintendent of Schools.  Unlike most elected superintendents, I am not a career politician.  I have spent the past 30 years working in schools, attending trainings, successfully acting in administrative roles, and serving to make the Suwannee County School District a system of pride for our community.  I have worked closely with all school district departments, directly reporting to the Superintendent of Schools for ten years, and I am confident that I am the most highly qualified candidate to be your next superintendent.  I prefer to view this political race as the largest job interview I’ve ever participated in during my career.  I’m interviewing with the entire county, and I hope that after you learn more about me and my experience, you’ll grant me the position by casting your vote in my favor.

A little about my history, during the summer of 2007, I moved from Lakeland, Florida to Suwannee County with my husband Mark and daughter Aryn.  I brought 15 years of district/school recognized, quality teaching experience in Spanish and Mathematics, as well as a Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.  Prior to leaving Polk County, I was selected for the Polk County Schools administrative pool, and I was on track to begin a career in school administration.  Upon arriving in Suwannee, I took a teaching position at Suwannee High School in August.  It didn’t take long for the district to see my potential and offer me the position of Assistant Principal of Curriculum at Suwannee Middle School that same December.  I spent 6 years (2007-2013) in this role at Suwannee Middle School serving under two principals.  During that time, I worked on many exciting projects to help improve SMS, if you’d like to read more about those initiatives, feel free to check out my accomplishments page on this website.  

In 2013, the district again offered me a promotion from school-based administration to district-level administration as the Director of Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment.  In this role I had the honor to serve as support for all instructional content areas and school principals.  This position answered directly to the Superintendent of Schools, at that time Mr. Jerry Scarborough.  When the Superintendent decided to reinstate the Assistant Superintendent positions in Suwannee County in 2015, I was selected to serve as Assistant Superintendent of Instruction. I added oversight of two additional directors – the Director of Student Services/ESE and the Director of Federal Programs. My team and I successfully helped to navigate the challenging 2020-2021 COVID school year, as well as, coordinating the newly themed/configured Live Oak elementary schools – among other projects.  

In 2021, I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer, and I took an early retirement in 2023 because my prognosis looked grim.  By the grace of God and miracle medical help from the Mayo Clinic, I’ve had my health restored, and I’m ready to get back to work on my mission of making the Suwannee County School District one of the best in Florida.   

Please take a moment to explore the other areas of my website to view my educational history and experiences, as well as the accomplishments in each position.  You can also find me on Facebook under “Janene Fitzpatrick for Superintendent” – I’ll try to keep you all updated regarding the events in which I’ll be participating.  I look forward to meeting many of you, and I welcome discussion regarding school topics – my husband and daughter will tell you, it’s always my favorite topic. 

Thank you for your time and consideration in this important decision for our county,

Janene Fitzpatrick

Candidate for Superintendent of Schools