A Day in the Life of Mayor of St. Augustine

I spent a full day with the Mayor of St. Augustine, Nancy Shaver, to get a better picture of what a complete and active day as mayor would be like.

Nancy Shaver, mayor of St. Augustine, was featured on NPR with Melissa Ross on Tuesday morning at 9. She spoke with Ms. Ross about the dangers of sea level rise and how they would affect the coastal cities of Florida, especially St. Augustine.

At the Jacksonville studio, Shaver and Ross took calls from locals listening in to the broadcast and answered questions pertaining to the rise of the sea level. Mayor Shaver said that the city infrastructure that would be most affected by the sea level rise was sewage.

After her NPR broadcast, Mayor Shaver drove back to her home in Lincolnville to answer some emails in her home office. Mayor Shaver explained that she did not have her own staff, so she does handles the majority of her own work personally.

Once a week, Mayor Shaver will meet with the city manager, John P. Regan, for a two hour meeting.

In the meeting, the mayor and the city manager will discuss any issues that they may want to address in the coming weeks along with any city planning that needs to be done.

In the afternoon, Mayor Shaver visited Alpha Omega Miracle Home, a shelter for single moms.

Mayor Shaver spoke to the group about her past, relating her experiences as a single mom to theirs.

The group asked the mayor questions about her past experiences and what lead her to become active in local politics. They also shared their hopes for the future.

In the early evening, the mayor participated in an event called “Walk with the Mayor” in West Augustine.

Mayor Shaver and residents of West Augustine walked around the town as she listened to them voice their concerns for their town and what they felt needed to be done.

People of all ages came out to walk with the mayor on Tuesday, leading her through the streets and waving at passing cars.

The mayor took notes about all of the problems that were pointed out to her by residents of the town, often asking questions about what they would like to see in terms of infrastructure and about what type of crime they were facing on a daily basis.

The St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office joined the mayor on her walk through the town, halting traffic if need be and safely escorting the group on their hour long walk.

Residents of West Augustine were very welcoming to the mayor and quickly opened up to her about what was on their minds.

In the beginning of the walk, the group met up at the local family dollar, where the mayor spoke with the store manager about their annual sale increases and any other economic issues they may be facing.

During the walk, one of the town’s local celebrities rolled through. Willie, a resident of West Augustine, is known to have many different costumes and personas that he plays for passing members of the community.