Fmr. state Rep. Joe Pickens endorses Bobby Payne for HD 19

Florida State Capitol Building

Citing leadership skills and an understanding of the district, former State Rep. Joe Pickens is endorsing Republican RobertBobby” Payne for the House District 19 race.

District 19 covers all of Bradford, Putnam, and Union Counties, as well as the southern and central portions of Clay County. Payne, a native of Palatka, is seeing the open seat currently held by term-limited Keystone Heights Republican Charles Van Zant, whose wife Katherine has also filed for the seat.

Pickens, a Palatka Republican, represented much of the same largely rural district in the Legislature from 2000 to 2008, leaving a strong record on education and agriculture issues.

“Years ago, I encouraged Bobby Payne to run for state representative because I know he has the knowledge and leadership skills necessary to be a strong and effective leader,” Pickens said in a statement. “He understands the struggles of the everyday working people who are the backbone of our district. He shares our conservative values, and I have no doubt that Bobby Payne will be an extraordinary representative for Northeast Florida.

“I am very happy that he is now able to offer himself as a candidate to lead our district forward.”

The Pickens endorsement follows the recent support of Payne from State Rep. Kelley Smith. Payne has raised $4,750 in June, for a total of $33,450 so far in the HD 19 race. Katherine Van Zant collected $4,655 last month, for overall fundraising of just over $30K.

Payne is a 34-year employee of Seminole Electric Cooperative, and serves on numerous boards and committees, including as past Chairman of the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce and past President of Sunrise Rotary.

Former Republican Party of Florida chair and current Clay County Chair Leslie Dougher is also running in HD 19.

Phil Ammann

Phil Ammann is a Tampa Bay-area journalist, editor and writer. With more than three decades of writing, editing, reporting and management experience, Phil produced content for both print and online, in addition to founding several specialty websites, including HRNewsDaily.com. His broad range includes covering news, local government, entertainment reviews, marketing and an advice column. Phil has served as editor and production manager for Extensive Enterprises Media since 2013 and lives in Tampa with his wife, visual artist Margaret Juul. He can be reached on Twitter @PhilAmmann or at [email protected].



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