Renzo Downey
Sen. Rob Bradley and Nick Patronis are among five people Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Tuesday morning to three North Florida water management district governing boards.
Bradley, a Fleming Island lawyer, has been a Republican Senator for Senate District 5 since 2012 but is term limited and not seeking reelection. He will serve on the St. Johns River Water Management District Governing Board, which oversees ground water and surface water resources from Nassau County to Okeechobee County.
The past two years, Bradley has been the lead Senate budget negotiator. As the Appropriations Committee Chairman, he helped secure more than $1.25 billion for Florida’s environment and water resources.
Patronis is an owner of Captain Anderson’s Restaurant and Waterfront Market in Panama City Beach. He is also the younger brother of Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patronis.
Former Gov. Rick Scott tapped Nick Patronis for the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board in 2015. With DeSantis’ appointment, he will return to that post.
He has also served as a member of the Life Management Center of Northwest Florida Board of Directors, the Florida Restaurant Association and the National Restaurant Association.
Kellie Ralston, who also joins the Northwest Florida Water Management District Governing Board, is the Southeast Fisheries policy director for the American Sportfishing Association.
The Tallahassee resident served as a fisheries management analyst for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Currently, she serves on advisory panels to the the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.
Alongside Bradley, DeSantis also appointed Janet Price, a senior manager of environmental affairs with Rayonier Inc., to the governing board for the St. Johns River Water Management District. The Fernandina Beach resident has also served in leadership roles on the National Council for Air and Stream Improvement.
For the Suwannee River Water Management District Governing Board, DeSantis appointed Harry Smith, the vice president of feed operations for Central States Enterprises.
The five appointments are subject to Florida Senate confirmation.
One comment
Diane Nelms
September 10, 2020 at 6:33 pm
Things might have turned out better for Indian Bayou had you been with NWFWM a few years ago. We are still waiting for the seagrass beds to return but the waters will forever be polluted by the interstate. No retention ponds. All of the runoff goes directly into the waters. Good stewards?
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