Gov. DeSantis appoints GOP candidate Jeffery Moore as Gadsden Commissioner

Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Jeffery Moore to the Gadsden County Board of County Commissioners.

Moore, a Republican, fills a seat vacated by Chairman Anthony Viegbesie, a Democrat who retired last month. Viegbesie represented District 2, a Democratic-leaning seat that stretches from north Quincy to west Havana.

Moore, of Havana, is a former tax law specialist at the Florida Department of Revenue and the only Republican running for District 2 in November. As of his appointment on Friday, Moore is also the only Republican currently serving the Board of County Commissioners.

He is the past Chairman of the Gadsden Soil and Water Conservation District, is a member of the National Association of Conservation District’s Board of Directors and is the immediate past President of the Association of Florida Conservation Districts.

Moore earned his bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance from Florida State University.

Commissioner Ronterious Green, who represents District 5, has been named Chairman, and District 4 Commissioner Kimblin NeSmith has been named Vice Chairman.

Moore will serve until a new Commissioner is seated following the General Election on Nov. 8.

He is the only Republican running for the seat but has also been the largest fundraiser, raising $12,150 as of the latest fundraising data, posted Friday. In the Democratic Primary, Alonzetta Johnson-Simpkins has raised $5,790, Markey Rivers Sr. has raised $3,726 and Charles Salem III has raised $8,367.

Moore has been the smallest spender but has nearly $10,000 on hand. Meanwhile, the Democrats, who have had to spend their war chests to compete in the three-way Primary slated for Aug. 23, each have less than $300 left in their campaign accounts.

Viegbesie, known as Dr. V, was first elected in 2014 by taking a plurality in a three-way Democratic Primary after no Republican qualified. Viegbesie won re-election in 2018 52%-48% versus Doug Croley, who ran as a No Party Affiliated candidate after coming in second during the 2014 Democratic Primary.