In a turnaround from two weeks earlier, the St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners chose Clay Murphy as chair on Dec. 2.
Murphy unseated Commissioner Krista Joseph, District 4, who was elected Nov. 20 to a second one-year term during a special meeting of the board.
The board voted Dec. 2 to appoint Murphy, District 3, at the conclusion of its regular meeting during Murphy’s commissioner report.
The vote was 3-to-2, with Commissioners Sarah Arnold, Christian Whitehurst and Murphy voting yes and Joseph and Ann Taylor voted against Murphy’s appointment.
Murphy, a Republican and immediate past vice chair, cited his appointment as chair as part of county tradition in which previous vice chairs advance to chair the board.
During the Nov. 20 special meeting, he withdrew his nomination amid conflict with Joseph, who accused him of lacking adequate ethical training after he said he would not support Taylor as vice chair.
On Dec. 2, he called Joseph’s comments “unwarranted and unprovable” and said revisiting his appointment as chair was “righting a wrong.”
Murphy has lived in the county for more than 33 years. He grew up in Palatka and served as a Florida state trooper for 26 years. After retirement, he became an owner and operator of a Sonny’s BBQ in St. Augustine.
He is a board member of nonprofit Alpha Omega Miracle Home, a center for newly homeless women, and is a Flagler College Saints athletic sponsor and board member.
Taylor remains vice chair of the board.