Two men, one committee, the race is on

If it wasn’t for a Republican state committeeman race, 80 percent of Franklin County’s GOP voters would have no local race to vote on at the upcoming Aug. 20 primary.

The ones who live on St. George Island, and along the streets of Eastpoint, would still have to decide whether incumbent county commissioner, Ricky Jones, should get a third term, or the seat should be held by challenger Russell Turner. 

But all the constitutional officers are in place, except the superintendent and tax collector seat, so without an adversary to vanquish, these Republicans each dodged the cost of balloting. Democrats are running in those two contested constitutional officer races, and there’s no primary involved so that goes right to November.

Congressman Neil Dunn is facing a party challenger, and so is Senator Rick Scott, but that’s it.

However, to understand the excitement churning through the local Republican electorate among the many among the county’s 3,569 GOP registered voters who otherwise would have slim pickings on the primary ballot, look to the littlest, most humble, election choice. The state committeeman.

Actually, there is one reserved for a man, and one for a woman, and their job is to advance the party’s interests and weigh in on shaping the energy of the politics. It’s a volunteer job, four meetings a year, they don’t cover expenses, but it’s a way to rub, and maybe jab, elbows with the party faithful, either those on the rise, or on the descent, or just relaxing on the couch.

Eastpoint’s Joyce Estes, who rightly deserves the eminence of being the premier original local voice of Republicanism back when the ink you stained your index finger in to prove you voted was dark blue everywhere you went in Franklin County.

She’s decided to step away from the committeewoman post she’s held for every bit of umpteen years, and has been replaced by the county chairman of the Republican Executive Committee, Kristy Banks, who was elected without opposition. The REC will have to select a chairman or woman to replace Banks.

That leaves the state committeeman post, held for a while by Rick Watson. He decided not to seek another term as tax collector, but did not step away from the committee post.

Usually these races attract no challengers. In Gulf County, neither Democrat Crystal Dupuy nor Republican Joanna Bryan were challenged as committeewomen in their respective parties.

“For the first time ever we have a contested executive committee race. We’ve never had one before,” said Watson. “I think it’s great, it shows the vibrancy of the Republican Party.”

The mahout riding the GOP’s elephant against Watson is Apalachicola’s John Helms, 64, formerly of Sarasota, who’s lived in the county for two years but has for a long time been a Republican, a time frame similar to Watson’s transformation.

“I was a Democrat for a short period of time, 20 some years ago,” Helms said. “We all make mistakes.”

A certified financial planner, Helm is treasurer of the county’s Republican Liberty Caucus, and husband to Mary Helms, who is its chairwoman. The Republican Liberty Caucus is a 33-year-old voluntary grassroots membership organization advocating for individual rights, limited government and free markets, a perspective which could be generally described as the libertarian streak in GOP politics. It holds an originalist view of the Constitution, stresses the sovereignty of the nation, seeks taxation that is “simple, fair, equitable and minimal,” and and wants a deregulation of federal government powers that would phase out of the departments of education, commerce, agriculture, health and human services, housing and urban development, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, Drug Enforcement Administration and Transportation Security Administration. (See https://rlc.org )

“We’re the conscience of the Republican party. We stand for freedom and liberty. We believe the Constitution is the filter for all issues,” said Helms.

“I have no issues with Rick,” he said. “I just feel the Republican voters in Franklin County really don’t have the proper representation they deserve at the state level.”

Watson, a resident of St. George Island, said he plans to campaign to keep his post, because he’s been successful at it.

“I got involved because I wanted to push the registration of Republicans in the county,” he said. “In June 2022 we became a mostly red county, and now there’s almost 1,500 more Republicans than there are Democrats.

“I am going to continue expanding the Republican registration, so we can continue to elect Republicans at every level of government,” Watson said.

For more information on the John Helms campaign, visit www.johnhelmsforcommitteeman.com. To reach Rick Watson, remain to rick@rwatsonandassociates.com