BY MELISSA PYLE
Special to the Telegraph
The city of Lawtey will hold a special election to fill the vacant council seat on April 1. Emily Hoffman resigned the position at the end of 2024.
Candidates Joshua Bell and Kendra Butler Griffin have deep roots in Lawtey and believe in its people and the city’s future.
Joshua Bell
Bell, 37, is currently the student services coordinator at the Santa Fe College campus in Starke and works to connect students with the resources they need to achieve their academic goals. Bell said his current role gives him experience in bringing “different approaches to pressing issues.”
Bell owns and operates the business Brotherly Bling. He also previously worked as a team teacher at Lawtey and Starke elementary schools and is currently working to earn a degree in organizational management.
Bell says his vision for Lawtey is one that continues the deep local connections but also looks to bring resources and events for the youth of the city. He said the city comes together for fun events, but there are a lot of untapped ideas. Bell said if elected, he hopes to take the ideas of his neighbors and friends in Lawtey and do what he does best, “transform that information into meeting needs.”
Kendra Butler Griffin
Griffin, 52, is currently a math teacher at Bradford Middle School, where she also coaches. Griffin feels these two specialties give her the qualities to find solutions to problems and encourage others to do more than they think they can do.
Griffin was born and raised in Lawtey and has spent most of her adult life there as well, apart from leaving home to attend Florida A&M University followed by a few years in Tallahassee after getting married. Griffin returned to Lawtey in 2013 and finished raising her two children there. Griffin feels her time away gave her a new perspective on the place she loves to call home.
Griffin said one of the things that prompted her to run for the council seat is seeing the contrast to the Lawtey she grew up in and the current Lawtey. “Lawtey needs its identity back,” she said.
Griffin recalls that when she was young there were things for the youth to do, sports teams to play on, ballfields where people gathered and invested in one another.
Griffin says the people of Lawtey are its best asset. She loves all of Bradford, but Lawtey residents have a “special hometown togetherness” that is dear to her heart. She wants to make the city the best it can be for everyone by providing new resources and untapping economic potential.
“It’s time to make new history in Lawtey,” she said. Griffin believes the city has a lot to offer and can grow while keeping its valuable, “small town vibe.”
Both Bell and Griffin have the desire to see new opportunities for the youth in Lawtey, while preserving the community connections. Each said it would be an honor to serve their fellow Lawtey residents and hope everyone remembers to vote in this upcoming special election.
Polls will be open at Lawtey City Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on April 1.
