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Former St. Augustine Mayor George Gardner Has Died

Courtesy the Gardner Family
Former St. Augustine Mayor George Gardner Passed Away Tuesday

Flags will fly at half staff in St Augustine to honor the life of former Mayor George Gardner, who passed away Tuesday. 

Mr. Gardner served as mayor of St. Augustine from 2002 to 2006 and as city commissioner until 2008. He focused on improving parking in the city, and according to current Mayor Tracy Upchurch, held a total of 32 community meetings about a new parking garage, so the public was always involved in the project. 

“He also was a fierce believer that visitors should share in the financial impact of their visit,” Upchurch said in a statement. “He led the initiative to charge for parking which has become the second largest revenue of the City.” 

Upchurch also noted that as mayor, Mr. Gardner began a newsletter about local government, The St. Augustine Report, that he continued writing after he left office. 

Before he went into local politics, Mr. Gardner ran a toy shop on Charlotte Street with his wife, Sally. 

“On behalf of all of us that follow in his footsteps at the City, our thoughts are with Sally and the Gardner family at this time,” Upchurch said. 

Contact Sydney Boles at sboles@wjct.org, or on Twitter at@sydneyboles.

Sydney manages community engagement programs like WJCT News' Coronavirus Texting Service. Originally from the mountains of upstate New York, she relocated to Jacksonville from Kentucky, where she reported on Appalachia's coal industry.