Ashbrook will not seek reelection following domestic battery charge

Langston, Buzzett to seek reelection in May

With candidate qualifying still two weeks away, Port St. Joe Commissioner for Group 1 Eric Langston and Mayor Rex Buzzett have already announced their intent to run for reelection.

But Commissioner David Ashbrook, who was arrested last month on a misdemeanor charge of domestic battery, confirmed that he will not be seeking office again in the next term.

“I will not be running for reelection,” he said. The commissioner did not comment on the pending litigation between himself and the State of Florida resulting from his charges.

Ashbrook filed a plea of not guilty in the case on Feb. 17, four days after he was arrested at his home by an officer with the Port St. Joe Police Department.

According to the police report made in the case, the arrest occurred after video obtained by the police showed Ashbrook “grab(bing) (the victim) by her right shoulder and throw(ing) her to the ground”in the parking lot of a bar in Port St. Joe.

If Ashbrook is convicted of the charge, he will be removed from office as per the city’s charter, should this occur before the next election.

Buzzett, who said that he had already opened an account with the Gulf County Supervisor of Elections’s Office, stated that he hoped to continue tackling some of the city’s current pressing issues if he is returned to office in May, as did Langston.

The City of Port St. Joe’s Primary Election will be held Tuesday, May 9 in the Supervisor of Elections Office, located at 401 Long Avenue.

Polls will open at 7 a.m. and close 7 p.m. EDT.

Registration books are now open at the office of John Hanlon, Gulf County supervisor of elections, and will remain open thru Monday, April 10 at midnight.