The St. Augustine Commission has selected Tracy Upchurch as the new mayor of St. Augustine on Monday.
At 9 a.m. the city held a special meeting in regards to selecting a new leader after Mayor Shaver resigned following a stroke the previous week.
The position received upwards of 20 applications for the job, but it was Upchurch who was appointed to the position by unanimous vote.
According to the City of St. Augustine, Upchurch becomes mayor upon taking the oath of office which must be done within 10 days of the vacancy occurring which is March 10.
Upchurch’s appointment is to complete Shaver’s term of office which ends on December 7, 2020.
But just who is Tracy Upchurch? Here are some fast facts according to his Flager College profile.
- Upchurch received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Florida in 1981 and an MA in American History.
- Upchurch has a twenty-five-year history as a practicing attorney.
- Florida Trend Magazine “Legal Elite” (top 2% of attorneys in Florida)
- He served former mayor of the City of St. Augustine from 1990-1992.
- He was a former Florida state representative.
- Former director of the St. Augustine Rotary Club.
- He now serves as an associate professor of law and history as well as chair of the pre-law program at Flagler College. His research focuses on the American Civil War and in particular Southern Unionists in Florida.
- He is a trustee of the Lightner Museum.