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The Federated Republican Women of Clay County evolved from a random group of dedicated women who had avidly supported Republican candidates in general elections since 1968. Historically there were very few Republicans in the county and without the efforts of these women manning rustic headquarters, donated by generous local party people, there would have been no means to draw scattered party members together.
In 1980 all that changed when the Republican Women’s Club was first charted under the leadership of Chance Irvine, President; Mary Jane Garlan, Vice-President; Linda Schaeffer, Secretary; and Frances Jackson, Treasurer.
Since then, monthly luncheon and business meetings have been held for a membership which grew from twenty-five to around one hundred.
Under the leadership of Chance Irvine, continuing efforts have been made to recruit, train and sponsor members through campaign schools and seminars.
We have achieved financial independence that has enabled our Club to supply financial aid to our local Republican candidates, (before BCRA), who now vie for office in both primary and general elections.
Our officers, through the years, have had opportunities to attend State and National Federation conventions carrying the standard of our membership.
In 1984 our greatest honor was earned with the election of three of our members to the office of State Representative, Chance Irvine; Superintendent of Schools, Ann Wiggins and Supervisor of Elections, Dorothy K. Holt.
It was the first time women had been elected to public office in county-wide elections. By doing so, these ladies won national attention.
All of the above accomplishments were done in the face of long standing and large Democrat majorities in Clay County.
In 1992 Republicans became the majority party in Clay.
The above history was written in 1985 by Marilouise Farshing and with a couple of updates.
May 23, 1986 in “The Washington Post,” Bill Peterson wrote the following article entitled, “Siege of the Good Ol’ Boys:
“Green Cove Springs, Fla. – George L. Carlisle, Clay County clerk for the last 32 years and the rest of the old guard crowd did not see Chance Irvine, Ann Wiggins and Dorothy Holt coming.
That is not surprising. The three middle aged women are not the kind of politicians a county controlled by a good ol’ boy network of Democrats ever since Reconstruction was accustomed to.
Who would have ever thought Wiggins, a high school English teacher with a Brooklyn accent, could be elected school superintendent in north Florida ‘cracker country?’ Or Irvine, who moved from Illinois a decade ago, state representative? Or Holt, a native of upstate New York, superintendent of elections?
But two years ago the insurgents all won. They did so by capitalizing on a population boom that transformed much of Clay County into an affluent bedroom community for nearby Jacksonville.
‘It was a real coup, almost a made-for television melodrama,’ said Holt, who had never run for anything beyond president of the local chapter of the League of Women Voters. ‘We weren’t only three women. We were Republicans.’
‘A few years ago it would have stretched my imagination to even dream something like this could happen, but the county has changed,’ said Evelyn B. Cooper, county Democratic Party chair. ‘The Yuppies are taking over. It is something we (Democrats) are going to have to reckon with.’
Newcomers are helping change the face of southern politics; especially in the suburban rings around the region’s major cities. Name almost any southern city – Atlanta, Richmond, Charlotte, Columbia, New Orleans, Mobile, Orlando, Memphis – and a suburban Republican stronghold can be found nearby.
This is especially true in fast-growing Florida, Expected to become the nation’s fourth largest state by 1990. A study last year by the Survey Research Center at Florida State University found Republicans outnumbered Democrats 39% to 26% among those moving into the state during the last 20 years, and ‘changes among the youngest Florida voters have the potential of making a significant impact on the future of Florida politics’.
‘The story of the South the last 20 or 30 years is one of a lot of Yellow Dog Democrats dying out and a lot of new people moving in,’ said Houston-based pollster Lance Terrance, a Republican. ‘The demographics aren’t in favor of Democrats,’ said William Hamilton, a Democratic pollster.
In few places are lines drawn so clearly between the old and new as in Green Cove Springs, Fla., once a sleepy little farming and retirement town perched on the blue waters of the St. Johns River. The Democratic Party here is the party of tradition, a monopoly institution for more than a century. Personal ties, not ideology, decided elections.
County Clerk Carlisle has held office 32 years; the county sheriff 20 years, the county property appraiser 16 years. One county commissioner recently retired after 32 years; the school superintendent who Wiggins defeated had been in office 20 years.
‘The people who have been here years and years are the backbone of our party,’ said Democratic Chair Cooper.
The GOP, led by a corps of energetic women and young professionals, is the newcomer’s party. ‘Our real strength is the young people,’ said state Rep. Chance Irvine, elected with the slogan, ‘You deserve a Chance for Better Government.’
Democrats initially dismissed her victory and that of Wiggins and Holt as a fluke. They blamed their defeats on Reagan’s coattails and internal fights in their party.
That ignored the strength of the three women. Each was an attractive candidate, articulate and intelligent. Wiggins headed a high school English department and held a master’s degree in administration; Holt had an impressive record of civic work; Irvine, the most experienced politician, had worked in GOP campaigns for years.
It also ignored change in Clay County. Once rural and sparsely settled, the county’s population doubled during the 1970’s. Thousands of younger, more affluent and better-educated voters moved into new homes, most in the Jacksonville suburb of Orange Park. Today only one resident in five is over 44 years of age; 22 percent of the families depend on nearby Jacksonville Naval Air Station and Cecil Field for jobs, according to the county Chamber of Commerce.
It took a second upset victory by a Republican in a special state Senate election in March to convince most Democrats that they had a problem.
Democrats fielded a well-known former Senate president, Lew Brantley, and brought in the state party’s heaviest hitters – U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles, Gov. Robert Graham and House Rules Committee Chairman Claude Pepper – to campaign for him.
Brantley outspent Republican Ander Crenshaw, a personable 41 year old investment banker, by 2 to 1, but still lost decisively.
‘I’m predicting we won’t have any Democratic elected officials in Clay County in 10 years. I don’t see any stopping us now,’ said Dr. Glenn Gidseg, 34, one of the energetic young professionals who have taken control of the GOP organization. ‘The Democratic Party left the Democrats. People down here haven’t realigned. They’ve just found it’s okay to vote Republican.’
“Republicans are a long way from taking over Clay County,’ Carlisle, a prototype of the old southern politician, declared as he leaned back in his chair in the county courthouse. ‘So many people nowadays are voting the man rather than the party.”
Bill Peterson recognized the demographic changes in the county but those would not have made a difference without the Federated Republican Women’s Club of Clay. Our candidates were well versed in the issues by experts at conferences and seminars. They had volunteer campaign managers and treasurers from the Club who were also schooled,
plus a cadre of women willing to make phone calls, walk door to door, host coffees, attend fundraisers and man headquarters. In 1984, the Supervisor of Elections office was not computerized. Chance Irvine requested club members to household Xeroxed lists from that office and add telephone numbers and party affiliations. This info Chance then put in her computer and shared the lists with Ann and Dottie and made labels which were a vast improvement over all the hand addressed mailers the Club members had written in the past. Without these thousands of hours of volunteer efforts, no Republican would have been elected in this county for a long time.
Each President of our Club contributed in her own unique way. Chance Irvine was the Charter President in 1980-81. She was the organizer and believer that each Club member had a part to play in Clay County politics and put them to work.
Coral Wavro 1981-83 was a steady influence with a no nonsense leadership style and kept the Club moving forward.
Mary Jane Garlan 1983-89 was the only President who served three terms and was the fundraising champion. We sold jewelry at every Republican meeting, regional, state or national. Our fashion shows were legendary and attracted Republican women from all over NE Florida. She also was adept at collaring business men to either provide or pay for headquarters.
Ginny Schwab 1989-91 continued the fundraising programs and was the one who had to deal with Democrats switching like crazy. One Democrat Women’s Club, The Jefferson Club, closed down and switched parties en masse and joined our Club.
Jo Keene 1993-97, wife of the Democrat Clerk of Court who switched to the Republican Party while in office was the first former Democrat to lead our Club. She made few changes and was an enthusiastic supporter of our Club and party.
Kathleen Crook 1997-99 took the helm when more and more Republicans were being elected and primaries were the rule rather than the exception. Our Club members kept their differences outside of meetings and the Club rallied behind the winners.
Skip Wilkerson 1999-2000 had one of the most successful new member teas that we had ever held. Due to medical problems, she resigned after one year.
Christy Fitzgerald 2000-03 kept up the traditions and activities of our Club and encouraged members to go to state conference and candidate seminars to brush up on our skills.
Carol Studdard 2003-05 took the leadership of the Club and concentrated on service projects for Quigley House and others requested by the National Federation to show that we were not mean Republicans but have always been concerned about our communities.
Debby Terry 2005-07 carried on the work of the Club and spent many hours to take back the Florida Federation from a hostile take over. Without her support and willingness to volunteer to do what was necessary, the Florida Federation would have caused many clubs to lose their charters and others to close down.
Naomi Roberts 2007- our current President has strengths in many areas. The highly successful fund raiser honoring Rep. Cliff Stearns is just one of the projects that will highlight her tenure. She got the website up and running, and coordinated the first independent, and highly successful, Federated Republican Women's campaign headquarters located at 155-4 Blanding Blvd., Orange Park.
Our Club is an incubator for winning office. In 2009, we have in our membership, three Florida State Representatives, a state attorney, four School Board members, the chairman of the Clay County REC, a state committeeman and woman, four county commissioners, and a US Senator’s and a Congressman’s aides.
The success is due to women who are well informed and willing to do what it takes to insure their philosophy is represented from the courthouse to White House.
Chance Irvine
2008
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