Anastasia Mosquito Board commissioner resigns, citing ‘mismanagement’

The Anastasia Mosquito Control Board in St. Johns County is down one member as Martha Gleason tendered her resignation in a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday.

Gleason, who was elected in 2022, says she is stepping away from the board because she believes the district is not being run well, nor is it transparent about how it spends money. She cites personal reasons for leaving, too.

“I really do want this thing fixed, but it has left a really bad taste in my mouth in terms of the lack of care,” Gleason told Jacksonville Today in an interview Thursday.

Specifically, Gleason says she wishes every member of the board would thoroughly research all of the issues the board votes on and ensure all of the district’s policies are followed to the letter.

She believes that isn’t happening now, and she says she would rather not be around when a future audit turns up potential wrongdoing.

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“I’ve dug, and I’ve dug, and I’ve dug, and the more I dig, the more uncertain I get that we’re doing everything by the books,” Gleason says. “I have fiduciary responsibilities, and I’m not going to be sitting on a ticking bomb.”

She also questions St. Johns County’s model of using an elected, independent taxing authority to fund mosquito control and prevention at all. Only a handful of counties in Florida operate that way.

Last year, the district collected around $8 million in property taxes and spent $9 million, on everything from insecticide spraying to public education, including operating the disease vector museum. The elected board members receive $4,800 in base pay annually.

Ultimately, Gleason hopes her resignation will put a spotlight on small boards like the Mosquito Control District’s.

“Sometimes you need to start with a clean, fresh set of eyes, and open a white piece of paper and say, ‘Are we at a point where we need to look at this?’” Gleason says. 

Still, Gleason says, she was proud of what she accomplished during her tenure on the board. Since 2022, the board has pursued transparency efforts like recording meetings and keeping videos archived online. 

Gleason’s resignation is effective immediately, and her replacement will be selected by Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson.

Below is the letter Gleason submitted to DeSantis and Simpson’s offices:

Gleason’s resignation comes after board members came under scrutiny last year for issuing themselves annual Christmas bonuses — a move that the district’s attorney said was likely in violation of the state law. Last year’s $1,000 bonuses were then canceled.