GREEN COVE SPRINGS – With the stroke of a pin, District 3 County Commissioner Jim Renninger became an official candidate for reelection in 2024.

So far, nobody else has filed to compete for the District 3 seat.

The incumbent said that while it is still nine months until the petition deadline next May, his constituents have been asking him whether he would seek a second term.

Renninger, who also serves as the Vice Chair for the Commissioners, has addressed several issues, such as evictions and code violations, the Gateway to Clay initiative to improve Wells Road and aligning Clay’s priorities with the Northeast Florida Regional Council through the Strategic Plan, which focuses on forefront issues like affordable housing, stormwater resilience and parks. 

He discussed several centerpiece issues he plans to run on as the campaign for his second term looms ahead. During his next term, Renninger would seek to address the situation at the airport in Reynolds Park in Green Cove Springs, which Pegasus Technologies own.

The company and city are in a legal dispute because the city annexed and rezoned approximately 14 acres less than a mile away from the private airstrip in June 2022.

“The local governments should have developed codes for operations of airports so that you can maintain operability and security for all concerns. You need safety for the pilots, and you need safety for the people on the ground,” he said.

Count initiatives aimed toward the county’s military veterans as another item he plans to focus on. Renninger said he would like to create a more effective chain of communication among veterans’ organizations, and he hopes to create an affordable housing project for those that served the United States.

Veterans aren’t the only group he seeks to provide more access to for affordable housing. 

“Affordable housing is always affordable to someone. We just need to get enough (affordable housing) for all (income) categories so we can meet the demands of our workforce. And then I’m talking about our workforce; I’m talking about teachers, lawyers, HVAC technicians, welders, and other positions. We need good-quality (housing) on a wide-spectrum,” Renninger said. 

One model for what other housing could look like is the recently-completed Bryce Landing in Middleburg.

The 35-year Orange Park resident has 26 years of experience as a pilot in the U.S. Navy, where he attained the rank of Captain before retiring in 1998. He spent nine years on the Orange Park Town Council.