Wade Ross is a native Floridian who grew up in Central Florida. He graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Art Education and has been teaching in public schools since 1995. After volunteering for six weeks in the summer of 2013 on the Spanish Museum Ship docked in St. Augustine, El Galeon de Andalucía, Wade decided that he wanted to make this beautiful city his home. When he returned to Florida after teaching for two years at an International School in South Korea, he moved to St. Augustine, bought a home, and began building a life here.

While teaching in Brevard County Schools, Wade served his fellow educators in the capacity of location representative for the Brevard Federation of Teachers.  He was elected to the Executive Board as a Director at Large and served for 5 years.  In that role, he stood up for teachers, stood against unethical and unfair business practices, and worked with administrations to create a productive safe and environment for all.

Shortly after arriving in St. Augustine, Wade continued to use his advocacy skills and began serving its citizens and guests by joining and participating in, and later moderating, a Facebook crime watch page. He has communicated and met with city officials, arranged two town hall meetings for the public to address vagrancy and panhandling, documented countless crimes and safety issues, and testified at the Commission meeting in which the Panhandling ordinances were approved. He continues to work with other members of the St. Augustine Crime Watch Group and the community both on the page and behind the scenes to make the community safe and clean.

“I would like to continue to serve you and this city as a City Commissioner.  As a reformer of the Historic City of St. Augustine, it is my goal to have a safe and clean city with effective, transparent government that represents it’s citizens.”