Gov. Ron DeSantis has appointed Brandon Patty to serve as St. Johns County Clerk of Court and Comptroller after the resignation of Hunter Conrad.
Patty will serve out the remainder of Conrad’s term, which ends in November 2020.
Conrad left the position to become County Administrator after the St. Johns County Commission fired former County Administrator Michael Wanchick for “a number of systematic leadership problems.”
Conrad was named as a potential replacement for Wanchick in late November. But Conrad was forced to resign as Clerk of Court before taking on the new gig.
That left DeSantis to name his replacement. Patty was selected by the Governor on Monday.
In 2016, Patty attempted to run in DeSantis’ old congressional district as a Republican after DeSantis decided to pursue a Senate bid. But Patty backed out of the congressional contest after DeSantis decided to run for reelection. He now serves as the Chairman of the St. Johns County Republican Party.
Patty, of St. Augustine, has worked as the Director of Operations of Defenshield Inc. since 2016. Before that, he worked as a senior consultant at Deloitte, a management consulting firm.
Patty’s has a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University and a master’s degree from the London School of Economics.
Patty also has military experience. He has been a U.S. Navy Reserve Officer since 2008 and was deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom.