Steering Committee Membership

2021-2025

J. Maggio

Chair

Brief Bio:

Dr. J. Maggio was born in Brooklyn, NY and is a life-long Democrat. He has lived in Gainesville since 1997. He earned his JD and PhD in political science from the University of Florida. He works as a professor of political science at St Johns River State College in Palatka, where he also chaired the effort to form a faculty union. As a member of the Florida Bar Association, over the past few years J mostly used his legal background as a voter protection attorney for the FDP. He was very active throughout north Florida during the 2018 election and recount, and he was the FDP’s co-lead attorney for Alachua County voter protection during the 2020 election. He was elected Chair of the Alachua County DEC in December 2020. J has published several scholarly articles on political theory, and he enjoys artsy movies and TV, literary and genre fiction, tons of music, and playing guitar. J also loves baseball, and he enjoys losing in fantasy baseball every year. 

To contact you can email chair@alachuadems.org

Iris Burke

Vice-Chair

Brief Bio:

I am a retired certified mediator, and a retired (emeritus) law teacher. I specialized
in teaching professional skills and clinical legal education, supervising law students
who were providing legal services to clients from underserved communities. In the
past few years, I have been Vice Chair of the Blue Wave Coalition of Alachua County,
on the policy board of Women for Wise Growth, and a board member of Our
Revolution.

My most important goals for the DEC are to grow and diversify our membership, to
connect closely to community issues year-round, and to help ensure active
participation in our committees, clubs and caucuses. Prior to becoming DEC Vice-
Chair, I was Chair of the DEC Policy and Bylaws Committee which led a successful
effort to make the DEC more participatory, transparent, and effective.

To contact you can email vicechair@alachuadems.org

Richard Powell

Secretary

Brief Bio:

I am a retired independent school teacher and administrator. My teaching fields were U. S. History and American Government. I came to Oak Hall School in 1995 with my wife Ann, and worked there for 19 years. For 13 of those years, I was the Upper School Head and Director of College Counseling. Prior to coming to Oak Hall, I worked in five other independent schools. Perhaps the most interesting was a boarding school in Arizona which was on a 40,000 acre working cattle ranch. While there, I once rode a mule 26 miles across the High Sonoran Desert to get to a camping site.
I have been interested in politics since 1954. I passed out matchbooks in front of an office building in my hometown in Oklahoma for the son of a family friend who was running for County Attorney. He was a Republican. I was never wholly committed to the Republican Party and became a Democrat in 1972 a result of the burgeoning Nixon scandals. I have served on five DECs in four states. Aside from the Alachua County DEC, I am active at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, INDIVISIBLE: Gainesville Chapter, and the Interfaith Alliance for Immigrant Justice. My other interests include travel, reading, cooking, and bonsai.

To contact you can email secretary@alachuadems.org

Melvin Flournoy

Treasurer

Brief Bio:

*In The Works*

To contact you can email treasurer@alachuadems.org

Marcie Stefan

State Committeewoman

Brief Bio:

Born in Puerto Rico to Dominican parents, Marcie moved to Miami in 2006 and later moved to Gainesville in 2016 where she currently resides with her family. In 2017 Marcie joined the Alachua County Executive Committee as Precinct Captain, she was elected in 2018 as State Committeewoman for Alachua County becoming the first LatinX to be elected as part of the Executive Board and was recently re-elected for a second term. Marcie started and was elected President of the local Democratic Hispanic Caucus of Florida Alachua County Chapter leading efforts to organize and mobilize the LatinX community. She has also served as the DHCF Regional Representative for North/Central Florida and Second Vice President. With over 20 years of Marketing and Public Relations experience today she owns her own Marketing & PR business with clients all over the US and Latin America.

To contact you can email committeewoman@alachuadems.org

Samuel McKee III

State Committeeman

Brief Bio:

Sam McKee is a democratic socialist and Florida native who has lived in Alachua County since 2016. He first started volunteering for campaigns during the ’08 primary and general elections in support of Barack Obama. In 2020 he was inspired through the Bernie Sanders campaign to officially join his county’s DEC as a Precinct Leader. In addition to running in his own precinct, he recruited over 35 new Precinct Leader candidates across Alachua County. He believes in a politics that builds power through grassroots organizing and improving the material conditions of those who need it most. He wants to help continue the work of making the Democratic Party more people-powered and guided by justice. He currently serves as one of Alachua County’s two State Committeepeople. Pronouns: he/him.

To contact you can email committeeman@alachuadems.org

Contact

Cynthia Chestnut

Committee Member

Brief Bio:

A native of Tallahassee, Cynthia Moore Chestnut received her B.S. in Speech Pathology, Florida A & M University; M.S. in Speech Pathology, Florida State University and D.P.A. from Nova-Southeastern University in Public Administration.
She began her political career in Gainesville becoming the first African American Woman elected to the Gainesville City Commission, Mayor-Commissioner; first Woman and African-American elected to serve in the Florida House of Representatives, House District 23; first African American Woman elected to the Alachua County Commission and to serve as Chair.
Cynthia Moore Chestnut was elected to fill an unexpired term as Chair of the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee in 2014 and appointed as Vice Chair of the Florida Democratic Party by Chair Allison Tant. She was elected to a full four-year term as Chair of the Alachua County Democratic Executive Committee in 2016, becoming the first African American to serve as Party Chair.
Chestnut considers one of her greatest recognitions as “Alachua County Democrat of the Year” award in 2016. Most recently she received the President’s Award for Community Engagement from the Democratic Black Caucus of Florida.
Her memberships include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Gainesville Chapter of the Links, The Visionaries Club, Democratic Women’s Club of Alachua County, The Opinionated Ladies Book Club (founder) and Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church.
She is married to Charles S. Chestnut III, mother to Christopher and stepmother to five, including Charles “Chuck” Chestnut, IV.