Join one of our clubs and caucuses:
Democratic Women's Club of Levy County
Democratic Women's Club of Levy County members are active in supporting the Democratic Party at both local and state levels. They receive training in campaign management, attend state conventions, engage in lobbying in Tallahassee, and help get out the vote for Democratic candidates during general elections. All Democrats, regardless of age or gender, including high school students, are welcome to join.
Kristine Switt, President of Democratic Women's Club of Levy County
Kristine earned a M.S. in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida while working as the Plant Manager at a local Dunnellon manufacturing plant. She retired from that facility in 2018 after nearly 25 years, having achieved the position of Chief Operating Officer. The facility manufactures and distributes activated carbon for water treatment and specialty purifications throughout the U.S. and abroad. In her position as C.O.O., her leadership emphasized a balance between profitability, the environment, and the health and safety of the workforce while complying with all regulations. She fought for employee benefits like higher-than-average local wages, paid sick leave, vacation, and holidays, and offered health insurance, knowing these benefits create a healthier, more productive workforce.
Since retiring, Kristine has become active in promoting the principles of good government through her participation in the activities of the Levy County Democratic Party. She believes that the role of government is to protect the people and the environment from the excesses of business and the abuses of power.
Levy County Democratic Environmental Caucus
The mission of the Levy County Environmental Caucus is to preserve the environmental health of Levy County and Florida through science based constructive networking.
Members of the Levy County Democratic Environmental Caucus support Democratic candidates who are committed to protecting Florida's environment. The caucus monitors local and state legislation and policies that might affect Florida’s environment and alerts government officials and the public.
Jay Bushnell, Chair
Jay Bushnell’s foundation on natural Florida is built on what he learned from his stepdad. Jay’s environmental baseline goes back to the mid 1950s when he learned to fish and hunt. He looks back on those times with fond memories, but he is alarmed by the developmental destruction to Florida’s environment. With degrees from St. Petersburg Junior College, Florida State University, and the University of Florida, he taught sociology, anthropology. and United States history for thirty years.
Presently, his conservation activities have him involved with the Friends of the Lower Suwannee and Cedar Keys Refuges, Cedar Keys Audubon, and the Florida Wildlife Federation.
He married his high school sweetheart and they raised two sons and now have four grandsons and one granddaughter.
Peggi Young, Secretary
Peggi Young is the manager and a stockholder of a 200-acre farm adjoining the Goethe State Forest Bailey Mine Tract. It is grazing land and a Florida sandhill ecosystem and habitat for endangered wildlife. The farm has karst features and recharge areas to the Aquifer. Most of the acreage is a cow/calf operation, with the cows doing their part as woodland managers. The farm is in the process of obtaining a conservation easement, which, which will, hopefully, protect this little bit of natural Florida in perpetuity.
Kim Wheeler, Treasurer
Kim Wheeler is a retired Human Resource Manager who created the Green Team at South Seas Island Resort. Living on Sanibel Island, she facilitated the Ocean Conservancy Coastal Cleanups and was a board member of Keep Lee County Beautiful. Since moving to Williston in 2015, Kim has been instrumental in the grassroots non-partisan opposition to the various toll road projects. She is a member of the RESTORE Act Advisory Committee, and writes articles on the need to protect our environment, aquifer, and rural communities. Kim lives on 20 acres of woods with a variety of fruit trees and a vegetable garden. Besides her husband and the normal wildlife, she shares her property with gopher tortoises and eastern indigo snakes.
Democratic Women's Club of Levy County members receive training in campaign management, attend state conventions, engage in lobbying in Tallahassee, and help get out the vote for Democratic candidates during general elections. All Democrats, regardless of age or gender, including high school students, are welcome to join.
Members of the DWC of Levy County are active in supporting the Democratic Party at both local and state levels.
Kristine Switt, President of Democratic Women's Club of Levy County
Kristine earned a M.S. in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida while working as the Plant Manager at a local Dunnellon manufacturing plant. She retired from that facility in 2018 after nearly 25 years, having achieved the position of Chief Operating Officer. The facility manufactures and distributes activated carbon for water treatment and specialty purifications throughout the U.S. and abroad. In her position as C.O.O., her leadership emphasized a balance between profitability, the environment, and the health and safety of the workforce while complying with all regulations. She fought for employee benefits like higher-than-average local wages, paid sick leave, vacation, and holidays, and offered health insurance, knowing these benefits create a healthier, more productive workforce.
Since retiring, Kristine has become active in promoting the principles of good government through her participation in the activities of the Levy County Democratic Party. She believes that the role of government is to protect the people and the environment from the excesses of business and the abuses of power.