“This is absolutely no way to treat somebody who put their life on the line for 22 years for St. Johns County.” -Pete Melfi, 904 Now Podcast host    

Scott Bullard is a victim of the widespread “house cleaning” that has taken place since the previous county administrator who hired him was forced out. It’s a case of politics over performance.

A model firefighter with a record of zero disciplinary actions, Bullard was named 2013 Fire Rescue Paramedic of the Year.  He was instrumental in developing the Firefighter Development Program and the Live Fire Instructor Training Program.* He says Interim County Administrator Joy Andrews told him, “You did nothing wrong. You’re a strong leader. You have integrity. But the timing is not right for you to be fire chief right now.”  How does that make any sense?

Andrews asked him to resign, and when Bullard requested a day to consider what to do, she sent his resignation to the press anyway. Worse yet, Andrews ousted him just three years before he qualified for pension.

Andrews has exposed our county to potential litigation (that would cost us tax dollars) by not honoring the Union Contract that states former Chief Bullard should be returned to his prior rank of Battalion Chief. Here’s the wording of the Union Contract that our county could be sued over: “Section 8.5 Administrative Reversions: An employee who has been promoted out of the Collective Bargaining Unit can return to his prior rank if a position is available. The employee’s Department seniority will remain the same and his Time in Position seniority will be adjusted back to the seniority the employee had just prior to his promotion.” Bullard is being denied the return to his prior rank, and our county is being denied his service.

Bullard says he’ll have to start all over in another county if he can’t get his old job back. Residents were so outraged that he was ousted that Interim County Administrator Joy Andrews attempted to intimidate Bullard and his supporters into silence. Bullard told 904 Now that Andrews said, “If you want to revert back to your Battalion Chief position, we can make that happen, but you have to stop your campaign. You have a lot of people who are making phone calls and sending emails on your behalf. If you want a chance to revert back, you have to make all of this stop.”

Bullard then said, “A phone call was made to the Union President that was on a speaker phone so it was overheard by people.  It was from Commissioner Sarah Arnold, and she said that if people start showing up in my support, it will be to my detriment, it will force her hand and she’ll reveal the information she has on me. It will be very damaging, and I’ll never get a job in Florida again.” Bullard states that he has nothing to hide and there is no damaging information about him in existence. (Arnold also led the charge to oust the county administrator prior to Joy Andrews taking that spot, just three months ago.)

Bullard said Commissioner Sarah Arnold told more people about her threats against Bullard, but added that it all had to be kept quiet to protect Interim County Administrator Joy Andrews’ job. Andrews is currently competing with other candidates for the County Administrator position.  (It was recently revealed that Andrews used her position to secure a county job for a family member.)

Andrews later told Bullard that she was not going to allow him to revert to Battalion Chief. He replied, “What happens if I don’t resign?” Andrews said, “We will be forced to terminate you and we’ll figure out a reason why.”

Scott Bullard has served the department in operational ranks of Firefighter, Engineer, Lieutenant, Captain, and Battalion Chief.   He is more than qualified to return to his previous job.  How can we expect to attract qualified applicants to St. Johns County Fire and Rescue if this is what the future looks like for a firefighter who does his job well? Joy Andrews' poor decision is a safety issue for all St. Johns County residents.

See how Scott Bullard responded to trumped up allegations against him in news reports from News4Jax, ​ FirstCoastNews, and the 904 Now interview (which starts at the 8:35 mark).

Please sign this petition that calls for Scott Bullard to be reinstated with St. Johns County Fire and Rescue, and share this petition TODAY.  (Change.org’s requests for donations will not help him, but sharing this petition with St. Johns County residents will.)

*St. Johns County website