Atlantic Beach Mayor's Race: A Chat with Brittany Norris
by Krystina Wales
Brittany Norris has always been a go-getter.
She was the second person we ever featured on our publication back in 2016, and since we last interviewed her in 2017—during her candidacy for Seat 5 on Atlantic Beach’s Commission, which she ended up winning—she’s garnered a wealth of knowledge, experience, and impact, all while working as Whalebone’s digital director (and so much more).
Today, the twelve-year resident of Atlantic Beach, FL is looking to take on the Mayor’s seat, and all three mayors of Jacksonville’s beach cities—Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, and Jax Beach—have endorsed her. With election day under a week away, we sat down with Brittany to learn more about her campaign before we head to the polls.
Why should Atlantic Beach citizens vote for you? Give us your elevator pitch.
BN: I'm the only candidate running for mayor that has any experience at City Hall. I think the first time both of my opponents entered City Hall was when they were signing up to run.
I have institutional knowledge and history, which is huge—because mayoral terms in Atlantic Beach are only two years. By the time you figure out where the bathrooms are and how to run a meeting, you're halfway through the term. I don't need that time to play catch-up, which saves voters’ money, and keeps us ahead on projects and securing grants, and all sorts of positive momentum.
How will you use your experience in digital marketing and communications as Mayor?
BN: Due to my skill set, I can boil down complicated ideas to build solutions and consensus with folks. Some people get so caught in the weeds, or they get so fixated on one part of the problem, versus the big picture and the long-term implications. We can't think small. Being able to speak to that is super helpful. Also, having an awareness of what communication touchpoints look like for people is important. Not everyone's on Facebook, not everyone's on email. Being able to figure out what excites people or brings people together is very helpful, and my career really supports that.
What would you say is a common misconception of people in politics?
BN: A lot of people think you have to choose a side. The liberal versus conservative duality doesn’t exist like you think it would at the local level. When it comes to issues that directly affect them, people don’t often stay as clear-cut as they think on national issues. There’s a big misconception that there has to be this dichotomy in local politics. But we all want our trash picked up, and we don't want to have to pay a lot of money for it. We don't want our houses to flood. Those are very basic things that everyone can get behind—together.
What’s a pain point for you that you still want to work to fix?
BN: For us in AB, there's this ideal of “complete streets,” which in theory means a road should be safe for anyone, no matter what your method of transportation—whether you're biking, driving, or walking. There's a whole toolkit of ways to change up a road to make that a reality. It might sound silly or boring, but if you make the road safer, people can get outside, people can age in place, kids have more room to play; all sorts of good things.
The political gridlock in government makes that difficult to put into action as quickly as we would like, but it’s a double-edged sword. We do want to be transparent, and we want community input and to do it thoughtfully, but it does hold us back from giving the community something it needs as quickly as we’d like.
You’re young, a woman, and a person of color. What are some positives about that identity in politics, and what are some challenges?
BN: My youth excites people. I’m often the youngest, blackest person in the room, and I think some folks recognize the absence of that voice in some of the conversations in our community. Unfortunately, a lot of the solutions and ideas proposed will not outlive some of the older officials at City Hall. Especially when we talk about sea level rise or planning for resilience—we're talking 50-year, century-long ideas—and they are being brought up by people who have a longer stake in the community and be experiencing those bigger storms and higher tides down the line.
Also, it attracts younger folks to the playing field. My presence gets a lot of my peers excited, because I'm one of them. They see the possibility of getting involved and making changes. The challenge is that oftentimes, people don't take me seriously. People discount me because they automatically assume my age negates the possibility of wisdom, or experience, or insight.
In your last interview with BWH, you said, “I’ve thought myself too honest to be political.” In the past five years, honesty in politics has taken on a new meaning. How has that phrase changed for you?
BN: No one wants to have real honest conversations about what fixing problems looks like. When people ask me about problems, I do think they find it refreshing when I’m honest with them. I give them benchmarks and metrics that they understand. When I tell them, ‘this is a complicated problem and we're taking steps. It's not going to be solved overnight,’ think people appreciate it, but it hard to do. Honesty doesn’t sell well.
What does leadership look like for you?
BN: Good leadership should include being able to empathize and put yourself in other people's shoes—because none of us will have everyone's lived experience. That's just impossible. My lived experience is not the totality of every experience at all.
What accomplishment are you most proud of?
BN: Mayport Road. I was the squeaky wheel that got FDoT and North Florida Transportation Planning Organization (TPO) to basically not only put us on their five-year schedule, but to also budget for it. It’ll go from six lanes to four. We'll be part of the East Coast Greenway, which means it will be a protect protected bike path. It’s going to change the very nature of that road, which will be huge for citizens living along there. It's going to be easier to cross; it'll be good for businesses. Hopefully, it will be done in the next two to three years. And when it does, Mayport and the Marsh Oaks area, will be a different neighborhood. And I feel like that’s pretty dope.
How do you typically start your mornings?
BN: I usually go to the dog park. There's this really fun little community of people that have popped up there. We'll get together and laugh about the weirdest things, grab some coffee, and let the dogs run around.
How do you decompress?
BN: I work out—a lot.
Favorite spot in Atlantic Beach?
BN: Dutton Island Preserve, which is home to a set of trails right on the marsh. We have this amazing park out there. There's a kayak launch. You can fish, you can run, you can do a little bit of hiking. It’s really lovely to be out there and not realize there's a whole city on either side of you. You get to see some nature, and it's very calm and quiet.
Final thoughts?
BN: It’s a good and honorable thing to do this stuff. I run into so many people who say, ‘I couldn't do this and you're so brave.’ I guess so? But I think that's something we all need to learn to do is to be brave. Especially in this world. We literally had, I think it was last week, people projecting antisemitic messages and hanging them up across one of the overpasses. People fixate on the fear and don't recognize, that at a certain point, we're all called to stand up, speak out, and be brave. We need more people to do it. It can mean being in leadership at a local level, or just making sure your neighbors are taken care of and can get to the grocery store.
I think it's incumbent on us to participate—or this whole system falls. You just have to be passionate, willing to learn, and willing to stand for what's right.
I'm ideally looking for people to get involved and to step up, too. I'm not going to be in this position forever.
Brittany Norris has served for five years on the Atlantic Beach City Commission, with two of those years as Mayor Pro Tem. Part of a military family (Semper Paratus), Brittany has lived on all coasts of the United States: east, west, and gulf… and t0 her, Atlantic Beach is truly unique. After graduating from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, she made her way to the beaches area, settling down on the marsh side of Atlantic Beach in 2010. She has been here and involved in the local community ever since. Learn more about her campaign here.
