Matt McClain will continue as district 3 commissioner

File photo: Commissioner Matt McClain looks on as hundreds of people fill the Marion County Commission auditorium to oppose the Jumbolair expansion during the Marion County Commission meeting in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2204. The Jumbolair expansion proposal was withdrawn before the meeting started. 200 people signed up to speak against the expansion. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2024.

Marion County Commissioner Matthew McClain will retain the district 3 seat he was appointed to by Gov. Ron DeSantis last September after prevailing against a write-in candidate Rich Brown.

Encouraging a write-in candidate to run to close voting in races to only Republican voters when there are no Democratic candidates has become a popular move in recent years and practically speaking makes winning the general election a formality.

McClain, 34, is a third-generation Marion County resident, is the son of Stan McClain, a former Marion County commissioner and state House representative who has termed out of that seat and will next represent Marion County in the Florida Senate district 9.

Prior to being appointed a commissioner, McClain worked in the state Legislature as the chief aide to Florida Sen. Dennis Baxley since 2016 and worked under former State Rep. Charlie Stone (wife of current commissioner Michelle Stone) starting in 2011.

According to financial campaign records filed to date, the McClain family, father and son, pay a substantial amount of campaign money raised to Front Line Agency, a Tallahassee campaign consultant owned by McClain’s uncle, Bret Doster.

County commissioners serve four-year terms and receive an annual salary of $107,386.

After his win, McClain told the “Gazette” that his priorities will remain the same.

“Invest in better equipment and resources for all of our first responders. Build more roads and invest in critical infrastructure so that we can accommodate the growth we’ve seen in Marion County. Protect our natural resources and rural areas so that they can be enjoyed by our future generations,” he said.

McClain said that voters’ passage of the infrastructure surtax is going to help the county accomplish those investments in public safety and infrastructure.

“It’s now our job to ensure that those funds are used efficiently and effectively,” he said.