New City attorney says City future is bright

Jane West

After decades of practicing law around Florida Jane West started as the City of Palatka’s attorney on Sept. 18, very close to home.

“I live in the South Historic District, and so it was incredibly important for me to be able first to have a very short commute, which mine is about 53 seconds, but more importantly, to be able to have an impact in my hometown,” she said during an interview in City Hall on Monday.

She replaced Valeria Bland Thomas, who retired after being full-time City attorney since March 2021.

West has an undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida in International Relations and Fine Arts and a law degree from Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and has been a practicing attorney since 1998. 

Specializing in environmental and land use law she is familiar with the issues affecting North Florida and Putnam County. 

“I did a lot of land use law over in St. John’s County, and statewide, I did a lot of comprehensive plan amendment challenges and rezoning challenges throughout the entire state,” said West “I also lobbied for 1000 Friends of Florida. I was their lead lobbyist from 2019 until I came over here to the City of Palatka. 1000 Friends of Florida is the state’s leading nonprofit management advocacy organization. They advocated for smart, sustainable, livable, walkable communities. They are big proponents of historic Main Street and are also focused on water conservation and water quality issues. But my big purview was community planning and sustainable growth management.” 

West sees managing growth as being one of the biggest issues facing Palatka. 

“A big reason why I am happy to be here is I want to make sure that we plan the future growth that we see coming on the horizon. I want to make sure we plan it well because I want to continue living here and I don’t want to be forced out because of nightmarish traffic concerns, failing schools and overcrowding,” said West.

The one thing I’ve noticed in the short time that I’ve been here is that this city has incredible staff. I’ve been surprised and delighted with every department that I’ve been to. You’ve got a very positive, hard-working workforce,” she continued, 

“The future of Palatka is looking bright.”


Jane West

Meet Jane West

After decades of practicing law around Florida Jane West started as the City of Palatka’s attorney on Sept. 18, very close to home.

“I live in the South Historic District, and so it was incredibly important for me to be able first to have a very short commute, which mine is about 53 seconds, but more importantly, to be able to have an impact in my hometown,” she said during an interview in City Hall on Monday.

She replaced Valeria Bland Thomas, who retired after being full-time City attorney since March 2021.

West has an undergraduate degree from the University of South Florida in International Relations and Fine Arts and a law degree from Shepard Broad College of Law at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale and has been a practicing attorney since 1998. 

Specializing in environmental and land use law she is familiar with the issues affecting North Florida and Putnam County. 

“I did a lot of land use law over in St. John’s County, and statewide, I did a lot of comprehensive plan amendment challenges and rezoning challenges throughout the entire state,” said West “I also lobbied for 1000 Friends of Florida. I was their lead lobbyist from 2019 until I came over here to the City of Palatka. 1000 Friends of Florida is the state’s leading nonprofit management advocacy organization. They advocated for smart, sustainable, livable, walkable communities. They are big proponents of historic Main Street and are also focused on water conservation and water quality issues. But my big purview was community planning and sustainable growth management.” 

West sees managing growth as being one of the biggest issues facing Palatka. 

“A big reason why I am happy to be here is I want to make sure that we plan the future growth that we see coming on the horizon. I want to make sure we plan it well because I want to continue living here and I don’t want to be forced out because of nightmarish traffic concerns, failing schools and overcrowding,” said West.

The one thing I’ve noticed in the short time that I’ve been here is that this city has incredible staff. I’ve been surprised and delighted with every department that I’ve been to. You’ve got a very positive, hard-working workforce,” she continued, 

“The future of Palatka is looking bright.”