GREEN COVE SPRINGS – Dr. Kristin Burke isn’t a politician. She is a mother and a chiropractor who just happens to one of the newest members of the Clay Board of County Commissioners.

Burke was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. She and her family moved to Mayport when her father was stationed there. She grew up in the area and met her husband just after graduating from high school. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of North Florida before receiving her medical degree from Life University in Marietta, Georgia. She and her husband then moved back to Clay County.

“I’ve never been in politics…never even thought about it,” said Burke. Some of her friends and neighbors suggested that she get involved politically. “So I started looking into it, and I decided, why not?” Burke put her name in the hat and discovered that her district could use help in different areas. With her youngest child [of four] now being 13 years old, she realized that she had more time to put into being more involved.

Burke is focused on the condition of the roads in her district, as well as trying to get a temporary traffic light on Russell Road, to help decrease accidents. She’s also concerned about the rapid growth of the county.

“Making sure that we’re being very careful with the amount of development that’s coming in; that’s something that our district is very concerned about, and rightfully so,” she said. “We have to make sure that we’re not just saying ‘yes’ to everything that comes up, and we’re really being smart about that. We’ve gotta really be careful with that and know that we have stuff left for the future, for our kids.”

Burke doesn’t plan to be in politics forever. She sees one, maybe two terms in office, and hopes that she can do some good work for her community.