By Kate Kimmel
Fernandina Beach City Manager Sarah Campbell recently marked her one-year anniversary working and living in the city, an occasion her staff celebrated with a poem, a homemade video and a commemorative plaque. The moment was public and lighthearted, but it reflected a role that is more often defined by what happens away from ceremony and microphones.
The city’s most visible moments unfold under bright lights and open comment periods, but the machinery that moves an agenda forward operates elsewhere. As city manager, Campbell occupies that quieter space, where policy is drafted, tested and revised before it ever reaches the dais. A self-described cautious leader, she approaches decision-making as a process of elimination and verification, insisting that every viable option be explored before the city commits to one.
At commission meetings, Campbell sits among elected officials, offering clarification or strategic context when needed. Long before those meetings, however, she is deeply involved in shaping how information is gathered, organized and presented, which is a process she takes particular pride in. For Campbell, preparation is not about controlling outcomes, but about ensuring commissioners and the public alike are equipped with the same facts.
Campbell moved to Fernandina Beach last year from Clay County, where she had lived since 2002. She has said the transition brought noticeable changes, particularly the city’s larger scale and the very high level of engagement from community organizations. Residents here, she quickly learned, are deeply invested not only in outcomes, but in how decisions are made.
That sense of connection was not entirely new to her. Before relocating, Campbell and her husband frequently brought their two sons to Fernandina for events like Dickens on Centre, concerts downtown, and camping trips to Fort Clinch and Little Talbot Island.
Professionally, Campbell arrived with deep municipal experience. She spent 16 years working for the Town of Orange Park, the last seven as city manager. While she had grown close to that community, she said she came to Fernandina Beach seeking a broader scope of responsibility and a city facing more complex, transformative challenges.
Campbell has said she is not afraid of change — an important posture for a city navigating major infrastructure and development projects — but she pairs that openness with deliberation. She favors a balanced approach to growth, one that weighs economic opportunity alongside long-term impacts, and she is careful to present commissioners with multiple paths forward rather than a single recommendation.
That caution does not translate into hesitation. Colleagues describe her as organized and proactive, someone who gathers extensive background on potential agenda items well before they formally appear before the commission. By the time an issue reaches public discussion, Campbell has often already examined its financial, logistical and legal dimensions.
It is this behind-the-scenes work that makes Campbell an often unseen but foundational presence in city governance. Commissioners debate and vote on policy, but the information guiding those decisions is curated through her office. That responsibility, she believes, carries an obligation to transparency.
Campbell has said she has no interest in shaping outcomes behind closed doors. Instead, she aims to make the public as informed as commissioners and staff, welcoming questions and encouraging dialogue, especially when misinformation circulates online. She values face-to-face conversations, where she can walk residents through policies and address concerns directly. At the same time, she does not dismiss the emotional weight those concerns can carry.
“The residents of Fernandina see it as a sacred place, and I understand that they have a vested interest in protecting it,” Campbell said.
Her engagement with the community extends beyond city hall. Since moving to Fernandina, Campbell has joined the Rotary Club and occasionally runs with Amelia Island’s Sunday Funday group. She has completed half-marathons and hopes to continue participating in longer races as her schedule allows.
Professionally, Campbell points to several projects she has found especially rewarding during her first year, including the waterfront park, the rebuild of the miniature golf facility and the reopening of North Second Street. She also highlighted quieter accomplishments, such as securing insurance savings that generated approximately $5 million in new funds for the city.
She has overseen key hiring decisions as well, including the addition of a capital improvement projects manager and a new fire chief. Campbell has said she values working with what she considers a capable and collaborative staff — a team she credits with helping her navigate a demanding first year.
Having spent her first year building the framework, Campbell now looks ahead to navigating the projects she helped bring to life.
kkimmel@nassaunewsline.net
