Former Sanford Mayor dies
Triplett led city during Trayvon Martin case
Jeff Triplett, who led Sanford as its mayor when the killing of Trayvon Martin sparked unrest in the city, passed away at 52 after a bout with lung cancer, his brother announced on social media.
Kent Triplett said in a Facebook post Saturday afternoon that the former mayor and president of the Sanford Chamber of Commerce suffered from cluster headaches and other symptoms of the illness and is now “pain-free.” Arrangements are being made for a private funeral, he said.
“I know Jeff has many close friends and has touched thousands of people’s lives throughout the years,” the post said. “We are asking for privacy as we deal with our grief. In lieu of flowers, we are asking for donations to the American Cancer Society in Jeff ’s name. RIP my brother.”
The Sanford Herald reported that Triplett died Saturday morning, posting its announcement on YouTube and Twitter.
Triplett’s time leading Sanford was marked by Martin’s death after police initially did not arrest George Zimmerman, a Neighborhood Watch volunteer who followed Martin before shooting him dead following an altercation.
Bill Lee, the city’s police chief at the time, was soon after fired as thousands of protesters flocked to call for Zimmerman’s prosecution.
Triplett also met with leaders in Sanford’s Black community and later attended a rally at Mellon Park, where he was invited to speak by then-U.S. Congresswoman Corinne Brown but was later booed offstage. He then visited Washington, D.C., to meet with NAACP leaders and U.S. Justice Department officials.
“He really cared about Sanford,” said Coco Hepburn, a community activist who participated in the protests following Martin’s death. “He definitely saw the racial divide in Sanford and wanted to see that healed.”
Hepburn said she initially disliked the embattled mayor as protests intensified but eventually became close friends with him in the years that followed.
She said he confided in her about his cancer diagnosis and often joked to soften conversations about it, but she wasn’t able to personally see him before he passed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“He was a very caring person and a lot of his humor, especially with his illness, was because he wanted to see people be happy,” Hepburn said. “He always found a humorous way to discuss it.”
Last year, Triplett abruptly resigned from office to run for Seminole County property appraiser. A registered Republican, he ultimately lost the race as a no-party affiliation candidate after garnering only 40% of the vote.
“Serving as mayor has been one of the proudest achievements of my professional career,” Triplett said. “Sanford will always be home for me, and I take comfort knowing the city is in fine hands.”
Mayor Art Woodruff, who was appointed as Triplett’s successor, said he remembers Triplett as the man with whom he often disagreed while at the same time working together for the community, especially during the unrest following the Trayvon Martin killing.
“His ability to lead us through that is something everyone’s going to remember,” he said.