New player in Jacksonville sheriff’s race gets key endorsements

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The predetermination for the adjacent Jacksonville sheriff isn’t until 2023, but connected Tuesday Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and Congressman John Rutherford threw their value down Republican campaigner T.K. Waters.

Some deliberation it’s present Waters’ contention to lose.

The endorsements travel aft Waters successful the past had indicated helium whitethorn not tally pursuing the decease of his lad successful 2018.

“There was ever a tendency to run, but passim clip you commencement reasoning astir immoderate things. There person been immoderate idiosyncratic things that happened successful my beingness that I stepped backmost and evaluated. I had to marque definite that I was ready,” said Waters, who is presently Chief of Investigations astatine JSO.

It’s hard to cognize the governmental motivations for specified large endorsements astir a twelvemonth and a fractional earlier predetermination day, but the determination volition interaction Democrat Lakesha Burton, who galore believed to beryllium the frontrunner.

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According to the Duval County Supervisor of elections, JSO Assistant Chief Burton present trails Waters successful the wealth contention truthful far: Waters has raised $150,000 followed by Burton successful 2nd astatine $103,000 successful contributions. There are besides authorities governmental committees supporting some Burton and Waters, according to Florida Politics, and caller reports amusement Burton has raised much wealth statewide.

Burton said Tuesday she respects Rutherford, a erstwhile Jacksonville sheriff, arsenic good arsenic Williams but she’s trying to look to the future, not the past.

“I’m not moving to proceed what’s been done astatine JSO for the past 20 years. I’m moving connected a caller benignant of enactment that volition empower citizens who privation to spouse with instrumentality enforcement successful making our metropolis safer and much just,” Burton said. “This predetermination volition see a ample excavation of bully candidates. I’m focused connected making definite voters cognize the differences betwixt the candidates, arsenic good arsenic who I americium -- arsenic a idiosyncratic and arsenic a instrumentality enforcement professional. I’m starring a run that’s astir uniting the citizens of Jacksonville, not astir parties oregon politics. That’s however I volition pb JSO. It’s going to beryllium an breathtaking 18 months, and I privation to invitation everyone to prosecute successful it.”

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There are besides 3 different candidates successful the race: Democrats Wayne Clark, Tony Cummings and Republican Mathew Nemeth.

Clark said the endorsements whitethorn look bully but said that convulsive transgression is up successful Jacksonville and determination is simply a cognition of a deficiency of transparency astatine JSO.

A connection from Cummings reads:

News4Jax besides tried to interaction Nemeth. If helium responds, we volition adhd that effect to this story.

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