A.G. Gancarski
The second of three debates between Jacksonville Sheriff’s Candidates Ken Jefferson and Mike Williams, held at Jacksonville University on Wednesday evening, is likely to be the most widely viewed of the three debates. The first one, held a week prior at First Coast News, saw Jefferson on the defensive quite often as the 30 minute discussion veered into personal attacks.
The debate on Wednesday night went a bit differently. Perhaps it was the crowd in the room, which gave Jefferson (and, for that matter, Jimmy Holderfield, who was in attendance) a larger ovation than it did Williams, that threw the Republican off his game. Though the vote taken of viewers went Williams’ way, those on hand seemed to take the debate differently.
The debate started off with standard talking points from Jefferson, who described the “veil of violence” over the city, and mentioned his published plan, along with his pledge to cut crime 25% in his first year in office. Williams reprised his familiar content that he’s ready to lead the “next generation,” but went personal soon thereafter, saying that of the three sheriffs Jefferson served under, “no one asked Ken” to lead anything.
A murmur went up from the crowd, which wasn’t a great sign for Williams’ ability to get personal attacks over on this occasion.
The heat was on from there, and Jefferson was as on point as he’s been anytime during this campaign. He took Williams, who led the gang reduction task force unit, to task for a reactive approach to the gang problem, saying he “did nothing… allowed them to organize, corrupt, and fester.”
“Mike Williams was in charge of the gang unit; he failed,” said the Democrat.
Williams countered that he had laid the groundwork for RICO prosecutions, by setting gangs up for “enhanced prosecution.” He also talked about the importance of intervening with at-risk youth, “getting them involved in things… so they never meet that gang member.” He also extolled the importance of a “community wide effort” focused on Prevention and Intervention.
That sounded great to Ken. “His response sounds like mine from 9 months ago,” he said. “It’s straight out of the playbook.”
The crowd popped again.
Jefferson went on the offensive again, saying that “everywhere I’ve served, I’ve led,” and contending that the idea that attaining rank says anything about someone’s ability to serve as a sheriff is a “flash-bang distraction.”
Williams did not back down from his contention that a sheriff needs experience to succeed.
The two discussed the last spike in violent crime in Jacksonville, back in the mid-2000s. Williams described it as a “spike like we see now,” and mentioned Operation Safe Streets, which involved the JSO knocking on 77,000 doors to get community compliance in their effort, as well as the Community Service Officers eliminated due to budget cuts.
Jefferson wasn’t having that. He said that in 2006, the JSO “needed a leader that could address [the issue] proactively” and described Operation Safe Streets as a “reaction,” before channeling Sun Tzu and saying that “in a time of peace, you prepare for war” by knocking on doors and interacting with the community.
“There’s a great disconnect,” said Jefferson, “between the community and the police.” Jefferson has stressed this point throughout his campaign, as do his supporters, who contrast Jefferson’s community-based approach with what they see as Williams’ dedication to the “militarization” of the JSO.
Part of that perceived disconnect resides in the racial makeup of the JSO, which, except for the Corrections side (which balances the numbers for the purposes of federal guidelines, with a lot of black and female employees and supervisors compared to other divisions), doesn’t look like Jacksonville according to critics inside and outside the JSO.
Jefferson talked of the virtues of a “racially balanced department” which could more effectively understand diverse cultures and populations. “The department does not look like the community,” he said, specifically regarding Hispanics, a growing demographic that is underrepresented in the JSO.
The candidates were allowed to ask each other a question next. Williams started off, asking Jefferson about his desire to farm out certain tasks, such as the investigation of police involved shootings to the FDLE, along with his desire to hire a CFO; the Republican wondered what part of the job of sheriff Jefferson would keep.
Jefferson addressed those questions, saying that FDLE investigations of police involved shootings would at once lend objectivity to the process and save money; regarding a CFO, a similar role already exists in the JSO. He found the objection to surrounding himself with good people ludicrous, saying that Williams should know the virtues of that, having been a director.
Jefferson’s question to Williams, meanwhile, was asking him if he would “stop the silly politics” of negative ad hominem attacks “while kids are dying on the street.”
Williams pointed out that “experience is important.”
“I will take that as a resounding no,” said Jefferson, who added that “my opponent brings supervisory skills; I bring leadership.”
Williams then got off his best line of the night: “Never take a private and make him a general.”
Then, completing what was an entertaining round of The Dozens, Jefferson quoted Malcolm X, saying that the “chickens had come home to roost,” and the “Director could not stop crime.”
Another heated moment occurred when the candidates discussed the trust deficit JSO experiences among the community. In response to Sheriff John Rutherford contending that people call 911, therefore they trust the police, Jefferson got off yet another zinger: “we’re the only agency in town.”
Regarding community distrust, Jefferson said he sees it and hears about it every day.
This was a pro-Jefferson crowd, and this was a good night (at least in the building) for Ken Jefferson, who felt he won the debate handily. Jefferson, according to internal polls on the Democratic side, is up by a few points. Whether that advantage will hold on Tuesday remains to be seen.
A note to the campaigns of Lenny Curry and Alvin Brown: do whatever is necessary to stack the room on Thursday night. Your supporters will get away with one or two spontaneous crowd reactions. Plan those spontaneous crowd reactions accordingly. By doing so, you will effectively manipulate the reactions of the home viewers. It’s not as if you’re debating again, after all.
