A.G. Gancarski
[Updated with comment from Matt Shirk‘s office]
The question on the minds of Jacksonville political watchers: will Matt Shirk run for re-election as the 4th Circuit Public Defender?
Though Shirk has yet to file for the office, Sam Shiver of the Public Defender’s office confirmed to FloridaPolitics.com on Friday that Shirk is in fact running.
But he’s not alone. Another Republican, retired Judge Charles Cofer, is in the race and has a lot of significant support already.
Even before that confirmation of a re-election bid, observers felt that it was imminent, as some of Shirk’s recent hires in the Public Defender office suggest that a campaign is imminent, as four PD employees lead double lives as political operatives.
Three of those hires have been made in 2015.
Sam Shiver, a veteran political operative; Felecia Fredericks, Education Director at the Police Athletic League; and Tillis DeVaughn, a veteran of recent Democratic campaigns and former director of the Jacksonville Day Resource Center.
Also on board: Robbie Foster, the son of a Jacksonville judge.
A caveat: The intersection between retail politics and public service is fraught with overlap, with party operatives moving into the public sector with numbing regularity. But the Cofer campaign notes that there is a “steady stream of obvious campaign communications currently coming out of the PD’s Office via email.”
“Lord knows that if anyone ever needed a good campaign adviser, it’s Matt Shirk,” said John Daigle, Cofer’s campaign consultant.
“I just wish he’d pay his campaign staffers the old-fashioned way — through campaign funds — instead of with taxpayer money.”
FloridaPolitics.com contacted Shirk’s office for comment, and Shiver provided a response Friday afternoon.
“The Office of the Public Defender continuously strives to fill core functions that fulfill the mission of this office with the best and most qualified candidates imaginable. Matt Shirk has a proven track record of advocating for programs that are cost efficient, [which] actually help people and fix problems within our community all the while holding individuals accountable (Vision for Excellence, Veteran’s Court, Civil Citations, C.H.O.P., etc.),” Shiver wrote.
“Mr. Shirk’s commitment to spending the people’s tax dollars wisely has been well documented by numerous local media sources. The Office of the Public Defender will continue to serve the communities of Nassau, Duval and Clay Counties with professionalism and sound fiscal management as it has done for the last seven years under the sound leadership of Matt Shirk,” Shiver said.
One should expect an interesting race between Shirk and Cofer. The most recent benchmark for spirited campaigning in Duval County was the runoff in the Sheriff’s Race between Ken Jefferson and Mike Williams, a contest with more drama than a Bette Davis film festival.
