Gerald Wilkerson launches run for Duval County Judge

Gerald Wilkerson, a Jacksonville lawyer specializing in criminal law and family law cases, ran a close race against Mark Hulsey for a 4th Circuit judgeship last year, losing by a close enough margin to require a recount.

The campaign was full of drama and intrigue, with Hulsey coming under scrutiny for racist and sexist comments he made on the bench, as well as for tasking assistants with work outside their official duties.

Hulsey resigned in January before impeachment proceedings were to begin. And he’s out of the political game — permanently

Wilkerson, meanwhile, has launched another judicial campaign– for Duval County Court Judge in 2018.

Wilkerson, who carried Duval County narrowly against Hulsey, will be able to build off of name recognition acquired in the tri-county race in 2016.

Currently, he is unopposed … and the current occupant of the office, Brent Shore, who isn’t running again, encouraged Wilkerson to run.

Since that contentious August primary, many of those who backed Hulsey — even in the face of media and official scrutiny — have had what could be called buyer’s remorse.

“Many many people are very mad about it and feel as if I should have automatically gotten it when he resigned,” Wilkerson said Thursday.

Wilkerson has plenty of lead time in which he can get his campaign going, and he’s starting slowly with the hopes of building momentum, talking to potential supporters and courting key endorsers, such as the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters, in the weeks ahead.

He plans on qualifying by petition, an effort which will be bolstered by a combination of his previous campaign effort and the realization among many Hulsey supporters that they should have given Wilkerson a closer look given the former judge’s issues.