Caroline Klancke joins crowded Leon County Commission race

Caroline Klancke, the former deputy executive director and General Counsel of the Florida Commission on Ethics, has thrown her hat into the ring of the most-contested Leon County Commission race of the 2022 election cycle.

She announced her candidacy for the Leon County Commission District 5 seat last week. The seat is currently held by Kristin Dozier, but her decision to jump into the Tallahassee mayoral race has left six candidates vying for the open Commission seat. Klancke is the second candidate to file since the turn of the calendar year.

Klancke is a local lawyer with 15 years of experience practicing governmental law and administration. The Florida State University and University of Miami Law grad has lived in the county for more than 20 years. She resigned from the Florida Commission on Ethics to run for office.

In a statement to Florida Politics, Klancke said her experience as a public servant strengthens her ability to be a good County Commissioner.

“I am running because I believe District 5 deserves to be represented by an experienced public servant working for the benefit of all residents. I am running to ensure that Leon County exercises ethical, responsible stewardship of the community’s limited resources,” Klancke said.

She said her previous experience as a senior attorney with the Florida Public Service Commission helped her gain expertise on energy infrastructure and hurricane preparedness planning that she could use on the Commission. She also wants to spearhead a project to provide public transportation to assist District 5 residents in accessing new employment opportunities within the county, such as the new Amazon facility, according to her campaign website.

If elected, she said she intends to work with her fellow Commissioners to reform the Leon County Code of Ethics, using her expertise to expand it and bolster the county’s ethics education programs.

“I have seen the corrosive effects that corruption can have in local communities, and I have fought tirelessly against it. But I have only just begun to serve,” Klancke said.

If she gains enough resident petitions to qualify, she will be on the ballot during the Aug. 23 Primary.