A.G. Gancarski
A few weeks back, Melissa Ross took a look at the big money flowing into the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Race, as seven candidates vie to replace Sheriff John Rutherford. Because of the fundraising prowess of most of the candidates — 6 of the 7 have raised at least $112k — it’s a reasonable bet that the March 24 unitary election won’t decide anything, except for which two candidates will make the seemingly inevitable runoff election. As local political expert Mike Binder, a political science professor at the University of North Florida and leading local pollster, said at the time:
“Early money is probably on Mike Williams and Ken Jefferson to make it to the May runoff. But Farhat is a formidable candidate with a decent team behind him. And with seven candidates and practically no real name recognition countywide for any of them, it could really go in any direction. With so many candidates 20 percent of the vote could get you into the runoff. I don’t see any reason why any one of these candidates couldn’t get to that number.”
There is a dearth of reliable polling on the race currently — the closest thing we have is the occasional preference poll, such as the one last week at a luncheon at the San Jose Country Club on Jacksonville’s Southside. That poll was won handily by Jay Farhat, with 41% of the vote. But it is easy to discount that number as having any sort of predictive reliability, given that Farhat attends the nearby San Jose Catholic Church, a very close-knit community, which could have led to the room being stacked with his supporters.
There are a number of factors in play that could skew who makes the runoff. With five Republicans and two Democrats in the race, it is quite likely that one of the Democrats will emerge to face one of the Republicans. With a crowded field of impressive candidates with quality resumes, voters have plenty of options. Without further adieu, a review:
Tony Cummings: This Democratic candidate has raised over $125,000 already, and has spent $92,000 as of the most recent filings, so the 2012 JSO Employee of the Year has some financial capital. Cummings has an interesting personal story regarding his motivations for becoming a policeman to begin with:
Now, joining the JSO wasn’t exactly the career of choice amongst our peers back in those days. In fact, it was considered somewhat taboo to speak of helping the police, let alone becoming one. But I knew in my heart that joining the JSO was the only way to rid my neighborhood of the drugs and gang violence that I so detested. Plus, I knew it was the right thing to do and that it would make my mother proud.
Cummings, with a Doctorate in Education, may be the candidate most attuned with the priorities of reformers. He told me that he supports Citizen Review Boards, as long as the complaints are grounded and not attempted character assassinations of officers. On his campaign website, he links to Seattle’s Office of Professional Accountability Review Board, giving some insight into what is a progressive approach to law enforcement — especially for North Florida. The goal of that board is to “build a sense of confidence in the community that police services in Seattle are professional, honest, and free of bias. We help ensure that complaints against police officers are treated fairly and expeditiously.”
Jay Farhat: A lot of smart people locally see this 22 year JSO veteran making the runoff, due to support among the local Middle Eastern community, and due also to his strong record on issues. Farhat has raised over $220K and has spent just over $73K, which suggests that he has a lot of capacity for mailers and even broadcast media spots headed into the general election, and the runoff, if he gets there.
Farhat is a short man with a bald head and a preternaturally powerful handshake — the human embodiment of a bullet, which is appropriate given his current role supervising homicide detectives. This experience gives him certain insights into matters like police cameras, which he believes could be mounted to weapons, recording events once the weapons are discharged.
Farhat advocates a “fiscally-sound police agency”, with an emphasis toward increasing community involvement and attacking the “drug nexus”, which is the source of much of Jacksonville’s violent crime. He also advocates, as do other candidates, an increased emphasis on juvenile intervention programs and using technology as a “force multiplier”. If elected, he would increase the amount of officers on the street, and decrease political appointees in the Sheriff’s Office, according to his website.
Jimmy Holderfield: Another candidate with a wide variety of experience in the JSO, Holderfield has an impressive resume and is very popular with conservative Republicans, as his decisive win in the First Coast Tea Party Hob Nob straw poll indicated. At that event earlier this month, Holderfield got 37% of the vote, easily beating Jay Farhat and Mike Williams.
According to his website, Holderfield was “appointed three times by Sheriff John Rutherford within the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Holderfield was appointed by Sheriff Rutherford to Assistant Chief of Police in 2003, to Police Chief in 2010 and promoted to Director in 2013.”
A recent TV ad sees Holderfield, who has raised over $255k at last count, making his case for election. “It takes more than a great police officer to run an entire department. A $400 Million budget and 3200 employees — managing money and people, I’ve done it!” His 35 years of experience, he claims, makes him the best candidate “to get the job done”.
Holderfield is the leader in fundraising and expenditure, and his campaign has not been without controversy. He scored the endorsement of the local Fraternal Order of Police last summer, but the endorsement came without a vote and, apparently, without all candidates being interviewed, which led to some visceral reactions from non-endorsed candidates for this office:
Candidate Jay Farhat said he was not aware of the resignations but has never seen the membership so upset.
Candidate Tony Cummings, who was not even interviewed by the FOP panel, issued this statement: “The duplicitous actions taken by this hand-picked body of FOP insiders has caused an unnecessary rift between some of its members. The proper and just remedy to the self-induced crisis is for FOP President Steve Amos to publicly retract the endorsement of Jimmy Holderfield, apologize to the candidates and union members.”
Another sheriff’s candidate, Ken Jefferson, said he heard from several officers who plan on leaving the union.
“Well, the membership is saying they are fed up with the antics of the FOP policy,” he said. “This is a great opportunity in light of the current things the FOP had been scared with. This is a great opportunity for them to show good faith.”
Holderfield has a lot of signs around town, and he should, given that he has spent almost $200K already. This expenditure suggests that he believes he can lock the race up in March. If he doesn’t, he will have to raise more money sooner than later.
Ken Jefferson: The Democrat is well-known in Jacksonville, due to his appearances a few years back on the WJXT-TV “Wheel of Justice”, in which suspects were identified locally on morning television with an eye toward their apprehension. That program had its successes, and gave Jefferson visibility, which he used to run against Sheriff Rutherford in 2011. The incumbent’s fundraising and organizational advantage, however, was too much for Jefferson’s “grassroots” campaign to overcome.
This time around, Jefferson has banked over $122K — with almost $17K more in in-kind contributions — so he has the money to message. However, he is spending money pretty quickly also, with $81K in reported expenditures thus far.
In 2011, Jefferson was an advocate of foot patrols for JSO officers — an idea that really has not been adopted on any meaningful scale. This time around, the 24 year JSO veteran “has published a plan to reduce Violent Crime, Drug Crime and Gang Activity in Jacksonville by 25% during his first year in office”.
Jefferson’s plan involves “proactive enforcement”, including the use of crime tracking software to identify high crime areas and times of increased risk for incidence. He also strongly advocates mentoring efforts to be undertaken by police officers. Additionally, Jefferson believes that inmates should receive both educational and therapeutic opportunities while in jail, as part of his larger plan to stem the tide of recidivism.
With some conceptual overlap between the Jefferson and Cummings plans, it will be interesting to see how the vote shakes out among reform-minded voters.
Lonnie McDonald: The Republican got into the race in December, after a lot of fundraising, early messaging, and endorsements had been completed. Of the seven candidates in the race, he has the least money by far. Yet he has one of the more interesting messages and paths to candidacy.
Alone among the crop of hopefuls, McDonald’s recent experience took him on a law enforcement mission far outside the borders of Duval County. “After 31 years of decorated service with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, McDonald served two tours in Afghanistan as a civilian contractor assigned to Task Force Patriot in support of Operation Enduring Freedom,” claims his website.
While in Afghanistan, McDonald trained senior Afghan police and military personnel in counterintelligence efforts and undercover intelligence gathering against al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Given the highly publicized struggles with crime that Jacksonville has had in the Operation Ceasefire zone, I asked McDonald if he thought there were parallels between law enforcement in Afghanistan and the remedial measures required in Jacksonville’s most crime ridden neighborhoods. He didn’t shirk from answering the question.
“There’s no silver bullet with law enforcement. We need a community piece, prevention programs, and community ownership,” he said, adding that “police are not occupiers.”
If elected, he would focus on the strengthening of anti-gang activities, but not “just roping off the neighborhood”, but “getting everybody to the table.” Like many of the other candidates, he also believes that identifying potential criminals at an “earlier stage” is essential, to “see what motivates gang members” with an eye toward curbing recidivism.
Rob Schoonover: Yet another JSO lifer, with 33 years of experience encompassing stints in every JSO Department, Schoonover offers vast experience as he vies to replace Rutherford. The Zone 6 lieutenant patrol watch commander has raised over $112K, and has spent almost $70K, but as of yet he seems to be struggling to find real traction in this crowded field.
That struggle is not for lack of bona fides though: “As commander of the homicide, cold case and missing persons unit, Schoonover led the division to achieve the highest rate of solving murder cases that Jacksonville has ever experienced…. During the course of a stellar law enforcement career, Schoonover has served in every JSO division and in more positions than any other candidate seeking the 2015 open election.” claims the Republican’s website.
Despite his credentials, he is struggling for coverage in this race, with three other high profile Republicans outflanking him thus far.
Mike Williams: Sheriff John Rutherford, the Northeast Florida Builders Association, and the JAX Chamber like him enough to endorse him — and those willing to venture a guess expect the 30 year veteran and Republican candidate to be the next Sheriff.
Williams is playing to win in March — he’s raised almost $230K, yet spent $200K. As one would expect with that kind of war chest, Williams has a television ad that shows him and Rutherford walking together in the opening scene, spotlighting his credentials — which include commanding 95% of the officers in the JSO, handling a budget of over $200 Million, leading the SWAT Team and the Bomb Squad, and coordinating Homeland Security in Northeast Florida. All of this establishes his campaign theme: “a real cop for a tough job.”
In a strong field of candidates, Williams’ broad base of support distinguishes him from the other candidates, and likely ensures that he will be able to raise more money for a runoff election that looks almost certain.
