Wednesday night was the first public forum with all five Jacksonville sheriff's candidates in attendance. During the debate at the Istanbul Center in the Southside, the candidates weighed in on public transparency, reducing crime and how to improve the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
One angle everyone agreed on: living in Jacksonville. Former Sheriff Mike Williams stepped down after he violated the city’s charter by moving out of Duval County.
Williams-endorsed candidate T.K. Waters’ residency has since come under scrutiny. Waters says there are no Duval properties currently in his name because his new home — in Jacksonville — is still being built.
“When you live in a subdivision, they don’t put your name on it until you close," Waters said. "So my name’s not on it until I close, but I’ve got a lot of money invested in the neighborhood. Actually, I check it everyday because I’m excited about moving in.”
He says he’s now renting a home on the city’s Northside and has lived in Duval since 2014. The four other candidates have previously confirmed their residency in neighborhoods around Jacksonville.
If no one sheriff's candidate gets more than half the vote next month, the top two will go to a runoff election in November. Read positions from the candidates on a variety of issues in the Jacksonville Today newsletter. You can sign up to receive it at jaxtoday.org.
