JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The race to become the next Jacksonville sheriff is still more than two years away, but one candidate has already thrown her hat into the ring.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Assistant Chief Lakesha Burton officially filed her paperwork to enter the race and replace term-limited Sheriff Mike Williams who will remain in power until June 2023.
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Burton, who is running as a Democrat, recently spoke to News4Jax about trying to improve relationships between police and the community.
According to her biography, Burton is a more than 20 year veteran of JSO and the second African American woman to reach the rank of police lieutenant and the fourth to be appointed as an assistant chief in the over 190 years of law enforcement in Duval County.
If elected, Burton would be the first woman to be elected Jacksonville sheriff.
As of Monday, no other candidates had filed to run in 2023, but there is talk that JSO Director Mike Bruno and JSO Chief of Investigations T.K. Waters could eventually enter the race.
As for Williams, some have speculated that he could run for Jacksonville mayor in 2023.