JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Over the past month, you’ve seen them one-by-one on News4JAX making their pitch to become Jacksonville’s next sheriff, but on Wednesday, all five candidates will appear together during a News4JAX-Jacksonville University Public Policy Institute debate.
The sheriff’s debate goes live Wednesday at 8 p.m., and you can watch here on News4JAX.com, on the News4JAX+ smart tv app and on Channel 4, The Local Station.
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Republican T.K. Waters and Democrats Lakesha Burton, Wayne Clark, Tony Cummings and Ken Jefferson will answer the questions that News4JAX Insiders have submitted -- and we’ve gotten a lot!
Jacksonville elections are unitary, meaning all Duval County voters of any or no party can cast ballots in this race in August, with the two candidates receiving the most votes advancing to a second election -- essentially a runoff -- in November.
We sent a questionnaire to each candidate asking about their background and views on several issues. We’ve published their responses in an article included in the News4JAX Voter’s Guide.
The candidates for sheriff have appeared in interviews with our reporters and on This Week In Jacksonville with Kent Justice. If you missed any of those interviews, let us get you caught up:
This Week In Jacksonville
News4JAX interviews
Below is a little bit about each candidate. A more thorough background of the candidates can be found by following this link.
Lakesha Burton
Party affiliation*: Democrat
Occupation: Retired Law Enforcement
Age: 47
Your family: Husband of 14 years, Greg - Blended family of 5 children (2 daughters/3 sons)
Education: Master’s Degree in Criminology / Bachelor’s Degree in Criminology
Political experience: N/A
Wayne Clark
Party affiliation*: Democrat
Occupation: Retired 40-year Jacksonville Law Enforcement Professional
Age: 60
Your family: Married 38 years, Karol, three children and four grandchildren
Education: Master’s in public administration - Central Michigan University, Graduate of the 231st session of the FBI National Academy, Quantico, Va.
Political experience: None
Tony Cummings
Party affiliation*: Democrat
Occupation: Retired Law Enforcement
Age: 51
Your family: Married, 2 daughters
Education: Doctoral Degree in Organizational Leadership
Political experience: Ran for Sheriff in 2015 and 2019
Ken Jefferson
Party affiliation*: Democrat
Occupation: Law Enforcement Officer (ret.), Crime & Safety Expert
Age: 64
Your family: Wife of 27 years, Rhonda; 5 adult children; 1 grandchild
Education: Master’s Degree, Honorary Doctorate, St. Thomas Christian University
Political experience: I’ve run for Sheriff twice. In 2011, I earned 37.69% of the votes. In 2015 I ran again, losing by 2% after earning 48.47% of votes.
T.K. Waters
Party affiliation*: Republican
Occupation: Chief of Investigations (Retired)
Age: 52
Your family: Married to Robin for 24 years, 3 kids and 4 grandkids
Education: Bachelor of Science from Liberty University, Interdisciplinary Studies with a Minor in Homeland Security
Political experience: None