Lakesha Burton and T.K. Waters square off in tense Jacksonville sheriff race debate. Here are their plans

A tense and sometimes confrontational hour of debate between the two former Jacksonville Sheriff's Office administrators competing to be the city's top cop set an early stage for their Nov. 8 runoff.

Facing off Thursday night in a forum co-hosted by the Jacksonville Bar Association and Jacksonville Today, Democrat Lakesha Burton and Republican T.K. Waters pitted their own experience in managing budgets and people against each other as well as who could best stem the city's violence.

In their first head-to-head public meeting after beating three other candidates in the Aug. 23 special election that required the runoff, the forum took place at WJCT Public Media's downtown studios. It was also live-streamed on Jacksonville Today's Facebook at facebook.com/JAXTDY.

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Burton, a former executive director of the Police Athletic League who retired as assistant chief of the Arlington police zone to enter her candidacy, opened by saying her campaign "is about change." Stating the Sheriff's Office cannot continue to do things the same way because it has not worked, Burton said she and Waters have different perspectives about how they should be addressing violent crime and building trust in the community.

"We have a violent crime problem with our city and my opponent has been over violent crime for the past seven years," Burton said. "He has taken police officers off the street and spent millions of dollars on technology, millions of dollars on overtime, to the tune of over a half billion dollars. His strategies have failed. Violent crime is up by 19%. ... Now my opponent wants to be promoted. What job promotes poor performance?"

Responding that he is "very invested" in the city as a husband, father and grandfather, Waters said he has worked very hard in his career to do many things including being chief of the investigations division. He said the Sheriff's Office had a 78% clearance rate of homicides last year, but more needs to be done.

"I am a big believer in engaging my community, and some of the things I created in the Sheriff's Office were doing just that to go out and work on the issue of violent crime," the just-retired chief responded. "... We have a lot of work to do, there's no denying that. We see ourselves going in the right direction, contrary to what you hear."

Five candidates became two

The two candidates were the front-runners in a five-way Aug. 23 special election called due to the June 10 resignation of former Sheriff Mike Williams after he violated city charter by living for more than a year in Nassau County. Williams, who had more than a year left in his term, has now assumed leadership of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement's Jacksonville operations center.

Waters garnered 46.7% of the vote, followed by Burton with 32.8%, beating former Duval County Schools Police acting director Wayne Clark and former officers Tony Cummings and Ken Jefferson. Since neither Burton nor Waters received 50% plus one vote, they head to the Nov. 8 runoff, according to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections Office.

All five candidates met in five previous forums, one televised from Jacksonville University.

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What defines a good sheriff?

On Thursday night, Burton and Waters were asked what makes someone a good sheriff.

Waters said it is the desire to work with the community and be "willing to be the voice" that it speaks to.

"I have to build that trust with you; I have to help you understand who I am, where I come from and the experience I have, which is quite a bit — 31 years," Waters said. "I started with the Sheriff's Office for one reason and one reason only: I saw a loved one get murdered and I didn't want it to happen to anyone else. So I wanted to make sure I worked as hard as I can every single day."

Burton's response was that she overcame "insurmountable challenges" in her younger life that made her stronger as a woman, mother and leader. She believes her professional and personal experiences have prepared her to be sheriff, including 24 years wearing a badge "earning every rank available."

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"Nobody has given me anything in this organization," Burton said. "... I was the first female executive director of PAL and appointed to the sheriff's staff as an assistant chief, both in our community engagement unit for two years and also as a zone commander for two years, and I am proud to have the highest reduction in crime last year compared to other zones in the city."

No progress in stopping Jacksonville's violence

The city's violent crime problem was a common thread through the viewer and audience questions and the candidate responses.

Burton said she plans to "rally our community together" and build trust with residents as her department fights crime, guns and domestic violence.

"He doesn't get a pass," she said of Waters' years in charge of the violent crimes division. "What we have to do is get back to addressing our violent crime problems in a more holistic approach. Their approach has been ineffective."

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Waters responded that he has knocked on many doors as part of a program to divert troubled youth from getting involved in serious crimes and intends to keep at it.

"We will go to those guys and let them know they have an opportunity to change what they are doing or will face the full brunt of the Sheriff's Office. ...  I am tired of it. I don't want to see another body in the street."

Race relations in Jacksonville

Should the Sheriff's Office change the way it interacts with low-income and minority communities, both were asked.

It is the responsibility of every officer to be "extremely professional," so Waters said he plans to teach everyone from the police academy on up about professionalism and service, and to be a service-minded organization.

"Every block of instruction will be built upon service and how we treat everyone with respect and dignity, even when it comes time for an arrest," he said.

Burton replied that she was the "only candidate on the front line with the troops," agreeing the Sheriff's Office must invest more in training its relatively young officers.

"I would make sure we have more training in person and get them off the online training," she said. "I will focus more on not only high-liability areas such as active shootings ... and use of force. But we have to focus more on teaching our officers on how to engage with those who have mental illnesses and focus more on de-escalation techniques. And cultural diversity is very important."

dscanlan@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4549

About the Jacksonville sheriff candidates

• T.K. Waters, 51, has 30 years in law enforcement starting as a corrections officer in 1991. As chief, he retired from the Sheriff's Office to run for the position. More information: facebook.com/TKforSheriff.

• Lakesha Burton, 46, was assistant chief of the city's Police Zone 2 in Arlington until her retirement in February. She is the first Black woman to run for sheriff and is a Democrat. More information: facebook.com/BurtonforSheriff.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville sheriff candidates Lakesha Burton and T.K. Waters debate