Jax Daily

Angela Corey, a candidate for the State Attorney race in September of 2008, has received the endorsement of the Florida State Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police. Corey will be running for the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida, a position currently held by Harry Shorstein. Her only opposition is currently Jay Plotkin, Chief Assistant State Attorney in the Fourth District. Corey has long had a close working relationship with local law enforcement and victims’ advocates. Although previously working under Shorstein, Corey is now Assistant State Attorney in the 7th Circuit with State Attorney John Tanner. A falling-out between Corey and Shorstein was widely reported in the media late last year, and ended with Corey being fired from her position.

While a rivalry between the State Attorney and Sheriff’s Office has been publicly downplayed by both entities, the political rift between the two cannot be denied. Corey has also been endorsed by the local Fraternal Order of Police as well as Sheriff John Rutherford, and widely touted as a pro-law enforcement candidate. With an increasing murder rate and a public that favors proactive approaches by police, a hard-nosed, law-and-order message has the potential to resonate strongly in Jacksonville. That is definitely Corey’s strong area, with a significant history of victims’ rights advocacy and several death penalty convictions in the past. Both Corey and Plotkin are Republicans, which leaves Plotkin in need of something distinctive to set himself apart.

If a Democrat were to enter the race, they might well appeal to Jacksonville’s large minority population, which might have different ideas about what constitutes a favorable law enforcement policy. This promises to be an interesting race that will help to define Jacksonville’s philosophy toward law enforcement and prosecutorial policy.