In truth, I honestly wasn’t sure who I would vote for. But then the Buttner campaign turned negative in a big way. I first noticed it in a very subtle way with a television ad in which Buttner’s wife talks about how he’s a “family man” and that means he makes “real-world decisions.” It felt like they were going out of their way to highlight the fact that Ms. Norton is unmarried, as if that were somehow relevant.

But I guess that wasn’t enough to move the polls, because they’ve now resorted to a barrage of negative attack advertising on television as well as a last minute smear campaign via email. I won’t go into the blow-by-blow details of these emails as you can read almost all of them over on JaxOutLoud.

Unfortunately, dirty tricks and mudslinging are to be expected in most campaigns. But I think we should demand better judgement from a judicial candidate’s campaign. These smears are beneath Rick Buttner and may even violate election laws because they lack the appropriate campaign disclaimers.

Frankly, Stephen and I discussed the idea of doing candidate endorsements this year, but we decided it was more prudent to try to interview some of the candidates and then let folks make up their own minds. However, I am making an exception tonight. And I’m speaking up on the eve of the election, because I think it’s important for people to take a second look at who they’re voting for before heading out to the polls tomorrow.

It comes down to a choice between two qualified candidates - one who will resort to last minute smears and negative attacks, and one who has run a largely clean and positive campaign. Both qualified, but only one with the character needed.

In my opinion, Virginia Norton is the better choice for Circuit Court Judge and she deserves your vote on Tuesday.

Corey has a close relationship with Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford and the police unions, which she has trumpeted.

Teamwork and strong prosecution are essential, but the “war on crime” approach has not been productive in addressing root causes of crime. There seems some danger that Corey falls in that camp.

Corey views the sheriff, for instance, as a partner in the criminal justice system. Corey insists she means that she would work well with police to provide the best service for the people. She says she is her own person and will not relinquish her independence for anyone.

Plotkin takes issue with Corey’s statement that police would be her No. 1 client. He says the people are the primary client. Yet, he says he has a different personality than Shorstein, is less confrontational, and has a good working relationship with the sheriff.

Plotkin pledges to increase partnership with the sheriff’s Operation Safe Streets initiative.

But ultimately, the paper cites Plotkin’s leadership experience as the key to his endorsement…

Plotkin says that the State Attorney’s Office is one of the largest law firms in the city and that he is a proven administrator. That is an issue in an era of tight budgets.

Corey says she will hire an experienced administrator, preferably with a military background, and that the state attorney is a leader and should not be running the daily details of the office.

That begs the question, however. The head of a law firm ought to have management expertise. Plotkin has handled both the administrative details of the office and the prosecution of high-profile cases.

“I am humbled that so many people from such varied backgrounds trust that I am the best choice to represent District 17,” said Ray. “When speaking with them, there was one thing that they all had in common, that was the belief that I have the right combination of experience, integrity and vision to represent our city and its citizens in Tallahassee. I will work hard to uphold their faith in me and for their kind words I am truly grateful.”

The list of endorsers includes both current and former members of the Jacksonville City Council, two former Jacksonville Mayors, and three current members of the Florida Legislature and is as follows: former Jacksonville Mayors, John Delaney and Jake Godbold; State Senator Steve Wise, State Representatives Jennifer Carroll and Charles McBurney; current members of the Jacksonville City Council, Bill Bishop, Michael Corrigan, Art Graham, Ray Holt, Kevin Hyde, Glorious Johnson, Steven Joost, Don Redman and Clay Yarborough; former Members of the Jacksonville City Council, Warren Alvarez, George Banks, Matt Carlucci, Lad Daniels, Sharon Copeland and Gwen Yates.

Ray is a former two term member of the Jacksonville City Council serving from 1999 until June of last year. He is currently a professional engineer with Halcrow and he and his wife Brenda have been married for twenty five years. They have three sons, one of whom is on active duty in the United States Army Special Forces and is scheduled to be deployed to Afghanistan in early 2009.

Ray will face fellow Republicans Mario Rubio and Gordon Morgan on the August 26th primary ballot. JaxDaily recently interviewed Rubio about his campaign and we are working towards doing Q&A’s with both Ray and Morgan before election day rolls around.

Two months ago this looked like the hottest race in town.  With some mud slinging and mini-scandals behind us, the choice has become clear.  Jerry Holland deserves the opportunity to continue improving the Supervisor of Elections office. 

Certainly accurate election results are the most important thing, but having them delivered on time would be nice for a change.  Hopefully we’ll see further improvement from Mr. Holland’s office in that area on Tuesday night.  

But the bottom line really is that we have Presidential, Congressional, State Legislative, and School Board elections coming up next year.  This is no time to have someone learning a new job. Suzanne Jenkins has served on the city council with some distinction, however, we feel that Jerry Holland has earned the right to a full term.  

Democrat Jim Minion has a solid record of public service, and Dave Siebert adds some color, but Corrigan clearly deserves your vote on March 20th.

Councilman Corrigan has done well balancing new growth with existing businesses and neighborhoods.  His work to help revitalize some areas of District 14 has been quite successful.  And his strong leadership skills enabled him to win the influential position of Council President.

Michael Corrigan is, far and away, the best candidate in this race.  His dedication, hard work, and experience have earned him re-election to a second term.

With our city’s high murder rate a front page story, this race could have been much more interesting.  However, Sheriff Rutherford has drawn two poorly-funded Democratic challengers.  Challenger Dale Carson, son of a former Sheriff, is an attorney and retired FBI agent.  Had this been a race between Carson, Rutherford, and another Republican… we might have seen a competitive run-off election.  But that is not the case.  

In a Republican dominated city, it will be nearly impossible for either Democrat to overcome the incumbent’s huge name recognition and campaign warchest.

Further, we feel that Sheriff John Rutherford understands the challenges facing Jacksonville and has done a good job of reaching out to the community.  He’s a smart, capable, and experienced law enforcement officer.   

Carson has a fantastic resume and some really good ideas on how to refocus the JSO to deal more directly with narcotics and violent crime.  He should consider running again in 2011.  However, Sheriff Rutherford’s experience should and will earn him a second term this time around.

Jay Jabour is a successful businessman and will be a dedicated public servant for the citizens of Jacksonville.  He was narrowly defeated in a run for the District 5 seat in 2003, but now appears well positioned to win this at-large race. 

Jabour has earned the backing of the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters, Fraternal Order of Police, First Coast Manufacturers Association, Northeast Florida Builders Association, Jax Biz (affiliate of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce), and the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. 

Democrat Bob Harms is an aggressive campaigner and Republican Theresa Graham brings some interesting ideas to the table.  However, we feel strongly that Jay Jabour is the right choice in this race.

The race in District 5 is between Republican Councilman Art Shad and Democrat challenger Leslie Goller.  While Goller has a lot of interesting ideas about the environment and other citywide issues, Art Shad has a good grasp on the challenges facing San Marco.  We feel confident he’ll continue working on matters relating to quality of life as well as managing the highly successful economic development that’s happened in District 5.

A lot of nasty rumors have been circulated in this race.  Some have made attempts to out Mr. Shad as a homosexual (he denies) and others attack his past problem with prescription medication that resulted from a back surgery (he’s addressed the issue).  That kind of smear campaigning should not be rewarded. 

We feel that Art Shad has earned your vote for another term on the City Council.

Picking someone to represent City Council District 9 was not an easy decision, as there are several attractive candidates in this race.  Republican Fred Engness has a bright future ahead of him, he’s a District 9 native and a veteran of the Kosovo Conflict and the Iraq War. 

Jimmy Midyette brings a great deal of legal experience to the table.  In fact, Midyette seems like he could emerge as a major leader among local Democrats.  If he doesn’t win this race, we hope he tries again elsewhere.

Also running are Ayesha Covington, Carrie Davis, Elouise Saunders Bolden, and Valveta Turner.

However, Warren Jones has a mountain of public service experience, and is the right person for this job.  He’s spent 20 years serving on the City Council, including two terms as Council President in the early 90’s.  That experience will be valuable to a Council that will include so many new faces because of term limits.

This is the second of our endorsements for the March 20th city elections, we’ll be staggering the rest of these out over the next week or so. 

City Council District 1 includes most of the Arlington area, which is facing many challenges relating to crime and redevelopment.  For this race, we strongly support Clay Yarborough.

Yarborough has served 6 years on the Duval Soil and Water Board, as well as the Mayor’s Greater Arlington / Beaches Citizen’s Planning Advisory Committee (CPAC).  He is also a member of the Sheriff’s Advisory Council.

This looks to be a very competitive contest with both candidates having raised large sums of money for voter outreach.  Both Yarborough and Cheryl Grymes (a former School Board member in the 90’s) have each racked up major endorsements, with Grymes taking the Builders Association and the Police and Firefighters.  Yarborough, however, has claimed the support of the Realtors as well as the Northeast Florida Public Employees.  He also has the backing of popular Republican City Councilwoman Glorious Johnson.

As a matter of full disclosure, one of the founders of this website serves with Mr. Yarborough on the Soil and Water Board.  So providing a completely objective analysis and endorsement in this race would be difficult. 

At any rate, we feel that Clay Yarborough would be a fantastic asset to the City Council and is the right choice for the voters of District 1.