JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – News4JAX.com users voted crime as the biggest issue facing Jacksonville residents, with 61 percent of over 1,400 respondents choosing it as the priority over affordable housing, downtown development and growth in a recent informal survey.
Dorothy and Walter Foreman told News4JAX Tuesday that gun violence is their top concern this election cycle.
“Too many kids getting killed,” Walter Foreman told News4JAX after he cast his early voting ballot Tuesday in Northwest Jacksonville.
“All I’m hearing is somebody else is shot, somebody else’s son is gone, somebody else’s daughter is gone,” Dorothy Foreman said. “I’m very concerned.”
News4JAX records show so far this year, 130 people have been killed in Duval County, which equals the total number of homicides in Jacksonville all of last year.
“It’s hitting closer to home,” Dorothy Foreman said. “Before, it was somebody that you heard of. Now it’s somebody you know personally. And it hurts. And it’s hard.”
The Foremans said they lost a cousin two months ago off Moncrief Road. That area of town is one of the most deadly, according to News4JAX records, with 14 shot to death in the ZIP code 32208 so far this year.
AJ Jordan works to stem violence as the outreach coordinator for the nonprofit M.A.D. D.A.D.S. Jacksonville. He said rebuilding trust in law enforcement should be the new sheriff’s top priority when it comes to combatting crime.
“You build the trust, you know, people start talking,” Jordan said.
Both sheriff candidates on the ballot this fall include building trust as part of their platforms. Republican T.K. Waters’ campaign website says he plans to add more officers to the streets, improve technology to fight violent crime and target violent criminals and gangs for prosecution.
Democrat Lakesha Burton’s campaign website says she plans to partner with community leaders to focus more on prevention and education, increase officer training on interacting with the public, and add street-level detectives to target gang and drug violence.
The Foremans told News4JAX that their loved one’s killer still hasn’t been identified, and they want to see change.
“Tell me what you’re going to do, and let me try you for a little while and then if you don’t work, then you are out and let somebody else try,” Dorothy Foreman said. “Because something has to work.”
Election day is two weeks from Tuesday on Nov. 8.
Early voting is underway now in Duval County. You can find information on early voting locations and hours here.