“I’ve been expecting a complaint,” Campbell said. “I’ve been waiting because I don’t have the facts right now. I’m willing to look into it and assign an investigator to get to the bottom of it.”

He continued, “I expected to hear from someone with personal knowledge about it so I could assign an investigator and let them start following. Lots of stuff I see and read about in the news that I think probably is not good but I don’t just chase after everything I hear. Everything so far is hearsay. I try not to chase rabbit trails just based on things I’ve heard. I try to base it on facts. I need someone with knowledge to come to me.”

On February 23, Tallahassee Reports broke the story that Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum had allegedly spent approximately $5,000 in city funds to purchase software from democrat campaign vendor, NGP VAN. That software was allegedly used in campaign email for Gillum in which he mixed “Office of the Mayor” letterhead with his campaign correspondence.

Campbell stressed that he does not know the facts surrounding the allegations against Gillum.

When asked if actions like those Gillum has been accused of were illegal, Campbell confirmed, “There are aspects of this that could be illegal.”

“Is misappropriation a crime? Absolutely, but there also has to be intent,” Campbell explained. “It really gets into the extent and degree we’re talking about. That’s where discretion and judgement come in. This office is not going to arrest everybody who takes a ballpoint pen out of their office or has written a grocery list on a work computer. On the other hand, if someone is taking cross-country vacations in the company car—that seems to be what this case might be about.”

Once Tallahassee Reports broke this story, Gillum reimbursed the city for $4,965 to cover fees for the software.

Campbell asked if the reimbursement changed anything.

“The fact that you make restitution doesn’t necessarily absolve you of the crime,” Campbell said.

“We have a lot of people who get caught stealing and they say ‘Well, I’ll give all the money back.’ Well, no, that doesn’t absolve you of the fact that you stole,” he continued.

The fact that Campbell and Gillum share Democrat Party affiliation would have zero effect on Campbell’s investigation, according to Campbell.

“I prosecute a lot of people that have a lot more in common with me than just political party. I’ve had to prosecute people I went to high school with, people I’ve gone to church with. Part of my ethics is my ability to be fair and impartial,” he said.

He explained in cases where the prosecutor can’t be fair and impartial, there is an “executive assignment” and a prosecutor from a different jurisdiction is brought in.

“(There is) nothing about the mayor, let alone the Democrat Party, that causes me any consternation,” Campbell reiterated.

The four races can be divided into two groups. The first group features two races that pit status quo against change. The second group of races will require voters to choose between qualifications and personalities.

The first group includes the race for State House District 9 and State Attorney.

In this race, both Loranne Ausley, running for State House District 9, and State Attorney candidate Jack Campbell, are favored by the traditional Leon County political power structure. This is due, in part, to decades of public and community service by the candidates, their families, and close associates.

The challengers of the status quo, Jim Messer and Pete Williams who are both Republicans, appear to have been able to reach voters with a message that has not been discarded because of political affiliation. Remember, I said appears.

The winners of these two races will tell us if Leon County voters chose to look past party labels and break with the past or if they are content with the candidates that are products of the traditional Leon County political power structure.

The second group includes the races for the Leon County Property Appraiser and Leon County Supervisor of Elections.

No matter how much you like Alan Williams and Akin Akinyemi – and I like both of them, it is clear that Mark Earley and Greg Lane posses the superior “on paper” qualifications to carry out the constitutional duties of the offices they seek.

However, for some voters in some races, there are reasons to support a candidate that is not based on qualifications. For example, familiarity, race, endorsements, and personality.

The winners of these two races will reveal just how much qualifications matter to voters in Leon County.

One closing note. I chose these four races because they are one on one affairs, appear competitive, and/or feature candidates from both parties.

Look for the post-election analysis next week.

Williams accuses Campbell of continuing the legacy of Willie Meggs, a legacy, Williams called, full of cronyism, nepotism and even racism.

Meggs has been Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit’s State Attorney for 32 years and was a good friend of Campbell’s father, the late Sheriff Larry Campbell. Meggs hired Campbell right out of law school in 2001 and Campbell has been there ever since.

Williams called that an “abuse of office,” a “good ole boy office,” and “crony nepotism.”

“(Sheriff Campbell and Meggs) hired each other’s son and then they were (at the newspaper) expressing the hope that each of them would take over from their respective offices upon retirement. It’s been a 15-year plan to promote him and hand him the job like it’s a dynasty, a family held position,” said Williams.

Campbell, not surprisingly, sees it differently.

“With all I’ve learned over the last 15 years, I don’t think I should be embarrassed about my background,” Campbell said.

“I’m lucky enough to have a broad range of experience and broad range of relationships throughout the community. I’m not sure what it means to be a ‘Good Ole Boy,’ but if it means I know a lot of people in the community and have a long record of public service, then I’ll wear it that badge proudly. If the suggestion is I’m corrupt and the only reason I’ve had any success in the community is because of who my dad is, I would disagree. I’ve proven my own merit and while I somewhat went into the family business, the reason is because I learned the value of public service. It’s a great calling. I’m proud of my roots and the lessons I’ve gotten from them,” he said.

But Williams said the cronyism goes even deeper. “What breaks you get depends on who you are and what you look like,” he said.

“If you are a young person that’s a nobody, you’re handled too severely. But on the other hand, if you’re somebody’s son, you get breaks. That’s what’s been going on for 32 years and that’s what Jack Campbell has grown up in. That’s what he was taught. The office is abused. Young people should pay for their mistakes without a criminal record following them,” Williams said.

He continued, “It has also had racially disparate effects. I have seen it my whole career and particularly worse here. Each step of the way they try to maximize the sentencing. You end up with a prison population of this county that is overwhelmingly African American. It offends me, everybody needs to be treated the same. That’s what’s not happening.”

Campbell agreed that this state attorney’s office has prosecuted aggressively, but not that people with means and connections were treated any differently than those without.

“I do agree we have been aggressive prosecutors and the way the office has been focused has been on trials and incarceration and probation rather than being more broad in our response,” he said, “but I totally disagree that it has varied based on who you are or who you know or who you’re related to. We have consistently been seeking hard sentences and taking a hardline stance where we often sought severe sanctions.  Personally, I have been looking for broader approaches such as Restorative Justice or veterans court or mental health court. This is something I would do differently as State Attorney. I would give my prosecutors a more broad range of tools and solve the problem and try to minimize recidivism.”

He continued, “I deny William’s allegation that there is cronyism and how you are sentenced depends upon who you are and I defy him to give examples of where people have been given breaks because of who they are, or that they have been handled more harshly because of who they are.”

“He has yet to show me a single case in the last five years or a case I was involved with ever (in which someone was treated differently). The only one he mentions is Frankie Fudge and I had nothing to do with that,” Campbell said.

“I’m concerned about the temperament of someone making an allegation not backed up by evidence,” Campbell said.

Williams, who lost a close race four years ago against incumbent Willie Meggs, told TR, “I am honored by Sean Desmond’s endorsement. We think exactly alike on what is wrong with our failing State Attorney’s Office and on what changes are needed. I have the greatest respect for Sean’s service and the great campaign he ran. His endorsement shows that the role of the State Attorney should be a nonpartisan one.”

Desmond made the announcement in a thank you letter to supporters.

Desmond wrote:

Justice cannot exist where imprudence, imbalance and the over-prosecution of certain segments of our community are common day practices. We cannot sit idly by while our violent crime rate soars and the distrust between law enforcement and the community widens.

For these reasons, I am officially endorsing candidate Pete Williams for State Attorney. It is my steadfast belief that the principles we fought so hard to advance in my campaign will be far more prevalent with Pete Williams as the next State Attorney. Pete is a very good man who will serve us well.

The full letter is provided below.

Friends-

I wanted to take one last opportunity to communicate with you my heartfelt appreciation for all of the support you gave me in my campaign for State Attorney. I am extremely proud to have received 48.5 percent of the total vote, winning both Leon and Gadsden counties. I will never forget how hard we worked to advance our mission to repair our broken criminal justice system and illuminate a new vision for our future.

As I continue to survey our criminal justice system, my commitment to the principles that I campaigned on has not wavered. We need real, transformative, substantive and definitive change in the Second Judicial Circuit.

Justice cannot exist where imprudence, imbalance and the over-prosecution of certain segments of our community are common day practices. We cannot sit idly by while our violent crime rate soars and the distrust between law enforcement and the community widens.

For these reasons, I am officially endorsing candidate Pete Williams for State Attorney. It is my steadfast belief that the principles we fought so hard to advance in my campaign will be far more prevalent with Pete Williams as the next State Attorney. Pete is a very good man who will serve us well.

Our State Attorney’s office has been doing business the same way for 32 years, and it is my opinion that we need a fresh start immediately. I urge you to look past partisan politics and vote for the candidate remaining in this race that represents the true progressive change that we desperately need.
Sincerely,

Sean T. Desmond

Jack Campbell is Meggs’ Assistant State Attorney and has worked in the office since 2001. He said he has a deep wealth of knowledge of the criminal justice system and its issues (such as body cameras for police, the death penalty, drugs and sexual abuse), and can “hit the ground running.”

He said, “I understand what our community is about, what we need in criminal justice system.”

Sean Desmond, a private attorney who has also worked for the State Attorney’s Office under Meggs, claimed “We’ve had 32 years under one State Attorney and the same style of leadership is what my opponent brings to the table. We need to change it dramatically to deal with the issues (like violent crime and other serious crimes) we are facing in our community.”

Campbell, the son of the late Leon County Sheriff Larry Campbell, took issue with that assertion and said, “I am not a little Willie and I am not a little Larry. I am my own man and the suggestion that I’m a continuation is just patently wrong.”

He said he will implement more technology to make the State Attorney’s office able to respond quicker and more efficiently. He also wants prosecutors more involved with the community. He said he wants citizens to “know prosecutors from your community personally before you have to know them professionally.”

“When Willie came in it was kind of Andy Griffith,” Campbell said. “Today, I have 300,000 people and I can’t know everyone so I am gonna shove my staff into the community so they can be better appendages of my office and reflect and react to demands of community as a whole.”

Desmond said the difference between him and opponent is he’s worked in the criminal justice system on both sides. He was Chief Prosecutor in Franklin County and Wakulla County and chief of the Leon County Court Division. Desmond also worked for the State Attorney’s Office under Meggs from 2001 to 2003 and again from 2009 through 2011.

“When you can see the case from both sides, you can reach justice in a better way than when you have the perspective of ‘I need to get as many convictions as I can, I need to make sure my conviction rate is as close as possible to the arrest rate’…” Desmond said.

“While numbers are important and we do need to be cognizant of them,” he continued, “I don’t think the people running through our system need to be dealt with always like numbers.”

During the campaign Meggs has characterized Desmond as not being qualified to be State Attorney.

“(It is the) worse kept secret in all of Leon County that Willie Meggs has been pushing the former sheriff’s son since he was born. I think (his criticism is) completely politically motivated.”

Desmond said that Meggs’ recommended Desmond run for judge and hired him as Chief Prosecutor. “What does it say about Meggs, if I’m not qualified?”

As the candidates rest their cases, voters make their decisions this month on who will advance to take on republican candidate Pete Williams in the general election.

The current State Attorney, Willie Meggs, is retiring after 32 years.

The State Attorney processes all criminal cases presented by law enforcement officers who have charged persons with felonies, misdemeanors, traffic crimes like DUI or reckless driving, acts of juvenile delinquency, and some violations of county or municipal ordinances.  The State Attorney leads a staff of over 42 attorneys.

The race for State Attorney is a partisan election which means that Democrat Party candidates, Jack Campbell and Sean Desmond, will face off in the primary to be held in August.

The third candidate, Republican Pete Williams, will forego a primary and face the winner of the Democrat primary if no other Republicans enter the race.

Jack Campbell, who has worked in the State Attorney’s Office for the last fifteen years, told the crowd of about 100 that “public service is in my heart” and his goal is to make the office more approachable for regular citizens.

Mr. Campbell spoke about how he plans to use technology to make the office more efficient and expressed the need for good relationships with the community to do the job in the most effective manner.

Mr. Campbell acknowledged the local crime situation and said we have a “major gang problem.” He acknowledged the problem demands the focus of his office and is one of the reasons he  serves on the Community Leadership Council on Gun Violence.

Mr. Desmond said he will bring a fresh leadership perspective to the State Attorney’s Office and indicated it was time to break with the past and to forge new relationships.

He said the biggest problem in our community is violent crime and he planned to address the issue with better relationships with all law enforcement agencies and community outreach.

He also commented about the high turnover of lawyers at the State Attorney’s Office and promised to require new hires to stay for at least three years.

Mr. Desmond who has experience working for the State Attorney’s office and in the private sector as a defense attorney, said he has “seen the legal system from both sides.”

Pete Williams, who lost a close race to Mr. Meggs four years ago, said the State Attorney position is very important because of the power to arrest and to the power to choose not to arrest.

Mr. Williams argued that the State Attorney’s Office is unfair to minorities when it comes to the decision to prosecute and he believes he could do a better job deciding when and when not to pursue a conviction.

Mr. Williams also said the he would install a code of ethics for the State Attorney’s Office if elected and said it was troublesome that someone currently employed by the State Attorney’s Office could take contributions from attorneys that may have dealings with the State Attorney’s Office.

The straw poll held after the forum was won by Jack Campbell. Only NEBA members could vote and final tallies were not revealed.