Clerk of Court Race

In the mail today, we received something from James Jett Clerk of Court and it was stamped in red ink "Absentee Ballot Information Enclosed".  Since I applied for an absentee ballot, I immediately opened it....only to find political advertisement garbage from Jett.  THERE WAS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING IN THE ENVELOPE THAT CONCERNED ABSENTEE BALLOT INFORMATION.

My husband and I received one too. It was  very misleading. Also this might be a minor thing but I thought the Clerk's Office was in GCS not Orange Park. 

Your blog was very informative, however I have to disagree with you about Mr. Spivey using "dirty politics" in 2004.  Everyone who knows Mr. Jett knows that he is the one that uses "dirty politics", in fact he sticks his nose in all of the other races and tries to orchestrate everthing to give him the advantage. It is all about POWER!

 Since the death of J.P. Hall, Jr.  Mr. Jett has tried to assume the role of County Mogul.  He is backing Debbie Ricks and Sheriff Beseler although he would have people believe that he is backing Mike Taylor for Sheriff.  If Mike Taylor wins the election it will dash all of Jett's hopes of ever becoming the Sheriff of this County. Mr. Jett is helping Debbie Ricks with her campaign contributions.  Compare her contributions to the contributions Jett has received on the Supervisor of Elections website. Do you see any similarities?  Don't be fooled, the Supervisor of Elections Office may be moved into the Clay County Courthouse very soon.  If Debbie Ricks is elected Supervisor of Elections then Mr. Jett will have his hand in the elections of this County!  The confidence of an honest election will be gone forever.  Mrs. Ricks really wants a stepping stone for a state office , she doesn't want to stay in Clay County, she has higher hopes.

Mr. Jett is a true career politician and he knows just what to do and say and how to keep people from knowing that it is him causing things to happen. He gets other people to do his "dirty work" so that he can say that he didn't know anything about it.  Remember the Jimmy Ricks incident 4 years ago asking employees for campaign donations.  By the way, Jimmy Ricks went to school with Mr. Jett and is married to Debbie Ricks.

At a forum in Orange Park last night Mr. Jett stated that he was driving his own car but hoped that he would be able to get home in it.  Well, Mr. Jett makes over $130,000.00 per year, he owns a condominium in St. Johns County, He lives in a guarded, gated community.  If he cannot afford a reliable vehicle and cannot afford to pay for his own gas, then he must not be the manager of money that he claims to be.

People in Clay County need to take their blinders off and start delving deeper into the political make-up of this County.  We need some informed and intelligent voters rather than just name recognition voting.  There are numerous new people in Clay County now who can vote and I sincerely hope that they will not be fooled by Mr. Jett and his "winning smile"  He is a sly fox.

I used to watch the County Commissioner's meetings on cable T.V. when Mr. Jett and Mr. Spivey were Commissioners.  I do recall that Mr. Jett was a fence rider, when it came down to a vote that was very contravercial he would make a statement like, "I don't know what my constituents would want me to do on this so I will just abstain".  Check out the films of the meetings that are in the recording department of the clerk's office on file, unless of course they have already been destroyed.

Mr. Jett once said that all he had to do to win an election was to go Orange Park and have a few "tea parties" with the women in the County and he would win hands down. He knows how to turn on the charm when he wants something.

Notice that Mr. Jett is always stating at the end of his talks that August 26th is his birthday and he wants a birthday present, your vote!  That is a very selfish statement but it is the truth.  He does not have the welfare of Clay County in mind, only what benefits him.

Vote your conscience and please be informed voters, that is all I ask.

Thank you scoopb4ugo for the information. Like I said I am not sure who I am voting for but wanted input from others.

Is this the same Debbie Ricks that sent out over 4000 emails from the Clerk's Office that I read about a while back? I had also assumed (I know that is not a good thing to do) that Mr. Jett was backing Mr. Beseler since I heard they had met and had a deal that Mr. Jett would not run for sheriff this time against him. If I remember right the campaign donations was brought up by Mr. Spivey.  That is what I was taking as dirty politics. Guess I thought that Mr. Jett wouldn't be that stupid to ask for donations from employees. If what you’re saying is true then he didn't but got someone else to do it for him.I have some time get more informed and I will vote my conscience

Here's an issue I have with the Spivey campaign.

Not long ago there was a list of questions sent to all the candidates by the folks at Clay Today. These questions were to be answered in 75 words or less and were to be sent to the paper for them to publish at a time of their choosing.

Not long after that, those questions appeared on this site with answers from Mr. Spivey in the 200 to 400 word range. After I called him or his close supporter on it that blog was pulled by MCS as it should have been.

After the blog was pulled there was some lame blog about how he has a long and a short version of his resume which was posted. Big deal. The issue was his answers to the questions that got posted here before they were published by the paper in the proper format.

If it was not him that posted those questions and answers he at the very least knew about it.

That is, in my opinion, totally unethical. When you get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you better fess up and take the heat.

If you want to follow that saga here just go look up this blog:

For me, whatever else he may have done, this takes him out of the running for my vote. If he can't stay within the boundaries of something simple like that I'm not sure how far I would trust him on major things. This is not the kind of back door stuff I would expect or accept from an elected official.

Mike Heemer

 This blog is exactly why Clay Co. has such a wonderful reputation in politics. This garbage has gone on for years whith every newspaper at one time or another and not just about Jett. Most of this stuff is from the rumor mill that started with a thread of truth and grew awry with each repeat until it becomes a complete fabrication and then used as political fact  REMEMBER A GOOD OLE BOY IS ALWAYS SOMEBODY ELSE'S FRIEND

Finder,  there are people in this County that have more intelligence than you give them credit for.  That is why you will never be written in as the Chariman of the Board of County Commissioners.  Rob Bradley will win hands down!

The ploy which you are using by keeping your name and picture on this blog site daily and pretending to know so much about everything that is discussed is why you will lose.

Your erroneous blog above is another reason you will lose.  How do you know what instructions Mr. Spivey was given about the questions.  Did you know that he was told that the answers would be edited?  What does that tell you about the news media?  Maybe Mr. Spivey wanted to be sure that what he wanted to say was not changed to misrepresent him.  There is more to the story than what you have written here.

June 27, 2008  To: Clay County primary candidatesFrom: Clay Today Re: Special election section  Hello candidates: Congratulations on qualifying as a candidate for the Aug. 26 primary election in Clay County. We want to wish all of you good luck and success in your efforts. This letter contains several sets questions specifically designed for each contested primary race. Please select the appropriate set of questions for your race when responding. We ask that you keep your responses to no more than 75 words to each question. While we realize keeping answers short may be difficult, it’s necessary due to the total number of responses we will receive and the limited space in the section. Email your responses to gwalsh@jcpgroup.com no later than 5 p.m. Monday, July 7, along with a digital photograph of yourself. Any responses received after that time may not make into the section due to production schedules. Clay Today reserves the right to edit the response for grammar, style and content. If editing is necessary we will do our best to capture the essence of your answer, just with fewer words. Again, thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. We hope this special section is another way to help Clay County voters make an informed decision about who they feel should be elected to office. Don’t hesitate to call me with any questions. Sincerely,   Greg Walsh,Managing EditorClay Today/The Leader/Argyle Today

This is a copy of the email that was sent to me because I am a candidate.

The underlining and italics are mine. I just want to make sure you are able see the parts that I am talking about.

Would you mind telling me where I was erroneous? Seems pretty clear to me what the rules were. I would think a person that is a candidate for a Doctorate would be able to understand them also.

And Scoop, I am a private citizen in addition to being a candidate. I'm allowed to have an opinion and to express it. I'm not running against Mr. Spivey. 

Mike Heemer

I don't know how long you've been reading the blogs but your participation in them is new.  Perhaps you already know what I am about to say but with your challenge that Mike is here for some free publicity it bears pointing out.

Mike Heemer was here long before he decided to run as a write in candidate for Chairman.  He has participated in most all subject matter that exists here, again, long before he decided to run.  Until he decided to run he had an avatar rather then a photograph. Is putting ones picture out in public rather then a ficticious character when you're running for office somehow misleading or taking advantage?

So, your accusations have no factual basis.  Why should Mike Heemer change from what he's done all along and that is participate as a Citizen as well?  A potential elected official that actually talks to the people he would serve, how obscene.  Are you suggesting that the only fair publicity he can get is that which he pays for?  Does money make the man?

You can vote for whoever you want with my blessing however, you basically equated a vote for Rob Bradley based upon a supposition that is false, rather then promoting a man you believe is the best man for the job.  I hardly know Rob Bradley but even I could come up with a better endorsement then that.

Mike Heemer has one of the most analyitical thought processes where common sense has the deciding vote of anyone I've ever seen.  He carries not one bit of political baggage.  That alone is good enough for me.  I trust that Mike will do the right thing, I don't need to know anymore.

It's a long time till November, and I already know probably 30-40 people personally who are going to write in Mike Heemers name simply because they don't want Rob Bradley to win the Chair.  I reach new people everyday, who promise to try and reach those in their immediate circle and ask them to do the same.  

Stranger things have happened, I wouldn't count Mike Heemer out till the Election is over.  When you get enough people ticked off at their goverment, they can move mountains. 

that ole Scoop is a mole doesn't it.  Funny how he tried to kick "Finder" to the curb all while pushing Bradley.  The only reason I can see Bradley suddenly wanting to be Chairman is as a steppiing stone also to a higher office.  He must be tired of City law.

"When you get enough people ticked off at their government, they can move mountains."

I hope that you are right Marsha, the Clay County Mountains need to be moved and ASAP!  There is certainly enough for us to be ticked off about.  We have suffered too many years in Clay County with the "Good 'Ole Boys" and their antics. 

 One thing is for sure, with the Good "Ole Boys out of office we won't have to hire their children in the various other offices during Summer and College Breaks,nor will we have to watch all the "markers" being called in all the way up the line.

Mr. Spivey was able to at least get Mr. Ricks' BBQ Business out of the Clay County Courthouse 4 years ago.  That actually happened in just two days after the pictures were shown on the evening news!  Mr. Ricks resigned shortly after that.  Just this year, Mr. Spivey has finally gotten Mr. Jett to park the County Vehicles (3-Why so many?) and that was only accomplished after Mr. Piggott confronted him with pictures on the news. Pictures don't lie! So much for being called "lies" by the incumbent.

Those "Good "Ole Boys" will use you as long as it benefits them, but if anything casts disbursions on them, they throw you down.  It is for sure that they don't want anything to "rub off" on them, so you have got to go! Scapegoats? Hum!

Mr. Jett has stated in a forum that he has something on Mr. Spivey but said that he would save it for later.  What kind of tactic is that?  Bring it on now, tell us what it is.  Or does he want to wait until the last minute to drop a "lie" that people will believe just because he is Jazzy Jett.  What are you waiting for Jazzy?

Has anyone heard about Mr. Jett buying clerk shirts every year for the employee’s? Why do they need shirts every year?  I then heard that they had to sign a contract stating they would wear them once a week. What happens if they don’t? I heard that some employees have around 4 or 5 shirts each. That sounds like a lot of taxpayer’s money being spent on shirts.  This sounds like John Keene all over again.  He bought shirts and the employees were required to wear them on Fridays or they went home without pay.  John Keene got in trouble for his employee/slash fund, so what kind of fund does Mr. Jett have.

I also went back and looked at the news article from Channel 4 regarding Mr. Jett driving his county vehicle everyday.  There was one part where Mr. Jett wanted the camera turned off and he would explain. Why did he need the camera off?  What is he trying to hide? Sounds to me if he was on the up and up he would have answered the question without requesting the camera being shut off?  Can anyone please answer these questions?

I read on another blog that Mr. Spivey showed his true colors after the forum in Orange Park. What did he do?  Please share.

Your questions are relevant and I would also like answers to them.  In my opinion, Mr. Spivey"s True Colors are Red, White, & Blue!  Mr. Spivey is for All of Clay County and not for himself.  Mr. Spivey has stated that this is Clay County's 150th birthday.  James Jett states that August 26th is His Birthday.

 Mr. Spivey contributes long hours very faithfully to this County through all the service organizations that he has helped and continues to help.  Mr. Spivey sees the need for someone with vision and concern for all the people of Clay County; and for better representation and I personally think that he is more than qualified. 

Mr. Spivey has stated that he intends to get rid of all but one of the 3 Clerk's vehicles, he is going to get rid of any credit cards that exist, he is going to open the Keystone Heights and Middleburg Offices of the Clerk 5 days a week instead of just one as is now in effect, He is going to do what it takes in Tallahassee and where ever necessary to promote the swift implementation of the "Paper-less Court" system therefore saving taxpayer's money and at the same time keeping up with cutting edge technology.  He has also mentioned in his speeches that he wants to improve the Clerk's website and include the budget and salaries so that the public can readily see at all times how their money is being used.  He has promised to follow the Statutes of the State of Florida and at the same time charge only what is necessary for copies.  The Statutes state that the Clerk is supposed to only charge the least paid employee's salary when charging for record searches that require time to provide and Mr. Spivey has said that he wanted to take a look at the possibility lowering some of those fees. Mr. Spivey has promised that all the employees will be respected for their Constitutional Right to support whomever they please in elections. The employees will never have to fear for losing their jobs over supporting any political candidate. The only thing that he would ask is for them to continue to do their job with professionalism and keep all political activity out of the Courthouse.  He will never ask employees for campaign donations, or allow anyone else to approach them for campaign donations on his behalf or otherwise. 

These are the things that I have heard at the forums that I have attended.  So, Mr. Spivey is telling us what he plans to do to improve the Clerk's Office.

Please, I ask you to do your homework and vote responsibly.  Keep yourself well informed.  Attend the forums and see for yourself and hear for yourself.  That is the very best way to get to know the real person that you choose to vote for on August 26th. 

I was born and raised in Clay County and it is very close to my heart, the political climate has been stale for quite some time and we need to get the cobwebs out and all the smell out.  Our County can be the best in the State of Florida, but we need exceptional leaders .  Please help me restore Clay County to its rightful place.

Thank you!

Old Scoop