Jim Priester says the St. Johns Sheriff's Department is guided by fear and intimidation and deputies aren't being taken care of the way they should be.
Priester is running against incumbent Robert Hardwick for St. Johns County sheriff. The two, both Republicans, square off in the Aug. 20 primary election.
Priester, a fourth-generation law enforcement officer, has 27 years of experience in roles as varied as SWAT and dive teams and even the bomb squad. The former youth resource and truancy deputy is convinced that he can, and will, do a better job as sheriff.
Among his many roles, Priester supervised the juvenile probation orders and created the Police Athletic League golf program, renamed the First Tee Program of St Johns County. He also led the community affairs unit as sergeant and then lieutenant. As patrol watch commander, he earned the Lifesaving Award, the Combat Award, three Meritorious Service Awards, two Sheriff’s Commendations and two Sheriff’s Unit Awards.
Priester holds a bachelor’s degree in public administration from Flagler College and a master's in leadership and management from Webster University.
He and his wife, Paula, live in Hastings along with their two horses.
The primary election for St. Johns County sheriff is Tuesday, Aug. 20, with Aug. 8 listed as the final day to request a mail ballot. Early in-person voting starts Aug. 10. The primary for the sheriff's race is open to Republican voters only. Primary ballot winners move forward to the Nov. 5 elections to face write-in candidates. All party affiliations will be able to vote during the general election.
The race for Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller is the only race open to voters of all parties on Aug. 20 and will therefore be decided on Aug. 20.
The St. Augustine Record: What would you like people to know about you?
Priester: I’m not a politician, but I feel that I need to hold a political office to do the most good for our agency and community because I don’t like what I see in the sheriff’s office and the behavior of our command staff.
The St. Augustine Record: What are you unhappy with?
Priester: The lack of leadership as deputies put their lives on the line. Leadership that fails to stand up for them and their righteous actions is a problem.
The St. Augustine Record: Can you be more specific?
Priester: The sheriff and his command staff weren’t standing up for self-initiated traffic stops that became incidents that required the use of force. When a deputy sheriff weighs not to risk a self-initiated traffic stop because they’re worried that the command will not stand up for them, it’s not a healthy environment.
The St. Augustine Record: Do you have any proof?
Priester: In 2019, we had 134,000 self-initiated calls for service and last year we had 100,000. You don't add 40,000 plus in population and 30-plus deputies to the workforce and have a drop of 34,000 self-initiated calls for service unless deputies don't feel like the leadership will back them. That leads to shade-tree patrolling where they would rather sit under a shade tree than actively patrol.
The St. Augustine Record: So you’ve worked under the jurisdiction of Sheriff Hardwick.
Priester: Yes, and I don’t think he’s running the sheriff’s office, I think he’s running for the office.
The St. Augustine Record: You were obviously unhappy. When and why did you finally leave?
Priester: I left in January to file and run for sheriff. I was unhappy with the purchase of a $6.7 million helicopter with no one able to clarify where the funding came from. We already have two functional helicopters. I understand that one was built in the '60s, but it’s perfectly air worthy, and it will be given back to the military. Sheriff Hardwick bought the other one in 2013, and it will used as back up in Putnam County. So, if it's good enough for Putnam County to use, why are we going to require our taxpayers to pay $7 million over the next seven years for a brand-new helicopter when we already have one that's working for us?
The St. Augustine Record: What would you do differently?
Priester: My priority is Interstate 95. Since 2021 we’ve lost 18 people to traffic fatalities. We’ve done nothing to combat that; no extra details and no traffic suppression to change the driving habits of people.
The sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer; it’s his responsibility. I would make it the safest stretch of 95 instead of the deadliest starting with beefing up our traffic unit. We have the same size traffic unit as we did in the 90s. I can't do anything about the volume of traffic, but we can try to make it safer by stopping people weaving in and out of traffic, especially on 95. It's almost like the traffic enforcement has gone down because if something were to happen, they're scared that they're going to be left on an island.
I would also implement work force studies. We currently have eight open lawsuits for deputies involved crashes. Why isn’t Sheriff Hardwick doing anything to help our deputies drive better? We’ve had no driver trainings since he’s been sheriff.
Sheriff Hardwick turned off all the comments for social media because he didn't want the public talking bad about our deputies. I think it’s wrong for him, a public official, to censor the public. He’ll turn it on for some and then turn it off. That’s a violation of our First Amendment.
I would focus on more money for our deputy sheriffs to keep up with Jacksonville deputies or we're going to lose deputies.
Deputies should be worried about the bad guys and helping people and not worried about who's looking over them to find wrong with whatever they're doing. They need to have a sense of calm about what's going on in front of them.
The St. Augustine Record: Have you talked with other deputies?
Priester: Yes. They’re behind me. They clearly don't support the current staff because they just filed to have a union in the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office. We need to change the culture, and it’s going to start with me.
The St. Augustine Record: Is there anything specific that stands out that really bothered you?
Priester: The deputies are not being taken care of. Somebody needs to take care of our deputies because when you call 911 they need to have someone looking out for them. Right now the agency is being ruled by fear and intimidation. I lived it. I saw it firsthand.
The St. Augustine Record: Did you have a contentious working relationship with Sheriff Hardwick?
Priester: I supported him 100% with whatever he needed when he was the chief of police for the City of St. Augustine. He asked me to stay in the office when he came here. I didn’t like the way I was being treated so I asked him if he was going to leave me at the same rank and he said yes. I said I didn't want to do it and since then he treated me differently.
The St. Augustine Record: Do you think the current administration is keeping up with the county’s growth?
Priester: I don't. The sheriff office has gotten raises for the deputies but I’m talking about the fear and intimidation. I’ve been in the room with Sheriff Hardwick saying, "You should be happy I got you that raise."
Money is a short-term motivator. To have a culture of mutual respect, you have to treat people with dignity and respect.
The St. Augustine Record: What would be your first action as sheriff?
Priester: I would not fire a bunch of people because they have a family depending on them too. I know they're very scared. That's why you see them out here putting signs up. Everyone had to give money. It’s hard to fathom that everyone gave a certain amount to his campaign.
The St. Augustine Record: How do you know that to be true?
Priester: Because it's on his expense report, which is posted on the supervisor elections website.
The St. Augustine Record: This is not a gotcha question – but I would like to make sure it's documented, so what do you mean by that?
Priester: All of his command staff - you can look up his command staff - gave money to his campaign.
The St. Augustine Record: That’s an accusation. How do you know they didn’t want to?
Priester: I don’t.
The St. Augustine Record: So, what would you do that’s different?
Priester: I would start off with quarterly meetings in each quadrant of the county to make sure that they had access to e-mail to have a package ready with answers.
The St. Augustine Record: Do you feel like Sheriff Hardwick is accessible to the people of the community?
Priester: I don't know.
The St. Augustine Record: Long-term and short-term plans?
Priester: Establish my leadership and philosophy to reestablish that we’re taking care of each other. Putting the community first, we'll do workload assessments and get a patrol and traffic structure. I would create a social responsibility unit.
We'll need to build a new sheriff’s office and make plans for a new jail because they’re they’re both in a flood zone.
In 2022, Sheriff Hardwick remodeled two different buildings for his office and one of the remodels took out a commercial kitchen that was in a building that's in a flood zone.
I won't be giving everybody new office furniture at the end of the year because we need to spend money. If I have money left over, I'll give it back to the County Commission to say I’m giving this back because I’m going to need more next year to pay our deputies.
One of my biggest pet peeves — deputies who leave their cars running when they weren't sitting in it.
The St. Augustine Record: If I remember correctly, patrol cars are kept on for safety reasons which include possibly saving a life by saving time.
Priester: That’s not going to happen. If by turning a car on we're losing a life, we're already behind the eight-ball anyway.
The St. Augustine Record: Where do you see yourself in the possibility of success?
Priester: I’m passionate about the sheriff's office because don't want to see the things that are happening to it. I feel strong. I’m knocking on doors and hosting meet-and-greets. I'm the most qualified person in this race. Experience is my biggest asset.
The St. Augustine Record: How would you treat the media?
Priester: With open arms. I expect you to be there to help me.
