A Yes on Amendment 10 is a Vote for Transparency and Protection

There is one easy choice on the ballot this year – a choice that has bipartisan support across the state: Amendment 10, the Protection Amendment. Having so many decisions on the long ballot this year can make the voting process more burdensome than usual, but a yes vote on Amendment 10 is an easy choice.
Amendment 10 does four important things, without growing government or increasing taxes:
•Protects your right to vote by ensuring that your sheriff, clerk of the court, property appraiser, tax collector and supervisor of elections are elected by you, not appointed by the county.
•Protects our veterans by preserving the structure and governance of the Florida Department of Veterans’ Affairs to ensure Florida’s military members are cared for after their service to our country.
•Protects your tax dollars through improving state and county budgeting by starting legislative session two months earlier in even-numbered years.
•Protects our families from acts of terrorism by creating the Office of Domestic Security and Counterterrorism within the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Sadly, our Florida neighbors in some counties have been stripped of their right to vote for their constitutional officers. Amendment 10 guarantees this would never happen again in any county. To best serve you, your elected constitutional officers must have an independent perspective, free from undue influence of appointed officials.
Amendment 10 is about good government, accountability, transparency and the importance of separation of powers. These are the foundations of our freedom.

Consider this:
•Florida’s sheriffs are law enforcement professionals united in protecting Florida’s citizens and visitors. Remarkably, Florida’s crime rate is at a 47-year low. In Clay County, Sheriff Darryl Daniels leads an agency striving daily to reduce crime and increase community engagement in a county that is now home to more than 209,000 residents.

•Clerk of Court Tara Green oversees Clay County’s official records and serves as a trustworthy fiscal steward. Statewide, court clerks and comptrollers annually collect over $4 billion in fees and fines, safeguard more than $13 billion in county funds, serve 6 million walk-in constituents, summon 2 million jurors, and collect over $775 million in revenue for Florida.

•For many Floridians, their home and land are their most valuable asset. In Clay County, Property Appraiser Roger Suggs oversees fair and equitable property appraisals, with our county’s total taxable property value at more than $10.6 billion with another $4.4 billion exempt.

•Clay County Tax Collector Jimmy Weeks is responsible for receiving property tax payments, issuing hunting/fishing licenses, motor vehicle and vessel tags, concealed weapons permits, birth certificates and more. He provides taxpayers with efficient, cost-effective tax services at convenient locations.

•Supervisor of Elections Chris Chambless ensures the 152,500 registered voters in Clay County have secure, transparent and professionally-conducted elections.

Clay County’s five constitutional officers hold important responsibilities and a public trust on your behalf, and therefore should – and must – have a constitutionally-protected voting process. Don’t lose your right to vote. When you get your ballot, go straight to Amendment 10 and vote yes.

Your Clay County Constitutional Officers,
Sheriff Darryl Daniels, Clerk of Court Tara S. Green, Tax Collector Jimmy Weeks, Property Appraiser Roger Suggs

*Supervisors of Elections statewide do not take a position on ballot issues, including amendments.