The Florida Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed Al Lawson’s candidacy for the 5th Congressional District. The local chapters in the eight-county district running from Gadsden into downtown Jacksonville interviewed the candidates and recommended the endorsement to the state-wide organization of law enforcement officers, a spokeswoman said.
Lawson, of Tallahassee, is challenging Congresswoman Corrine Brown in the redrawn district. The two served together in the Florida House of Representatives in the early 1990s. Lawson went on to represent Tallahassee in the Florida Senate for 10 years before being term-limited in 2010. Brown has represented Jacksonville in Congress for 24 years, consistently winning reelection with nearly 60 percent of the vote.LaShonda Holloway is also on the Aug. 30 primary ballot.
TALLAHASSEE DEMOCRAT | FOP endorses Lawson
On Friday, Brown was in court, indicted on conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say she participated in a scheme involving a fraudulent education charity. It is unclear whether the indictment will affect the campaign. Political insiders point to Brown’s length of service and ability to turn out supporters on election day when declining to speculate on her political future.
Brown compared the indictment to last week’s outbreak of gun violence in three cities.
“Last week was very rough,” Brown wrote in a blog posting Sunday. “Two black men were needlessly gunned down by police; five Dallas police officers were slain by a demented man, and on Friday I had to appear in federal court.”
The endorsement comes as Lawson on Tuesday kicked off a three-day campaign swing through the district’s eastern counties. When asked if he was introducing himself to Jacksonville’s voters, he said there was no need to because for years he had worked on Duval County issues in the Florida Legislature. He cited the St. John’s River, support for Jacksonville’s higher education institution and banking and insurance issues.
“I feel like Jacksonville’s my own,” said Lawson, who was the Democratic Leader in the Florida Senate and chaired banking and insurance committees in the Florida House.
“Whether you are rural or city I’ve represented all of them,” said Lawson, who compared the I-10 corridor connecting Tallahassee to Jacksonville to the 13-county Florida Senate seat he held.
“I brought people together, you can ask them. And now I’m here, doing everything it takes to win,” said Lawson.
Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.
