Property Appraiser candidate: Jerry Holland

Name: Jerry Holland

Family: Married, one son and two grandchildren

Occupation: Duval County Property Appraiser

Political/Government experience: I am currently serving as Duval County Property Appraiser, elected 2015. One of my first priorities as Property Appraiser was to take an aggressive approach investigating and combating exemption fraud. As of today more than 2100 property owners have been found in non-compliance and over $13.5 million in back taxes, penalties and interest has been lien, while making sure those entitled to exemptions received them.

I served on the Jacksonville City Council 1999-2005 and as the President of the Jacksonville City Council 2002-2003. While on the City Council I introduced and saw adopted 1999-897 Legislation to give low-income seniors an additional Homestead Exemption and 2003-599 Legislation that established an exemption for Granny Flats, the living quarters for grandparents and parents living with their children.

I served as Duval County Supervisor of Elections 2005-2015, restoring trust in local elections. During that time we registered more than 64,415 students in Countywide Student Voter Registration Drives. We had over 68 different countries come visit us to learn how to do successful elections. Our office was known for having the most current election system for tabulation and voter check-in in the state.

I also served as President of the Northeast Regional Planning Council, President of the Florida State Association of Supervisor of Elections, and Chairman of the Duval County Tourist Development.

Years lived in Jacksonville: 58 years

Campaign website: Letskeepjerryholland.com

Why did you decide to run for office: I decided to run because, I have the proven experience you can trust for providing an office that will treat all taxpayers with respect and fairness. With over 38 years of real estate experience, I am the only candidate that is a Florida Certified Appraiser, State Certified General Contractor and Licensed Real Estate Broker. I have managed over 2500 employees with budgets exceeding $10 million. My family has a history of public service, and I consider it an honor to serve.

What is the biggest challenge facing the office you're seeking, and how specifically would seek to address that: A big challenge we are facing in the office in the upcoming years will be the number of senior staff members reaching retirement. We are working hard to have more employees obtain a professional state appraisal certification and designation, a reflection of their professional capabilities.  We currently have more employees in the office working toward their State Appraisal certification or designation than ever before.

What more do you believe your office could be doing to serve the citizens of Jacksonville: I believe that my legislative experience gives me the experience to help the citizens, as I am currently working with State Legislators on legislation involving property exemptions and penalties to make sure they are fair and less punitive in cases where taxpayers are unknowingly out of compliance.

What would be your main budget priority for the upcoming fiscal year: Our greatest priority is to retain our professional staff. While coming into office we have reduced staff 7%, we need to make sure we have competitive salaries in order to retain staff to provide the utmost in customer care and professional appraisers.

How do you define what you hope Jacksonville will be ten years from now: It is my desire that Jacksonville will continue growing and providing job opportunities. I also hope Jacksonville will be a safe city where our children desire to live and raise their children. We must be a government that represents all its citizens, meeting its needs with fairness and transparency .

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EDITOR’S NOTE: WOKV asked all candidates in a race to answer the same questions, and the answers here are their unedited responses. WOKV has not independently verified information in these answers, nor is WOKV endorsing any candidates.