About CJ
Clarence James was born and raised on the Westside of Jacksonville—where his family also has deep roots. He served his country in the US Navy, and is married with five children. Clarence's children are also serving Jacksonville, one son is a police officer, one son is a nurse, one daughter works in cosmetics and two children are learning in our public schools, He has built a career defined by loyalty, leadership, and a deep commitment to community safety.
A retired Lieutenant from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office with over 20 years of service, Clarence is currently a Police Sergeant with the Duval County School Police. He also served as a legislative staff member for the Florida House of Representatives, where he gave valuable input on several major public safety bills, including portions of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas Act, a major historical piece of school safety legislation.
With over 30 years as a law enforcement professional, Clarence has seen firsthand the growing violence, classroom disruptions, and breakdown in discipline plaguing our schools.
Clarence serves as the elected President of FOP Lodge 900, an at‑large lodge representing officers throughout Florida. The Fraternal Order of Police represents over 370,000 officers nationwide, including more than 4,000 in Jacksonville. Trusted by his peers for over 20 years, Clarence was elected to numerous leadership positions and appointed to the FOP State Legislative Committee, where he championed legislation enhancing penalties for gang-related crimes to keep our communities safe.
Clarence holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice Administration and has earned multiple advanced certifications from the National Sheriffs’ Association. He believes a safer educational environment is a better educational environment—because when students feel safe, they can focus, learn, and thrive and when our teachers feel safe they can focus on educating our children.
His promise is simple: to be worthy of your trust and to lead with integrity.
Our Focus
CONNECT. PROTECT. EDUCATE.
Connect: As a fiscal conservative, CJ is dedicated to focusing on the budget, because the school board needs financial oversight. There is a deficit that needs transparency, contract reviews, and ensuring every taxpayer dollar is accounted for. He has spent numerous meetings connecting with members of the community about district problems. He will continue to spread his message across
District 6.
Protect: CJ will be utilizing bringing accountability back to the classroom. Part of what CJ wants to see accomplished is the police department for Duval County Public Schools fully funded, to ensure the response times are faster at each school. With a fully funded school board police department, this will allocate more police officers to work at our schools and offer competitive salaries, as well as helping teachers be retained. Our students need to be protected, and he understands working difficult schools on the Westside.
Educate: CJ will ensure that the basics are taught in the classroom. Education is my sole priority, and I want to ensure that each student has a higher literacy rate, can graduate, and be able to contribute to society when leaving Duval County Public Schools.