Why I'm Running: Connie Mederos Jacobs, County Judge

I am running for Manatee County Court Judge because I believe being a judge is the ultimate public service I can perform. I should be elected because I am the most qualified candidate.

I am a second-generation Cuban American born in Ybor City, Tampa. My grandparents came from Cuba to work in the tobacco factories in Ybor City in the early 1900s. My grandfather served in U.S. Army in World War I. My parents were born in Ybor City. They did not complete high school. They had to work to support their families. My father waited tables, drove taxis and managed a warehouse for thirty years. My mother waited tables and did clerical work. My mother proudly graduated from High School at the age of 50.

My grandmothers and one of my teachers had the greatest influence in my childhood. My grandmothers did not speak English. The grandchildren had to speak Spanish. My grandmothers were strong and opinionated women who tolerated no foolishness but were given to generosity when possible. My third grade teacher called me up to her desk one day and told me that I was very smart and that I needed to go to college. I was eight years old and that word was unfamiliar to me. I thought college was a destination. Once I learned that college was an institution of higher learning I made it my goal which I pursued relentlessly.

In order to attend college I worked full time the entire time, holding down a second and sometimes a third additional part time job to cover the expenses of living on my own. I received my Bachelor’s Degree from the University of South Florida. I graduated with a double major in Sociology and Criminal Justice. I was the first in my family to graduate high school and college.

Upon graduating from college I worked as a criminal justice planner for the State Attorney’s Office in Pinellas County. I designed programs to assist victims of crime and was a victim advocate. I also designed a counseling program for domestic violence offenders. It was there that I met and married my husband, Larry Jacobs, almost 37 years ago. We have a son and two grandchildren.

My dream was to become an attorney. At age 33 I applied and was accepted to law school. I attended 2 law schools year round so as to be able to graduate in 2 1/2 years instead of the usual 3 years. I was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1989.

I was a prosecutor in Manatee County from 1989 to 1993 at which time I opened my own law office. I purchased my own building a block from the Courthouse in 1995 and have remained a small business owner ever since.

I have practiced law for over three decades in Manatee County. I have represented victims of crime, law enforcement officers and those accused of crime. I have represented civil litigants. I have represented clients in all 20 Judicial Circuits of State of Florida. I have represented clients in all 3 Federal District in the State of Florida. I have represented clients in the Federal District Courts of Kentucky, Tennessee and Washington D.C. The trial in Washington D.C. spanned 4 months. I have vast trial experience which no other candidate can claim.

My law practice over the past thirty plus years has included trials in the Civil Divisions as well as in the Criminal Divisions of the courts. I have represented clients in Administrative Hearings. I have handled appeals in Florida’s District Courts of Appeal as well as the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals.

County Court is the Peoples’ Court. It’s jurisdiction includes traffic offenses, small claims, civil law suits up to $30,000.00, misdemeanor offenses, local ordinance violations and landlord/tenant disputes. My 30 plus years of experience in the County Courts of Manatee County includes representation in cases ranging from noise violations to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Domestic Violence as both a prosecutor and as defense counsel. In the Civil Division I represented people in landlord/tenant disputes, homeowners association disputes, small claims and civil disputes, traffic infraction offenses, and parking ticket violations.

As a bilingual attorney I have been called upon by Judges in Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto Counties to represent on a pro bono basis victims and defendants struggling with the English language and culture. My most recent appointment was to represent a child from Mexico who had been drugged and sexually trafficked in Mexico and the United State since the age of 8.

As a Hispanic bilingual attorney I was also called upon by Governor Jeb Bush during his years in office to serve on the local Judicial Qualifications Committee so as to add diversity to the Committee.

I am familiar with the diversity of our community and I am committed to the people of Manatee County. I have served on the Board of Manatee County Habitat for Humanity and have worked side by side with the people doing the physical labor to build those homes. I have served on the Boards of United Way and Temple Beth Israel. I am past president of Manatee County Chapter of Florida Association of Women Lawyers and past president of Manatee County Inns of Court. I volunteer to work with aspiring future lawyers in Mock Trial competition and have been a judge in Teen Court.

I have also had the experience of actually working with my local legislator to improve laws passed by our legislature in Tallahassee. I had the unfortunate experience of giving CPR to an accident victim only to learn that I was not entitled to know whether or not he had a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease or not. I worked to help re-write the Good Samaritan Act so that Good Samaritans now have access to the medical records of victims whose lives they have saved so that they themselves can seek appropriate medical attention.

So, why vote for Connie? All of the candidates have a law degree. All of the candidates take an oath to uphold the constitution when being sworn in as an attorney in the State of Florida. My vast trial experience in State and Federal Courts in Florida and in other states sets me apart and distinguishes me from the other candidates. My vast trial experience has exposed me to some of the best role models of what a judge should be: fair and respectful, patient and a good listener, knowledgeable about the law and empathetic to the people involved in the case. I have also unfortunately witnessed judges who do not have those qualities, who have lost control and undermined the confidence of the people who have every right to demand a fair and impartial judge. I have learned from the best and observed the worst.

In my research of the Manatee County Courts I have not been able to identify one minority ever being elected or appointed to be a County Court Judge. The diversity of the population of Manatee County deserves diversity on the County bench. The time is right to elect the most experienced and qualified candidate who happens to be a minority.

I am relentless in the pursuit of fairness and the application of the law as a trial attorney. I have an abiding faith in our judicial system. I will be relentless in the pursuit of fairness and the application of the law as a judge.

A vote for Connie is a vote for the most experienced and qualified candidate.

Thank you.