As Walton County voters look ahead to the August 18 primary, tax collector candidate Jessica Carter Laird is making her case as a seasoned public servant with deep local roots and a focus on both innovation and public safety in the tax collector’s office.
Laird joined me for a conversation about her background, professional experience, and what she hopes to bring to the role if elected.
Laird was born and raised in Walton County and has spent most of her life in DeFuniak Springs. She is married to her high school sweetheart, Eric, and the couple has been married for 27 years, together for more than three decades.
They have two adult sons, both of whom also live in DeFuniak Springs. Her oldest works for Walton County Fire Rescue, and her youngest is a window and door salesman with Southern Windows and Doors. For Laird, having her children establish their lives in the same community underscores her commitment to the county’s long-term well-being.
Professionally, Laird brings over 19 years of experience in the tax collection industry. She entered the field at age 21 in Alachua County, working for Tax Collector Jim Bishop while living in Gainesville. She later moved to Bay County, serving under Tax Collector Chuck Perdue (referenced as “Miss Brannon” in the conversation), before returning home to Walton County in 2005.
After taking several years off to raise her children, she joined the Walton County Tax Collector’s Office in 2011. Throughout her career, she has worked on the front lines, serving thousands of customers and building what she describes as a “deep knowledge” of the complex procedures involved in tax collection and driver services.
Laird says she is thoroughly familiar with the hundreds of procedures tied to the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles—covering everything from driver credentialing to title and registration work.
She notes that in the title and registration area alone, there are “about 200 procedures,” ranging from simple to highly complex, and she prides herself on knowing where to find specific rules and guidance quickly.
This technical expertise, combined with hands-on experience dealing with the public, is central to how she defines her qualifications for the office.
Beyond frontline work, Laird points to her leadership and project experience as a key differentiator.
During her time in Bay County, she helped transform an office that was highly siloed. Previously, separate departments handled property taxes, driver’s licenses, and title/registration work, often forcing residents to stand in multiple lines for multiple services.
Laird says she was involved in cross-training staff so that any counter could assist with all services, allowing a resident to pay property taxes, renew a registration, and handle a driver’s license issue in one stop.
She also helped implement a modern queuing system, replacing a basic ticketing setup where employees would simply call out ticket numbers. The new system, she says, helped organize services, reduce confusion, and improve overall customer flow and efficiency.
Looking ahead, Laird says one of the biggest challenges in Walton County is geography. The county stretches from the Alabama line to the Gulf of Mexico, but there are currently only three tax collector offices: DeFuniak Springs, Freeport, and Santa Rosa Beach.
For residents on the far east and west sides, this can mean long drive times, especially during tourist season.
Laird wants to pursue remote self-service kiosks that would allow residents to renew registrations and, as state systems are modernized, potentially replace driver’s licenses at convenient locations such as Publix or Walmart. She notes that the state is in the middle of a “motorist modernization” effort that may expand kiosk capabilities later this year.
She also expresses interest in bringing TSA PreCheck enrollment services to Walton County. Currently, the nearest option is the Port of Holt, and she believes offering this locally would be a valuable convenience for residents who travel frequently.
“Our citizens like convenience,” Laird says. “They want to be able to get their credential and go to the airport without having to take their shoes off and stand in long lines.”
On the policy front, Laird highlights the collaborative role of tax collectors across Florida in working with the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to shape public policy that affects everyday citizens.
One area where she sees a need for change is immigration documentation. She notes there are roughly 185 immigration classifications, and local tax collector staff are currently expected to verify the authenticity and validity of documents tied to these classifications.
That level of vetting, she argues, places a significant burden on local offices and can slow service for other residents.
Laird would like to see more of that credential vetting shifted back to the state level, allowing state agencies to pre-verify documents before individuals arrive at a local office. This, she says, would both protect public safety and reduce wait times.
Laird also shared a striking example of how diligent work in the tax collector’s office intersects with public safety.
Before COVID, she and her team noticed a woman repeatedly bringing groups of three or four individuals into their offices across multiple locations. After monitoring security footage and noticing patterns, Laird became suspicious.
One day, a set of documents presented by the group—Puerto Rican birth certificates, Social Security cards, and proof of address—raised red flags. A prior record showed one of the identities with distinct tattoos, while the person in front of them had none.
Laird contacted the Florida Highway Patrol, who interviewed the woman and the men accompanying her. The investigation revealed a human trafficking operation in which individuals were being transported from Texas after purchasing identities at a flea market in San Antonio.
For Laird, this incident underscores why she views the tax collector’s office as more than just a payment window.
“My family’s on the roadways, your family’s on the roadways,” she says. “Advocating for good public policy and careful vetting helps keep everyone safer.”
As the August 18 primary approaches—with two weeks of early voting and mail-in options available—Laird is asking Walton County voters for the opportunity to put her experience to work as their next tax collector.
She emphasizes her accessibility, noting that the phone number listed on her campaign Facebook page (“Jessica Laird for Walton County Tax Collector”) is her personal number, not a temporary or disposable line.
“Whether my phone number is available today, it’ll be available in a year, and it’ll be available forever,” she says. “If you ever need anything, please reach out. I’m happy to help.”
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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