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Cecil 'Trey' Hightower takes over as Jefferson County's new Clerk of Courts

Close-up of gavel on judge desk, symbolizing court trial, justice and legal decisions in courtroom. The committee went over surveys of each of the 20 circuits, analyzing such factors as efficiency, public trust and confidence, professionalism and case-clearance rates.
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Close-up of gavel on judge desk.

Hightower won the primary election race but thanks to Governor Ron DeSantis, is starting much sooner than anticipated.

Cecil "Trey" Hightower has been named the Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller for Jefferson County.

Hightower was elected in August to become Jefferson’s next county clerk, but instead of waiting till January to start, Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed Hightower to the position on Wednesday.

The appointment went into effect today.

The move comes after former clerk Kirk Reams was found guilty of stealing more than $800,000 in county funds through a kickback scheme.

Reams and two other men, were found guilty of using public funds to pay for non-office related expenditures.

Hightower previously served as an administrator in the City of Tallahassee Treasurer-Clerk's Treasury Management Office.

Adrian Andrews is a multimedia journalist with WFSU Public Media. He is a Gadsden County native and a first-generation college graduate from Florida A&M University. Adrian is also a military veteran, ending his career as a Florida Army National Guard Non-Comissioned Officer.

Adrian has experience in print writing, digital content creation, documentary, and film production. He has spent the last four years on the staff of several award-winning publications such as The Famuan, Gadsden County News Corp, and Cumulus Media before joining the WFSU news team.