Mike Hogan's $62 Million Budget Cutting Plan

[vicupstate]

Jacksonville's government is too inbred as it is.  What's wrong with having experience and perspective gained both locally and from other areas.   Why not learn from someplace else's mistakes and achievements?  

Nothing says 'Capital of South Georgia' more than thinking only a native that never left can run the place. Geez

[Diane Melendez]

How many of you have heard this phrase from your mothers over the years?  "If you want to go out and play, you have to clean up your room first"?  Mom's have a knack for understanding that there is an order to life and balance.  They know that if you give cookies to a kid, they will eat them non stop until the cookie jar is empty.  Then mom has to spend to buy cookies to fill the jar more and more often than she would if the kids were not allowed to eat all the cookies in one go.  Now if dad and mom are out of work, guess what?  The kids do without cookies for awhile.  Mom sense is the same thing as common sense and common sense in Jacksonville during recent years has been replaced with pipe dreams and grand plans, many of which are the result of political agendas and power players.

Respectfully, and I say this respectfully.  Jacksonville has got to fix it's financial mess before we can go out and play. People are not unwilling to pay taxes but they know their money has not been used wisely.  Trust is shattered and the only way to change that is to show the taxpayers that not only are their assets used wisely but that they are used honestly and well.  That has not been what has always happened.  Not by a longshot.

I believe it is inaccurate to state that Mike Hogan has no vision.  He sees alot of wonderful things for Jacksonville in our future. He want's good things, new ideas and prosperity, but has the common sense to understand that you have to be able to afford the changes you want.  I wonder how many people making the assertion he has no vision have even met the man?  What Hogan gets, is that like the most everyday of citizens, you can't spend what you don't have and if you have abused your budget and spent poorly over the years, to continue to throw money in your checking account to waste it again is just unwise.

He wants to fix what is broken, not just patch it up.  Before you can paint the house a pretty color you better make sure the foundation is strong or you have not only wasted your time and money but the place you live is going down hill while you throw money at it.  It has "not" worked.  Time to regroup.

People want specifics now.  Tell us, tell us, tell us how you will fix it?  What will you do?  Specifics please?  We need jobs, we have education problems, the JEA is breaking us, the transportation sucks, etc. etc. etc.  The real truth of the matter is that any statments about how any candidate hopes to make things better are based upon  assumptions.  The only way to have a good and accurate idea about how to fix current problem is to stop adding to them, get inside them and fix what is wrong.  To do that right now we need someone who is experienced in our local government, who is not outside of the politcal loop and knows how this city and its many agencies function.  Alvin Brown has great soundbites, is a quick study and says what people want to hear, but he does not have the real experience and understanding of city functions to carry out all the promises and ideas on the evergrowing list that has beconme his platform and we don't have time for him to learn.  On another note, people need to put aside the notions that Alvin Brown will come to City Hall without his own attachements to members the the broad GOB system in Jacksonville.  Currently, beyond funds given him through some curious channels in the state and local Democrat party, he is being groomed by a handful of folks who are long time members of the GOB nifty fifty group currently known as the Civic Council. This is where he is now seeking money and influence.  Brown is an effective speaker whose Federal skills have made him good at knowing the proper buzz words to excite people.  But his Federal job in a HUD agency over a decade ago does not give him the needed skills to deal with the problems Jacksonville currently faces.   It's a matter of real experience.  One of the best analogies is one we have all heard before.  If you need heart surgery, you don't have it done by the lady in the front office who spent years shuffling paperwork that has medical terms on them.  You go to the surgeon who knows not only how the heart works but how the rest of bodies systems support that heart.  Federal HUD experience and being and enthusiastic speaker will not replace the nuts and bolt understanding Jacksonville needs in our next mayor.  

[vicupstate]

Stamping "Paid" on tax receipts, and managing one small component of the city's bureaucacy does not equate to 'leading a city'. Hogan has no more demostrated genuine executive management ability than John Peyton, and we all know how that turned out.

The real truth of the matter is that any statments about how any candidate hopes to make things better are based upon  assumptions.

Does this also apply to statements that candidates make in regards to raising taxes?  Yet another similiarity between Hogan and Peyton.   

[mtraininjax]

Why not learn from someplace else's mistakes and achievements?

Only my opinion and I am in the minority here, but I do not want someone who cut their teeth learning at the expense of another local to come in and try and take that experience and paint it on the walls and streets of my city and call it "progress". Hey, if Brown feels connected to Jacksonville, GREAT, get involved, run for a city council gig, or get involved with local politics in other ways, but to come in and say, "I learned how to run a city from my years in Washington", it will not fly, especially after we endured 8 years with the Boy Wonder who had gone from no experience to mayor. Why would we want to do the same thing again?

[Ocklawaha]

I believe Cleveland had the same mentality. Their location could not be beat.

Yeah, and Rhyolite has better weather!

I have a vision for Jacksonville, we send all European descendants back to Europe, all African descendants back to Africa, all Asians back to Asia, finish blowing down the downtown, and make Jacksonville a State Park.

I might like Mike, some of us might even learn to love him, but how will I ever know? He won't debate, and he won't return my calls or come to a MJ meeting, so someone tell me why I would like him?

OCKLAWAHA

[Diane Melendez]

vic, do more homework.  The skills are far beyond a stamp pad.    Hogan is not Peyton.  You cannot measure the actions of one by another although I understand the basis of your worry.  How do we know any politician will do what they promise?  Answer, we don't know for sure until they are in office and the way to change what we don't like is to engage in the process and vote.

[mtraininjax]

He won't debate, and he won't return my calls or come to a MJ meeting, so someone tell me why I would like him?

Did you at least say the MAGIC WORD? 

[vicupstate]

If Brown has manged a budget 300-400% larger than Jacksonville's, I would say he 'cut his teeth' some time ago.  How big is the budget Hogan has managed as Tax Collector.  

The fact of the matter is, the ONLY rationale you have for supporting Hogan is that he has never lived outside of the city.  I'm not sure why that would be considered a plus, but it is all you have.    
 

[danem]

vic, do more homework.  The skills are far beyond a stamp pad.    Hogan is not Peyton.  You cannot measure the actions of one by another although I understand the basis of your worry.  How do we know any politician will do what they promise?  Answer, we don't know for sure until they are in office and the way to change what we don't like is to engage in the process and vote.

To be fair, I visited one of the tax offices to renew my car registration, and found the process incredibly efficient. The facility even included the robot voice from the Jetson's calling out numbers and windows.  

[vicupstate]

How do we know any politician will do what they promise?  Answer, we don't know for sure until they are in office and the way to change what we don't like is to engage in the process and vote.

Well, wouldn't you say the the people and organizations that a candidate aligns himself with, and his rhetoric  are the only viable indicators pre-election?  

Therefore, in Hogan's case, we have Tea Party people and Tea Party ideas.  

[Diane Melendez]

There is a debate between him and Alvin tomorrow at 11:30 AM
First Coast Tiger Bay Club
www.fctigerbay.org
First Coast Tiger Bay Club Jacksonville

There is also a debate on News4Jax this month.  

[mtraininjax]

If Brown has manged a budget 300-400% larger than Jacksonville's, I would say he 'cut his teeth' some time ago.  How big is the budget Hogan has managed as Tax Collector.  

Why is it always about SIZE???

Fact of the matter is that one candidate has local experience and the other does not. Experience in Jacksonville is the issue. If I were Hogan I would make it one of THE central issues. If I was Brown, I would get Ray Nagin or some of the people I worked with in NOLA to speak to my experiences to counter that as an issue. Brown may walk on water somewhere else, but he needs to tie that to Jacksonville somehow.

[Diane Melendez]

Vic.  Ultimately we will each make our own choices about candidates based upon our views and our internal measure of those we are considering for office.  Alvins experience in a HUD office over a dozen years ago in the 1990's, in a Federal office has nothing at all to do with local city functions.  Very different skill sets.  An honorary position at JU doesn't amount to much on a resume weak on local experience.

[Jaxson]

If Brown has manged a budget 300-400% larger than Jacksonville's, I would say he 'cut his teeth' some time ago.  How big is the budget Hogan has managed as Tax Collector.  

The fact of the matter is, the ONLY rationale you have for supporting Hogan is that he has never lived outside of the city.  I'm not sure why that would be considered a plus, but it is all you have.    
 

Thank you, vicupstate...  We act like Alvin Brown was working with Monopoly money or something.  We act like his work outside of Jacksonville does not count as experience.  Why should it not be relevant that he helped to turn Harlem around (24% to 8% unemployment).  If he can help one of the most depressed areas in the nation, why would we not ask him to do the same in Jacksonville?

Furthermore, it is not fair to compare Alvin Brown to John Peyton.  Alvin Brown completed post graduate studies at Harvard University Kennedy School of Government.  It is this kind of knowledge that sets Alvin Brown apart from Mike Hogan.  Like I said earlier, it does us all a disservice to treat Alvin Brown like he is some carpetbagger.  Did we force Rick Scott (not even a Florida native) to work his way through Florida politics?  After all, he is coming to town to show his support for Mike Hogan.  Either we think that someone should make their bones in the area or we don't.

[Garden guy]

It won't be bad under Hogan. Jacksonville will grow a little and be about the same when he leaves as it was when he took office. Unless we lose the Jags. Alvin is a chance for real improvement.
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It wont be bad?...it's be worse...the wealthy of this city will continue to see huge tax breaks while those of us that actually work for a living will suffer even more than we have already..when are you people going to understand that a weathy man "cannot" understand the average guy on the street..it's impossible. This man is kissing the ass of every millionaire in this city and his actions will do nothing but bring more wealth to the weatly and less for those that are'nt...just like the fucking republicans do everywhere...cut taxes to defund the whole and make inner loopholes for the rich boys...