Mike Hogan's $62 Million Budget Cutting Plan

[Jaxson]

Why is it seen as a liability for Alvin Brown to have worked with the federal government or to have worked to help other cities?  This is the mirror image of the election in which a rich kid with no experience defeated a sitting sheriff who had strong ties to the community.  We seem to be changing the rules as we go along. 

[Jimmy]

And we keep hearing about Hogan being BFFs with the corrupt power brokers in Tallahassee.  Wow, that's such an asset.

How about someone with Federal experience who can help return some of our hard-earned tax money back to Jacksonville from the Federal kitty?  And who knows what to do with it and how to leverage it.  Gosh, that would be nice.

[Bike Jax]

We're right between Georgia and Florida

Maybe this has been the problem all along. Perhaps Jacksonville should become part of one or the other.

[Jaxson]

We are going to have to face facts about the double standard in state and local politics.  We willingly hand the mayor's office to someone who ran a chain of gas stations at best, but we go into full on panic when we have a candidate who has an MBA and federal government experience from another political party who is running for mayor. 

[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. 

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.

Because the magical successes that have been made manifest in Jacksonville are something to brag on?

The worst public transit system of any large city in america, one of the worst unemployment situations in the country, a historically destroyed downtown, a failing school system, and one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country?

Well I don't know about you, but maybe its time to change the water in the tank there, bucko!

But, stephendare, the local insiders have done such an awesome job with our city.  Only they will know how to keep up the good work, right?

[PeeJayEss]

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.

Because the magical successes that have been made manifest in Jacksonville are something to brag on?

The worst public transit system of any large city in america, one of the worst unemployment situations in the country, a historically destroyed downtown, a failing school system, and one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country?

Well I don't know about you, but maybe its time to change the water in the tank there, bucko!

+1!
So the guy has local experience? He also has horrible, ideological, knee-jerk policy that doesn't even have anything to do with the city of Jacksonville. I'll take the guy with less local experience (but more and higher quality experience overall) and a good plan over the political hack who's never left town and is trying to slip into city hall unnoticed.

[Old Jim]

Why the concern in this election about where a candidate was born? Tanzler, Austin and Delaney were all born in other states and it did not seem to matter.

[urbaknight]

I say get rid of the city lobbyists, they suck at acquiring funds from the state and the feds. What do we have to show for? these bench warming lobbyists have done nothing.

And if you want to make cuts in the budjet, might as well get rid of traffic lights. Hell no one obeys them anyway.

[urbaknight]

Why the concern in this election about where a candidate was born? Tanzler, Austin and Delaney were all born in other states and it did not seem to matter.

That's why they were good mayors. They're not native born Floridiots. We need people from up north or out west to run the city. The could get the job done!

[Jumpinjack]

Speaking as one of those native born Floridians, get lost

[jcjohnpaint]

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.

What is all this talk of tax breaks to the rich...maybe they are the folks that truly have earned Republican tax breaks

Because the magical successes that have been made manifest in Jacksonville are something to brag on?

The worst public transit system of any large city in america, one of the worst unemployment situations in the country, a historically destroyed downtown, a failing school system, and one of the lowest per capita incomes in the country?

Well I don't know about you, but maybe its time to change the water in the tank there, bucko!

But, stephendare, the local insiders have done such an awesome job with our city.  Only they will know how to keep up the good work, right?

[Jaxson]

Haydon Burns was also born in another state.

[JeffreyS]

It cracks me up to hear people complaining that Alvin could only balence a budget or manage his agenda if it is in a different area code. Try again.

[Jaxson]

It cracks me up to hear people complaining that Alvin could only balence a budget or manage his agenda if it is in a different area code. Try again.

Because, of course, New Orleans and New York use different currencies and their successes are not applicable to a city such as ours. 

[Timkin]

In fairness , I do not expect to see downtown restored, rail , or  extensions of skyway or really, much of any forward movement under Hogan.  and that is not to say that Alvin Brown is going to turn out to be the Messiah of Mayors ,either.   

There is no doubt ,some cuts could and should be made.  But budget cuts like he is proposing sure sounds hauntingly like our Governor and is a bit ...no a bunch , over the top.