Jax mayoral politics on the state's radar...

[Jaxson]

Having spent my summers in Baltimore as a youth, I have to say that I was very impressed by Baltimore City and how they brought new life back to their urban core.  William Donald Schaefer worked hard to promote his city and he has an amazing legacy.  Great minds make for great cities!

On a side note, Baltimore City is unique in that it is its own city/county.  It is mutually exclusive from surrounding Baltimore County (Towson is the county seat of Baltimore County). 

[duvaldude08]

Race, from my point of view, has no bearing on this...........it is a question of who is the right person for the job and as of today, Mr Hogan has not convinced me of much of anything! Until he does, Mr Brown will get my vote, along with my significant other!

CS Foltz, That is true for some of us, but not all of us. some people really do base things on race, in this city in particular. However, my hopes are that the people of this city takes on our mindset. I am looking at who's the right man for the job. And Hogan has convience me of sqwat either. Hopefully this city will finally unify if Brown wins. That will be a huge step in the right direction.

[Coolyfett]

If Brown wins I think this would become a national story.

I would be gleaming with tears and live to breathe the day Jacksonville has finally cracked its shell open.

-Josh

Thats an interesting statement

[mtraininjax]

I would be gleaming with tears and live to breathe the day Jacksonville has finally cracked its shell open.

-Josh

Wow, he must walk on water in his spare time too!

[Timkin]

He's not the only one who must

[FayeforCure]

From the article:

The campaign is a simple choice for voters -- the past or the future: Alvin Brown, who is a businessman who will lead the city in a new direction, or Mike Hogan, who is a 20-year politician who supported the policies that led to our city budget expanding, taxes increasing, and public education failing. If Brown has the resources to communicate his forward-looking vision of Jacksonville to a wider audience, he can will win in May.

I like the sound of that 

Jacksonville CAN become an exciting city for a NEW generation!!!!

[mtraininjax]

If Brown has the resources to communicate his forward-looking vision of Jacksonville

300,000 will not get the job done. Where are the public rallies, where is Stephen getting on his pulpit and proclaiming the good word of the day? Time is a wasting here folks, you really need to step it up a lot as we are closing in on judgement day.

[tufsu1]

300,000 will not get the job done. Where are the public rallies, where is Stephen getting on his pulpit and proclaiming the good word of the day? Time is a wasting here folks, you really need to step it up a lot as we are closing in on judgement day.

you might want to tell that to Hogan...after all, its his lead that shrinks more each day

[vicupstate]

Ideally, a gradual but steady climb up is the preferred way to pull off an upset.  If the uptick happens too soon or too much, it tips off the opposition that there really is a genuine threat. 

If the crossover into the lead occurs just before or on election day, it is too late for the opposition to react.

If I were Alvin Brown, I would still want to be behind in the polls, but climbing. If Brown is no MORE than 10 points down, he is about where he needs to be,IMO.     

Many 'upsets in the making' unraveled because the 'underdog' peaked too soon.     

[vicupstate]

If Brown has the resources to communicate his forward-looking vision of Jacksonville

300,000 will not get the job done. Where are the public rallies, where is Stephen getting on his pulpit and proclaiming the good word of the day? Time is a wasting here folks, you really need to step it up a lot as we are closing in on judgement day.

You might want to consider this example from Indianapolis, a similiar-sized consolidated city.

Gregory A. Ballard (born 1954) is the Republican mayor of Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. On Tuesday, November 6, 2007, he defeated two-term incumbent Democratic Mayor Bart Peterson by 51% to 47%.[1] It was described as one of the biggest upsets in the political history of Indiana

Ballard was dramatically outspent by Peterson. He had only $300,000 in campaign funds and low name recognition when he began the race.[4] In comparison, Peterson already had $2.9 million in April while Ballard had only $9,560 at the time.[5] As late as October 14, Ballard had run no TV ads.[5] An October 19 campaign finance report showed that Peterson had raised $1.5 million since April and still had that much on hand to spend. At that point in time Ballard had only $51,000 left, meaning that Peterson had 30 times the funds that Ballard had during the last three weeks of the campaign.[6]

Nonetheless, on November 6, 2007, Ballard won the race to become mayor of Indianapolis. Unhappiness with rapidly increasing taxes and crime were seen as the biggest reasons for Peterson's defeat. Republicans also recaptured control of the City-County Council for the first time in four years. In his acceptance speech, Ballard told the audience he considers this campaign "the classic, if not the ultimate, example of grassroots politics."[7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_A._Ballard

 
Post from Mtrain about why Indianapolis can't be compared to Jacksonville in 3, 2, 1 ...