Energized Jax electorate flood early-voting sites to cast mayoral ballots

[jcjohnpaint]

Utilizing the urban core more is a cost saving move over what we've been doing for the last half century.

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf? Everything they have is within a short distance. Only way to save downtown is bring in new businesses who offer housing deals for their workers, if they stay downtown. The Downtown area can turn into SJTC, but it will never be able to at the rediculous rates that the landlords charge as compared to the cheaper lease rates in the burbs. I fail to see how any mayor can force the landlords and building owners to make changes that they have not for years. Neither man can mandate that downtown can and will change over night.

Its a mistake to think that a vote for the candidate who claims to have a fix for downtown  can do so in 4 years. Citizens of Jacksonville have been fighting sprawl since the Great Fire, and there is still too much cheap land out there in the county to allow for continued sprawl. Too many empty buildings that have yet to be leased or used.

Sorry MTrain, but we have to re invest in downtown.  It is a very important neighborhood that needs EXTRA consideration.  If a mayoral candidate says it is as important than all the other neighborhoods then he is wrong.  Have a strong downtown will only be good for the tax base.  Sometimes it isn't always about tax breaks.  But who said Hogan has a strategy.  More like a one side philosophy. 

[thelakelander]

Utilizing the urban core more is a cost saving move over what we've been doing for the last half century.

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf? Everything they have is within a short distance.

How do you figure?  The only thing SJTC is in walking distance too is the apartments/condos behind Target and directly on its property.  Everything else in the Southside is pedestrian hostile due to roadway infrastructure primarily designed to move cars above all other modes of transportation.  Same goes for Oakleaf and Nocatee isn't even worth talking about since its still mostly undeveloped.  Anyway, how do I sell that?  Simple.....I'm going to get the city's financial house in order, not raise your taxes and do more with less.  A true fiscal conservative approach.

Only way to save downtown is bring in new businesses who offer housing deals for their workers, if they stay downtown.

There are multiple ways to deal with downtown.  A change in public policy to allow for less regulation should be a first move.  Keeping to public realm clean, maintained, lighted and secured would be a second move.  A third would be realizing that downtown doesn't exist on an island by itself.  There are already thousands of residents.  They just happen to live across the street in Springfield, Eastside, Durkeeville, Riverside, San Marco, etc.  In another thread, I mentioned retracting poor unreliable bus service to a more compact area with frequent service.  Connecting DT with its urban core neighborhoods (like it was originally) would be a great place to start.  You'll find that this "connectivity" combined with clustering complementing uses within a compact walkable setting will do more for downtown than anything else.

The Downtown area can turn into SJTC, but it will never be able to at the rediculous rates that the landlords charge as compared to the cheaper lease rates in the burbs. I fail to see how any mayor can force the landlords and building owners to make changes that they have not for years. Neither man can mandate that downtown can and will change over night.

DT should not be a SJTC.  SJTC is a strip mall for crying out loud.  An Avenues without a roof over the central corridor.  DT is a mixed use walkable neighborhood.  We should start treating it as such.

Its a mistake to think that a vote for the candidate who claims to have a fix for downtown  can do so in 4 years. Citizens of Jacksonville have been fighting sprawl since the Great Fire, and there is still too much cheap land out there in the county to allow for continued sprawl. Too many empty buildings that have yet to be leased or used.

It shouldn't take four years or tons of money to correct DT's basic problems.  Mix a little "tactical urbanism" up with the basic concepts described above and you'll have vibrant pockets spring up in no time.

[tufsu1]

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf?

I wasn't aware that people living in Nocatee or Oakleaf vote in the Jacksonville Mayor's race.

[Timkin]

Utilizing the urban core more is a cost saving move over what we've been doing for the last half century.

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf? Everything they have is within a short distance. Only way to save downtown is bring in new businesses who offer housing deals for their workers, if they stay downtown. The Downtown area can turn into SJTC, but it will never be able to at the rediculous rates that the landlords charge as compared to the cheaper lease rates in the burbs. I fail to see how any mayor can force the landlords and building owners to make changes that they have not for years. Neither man can mandate that downtown can and will change over night.

Its a mistake to think that a vote for the candidate who claims to have a fix for downtown  can do so in 4 years. Citizens of Jacksonville have been fighting sprawl since the Great Fire, and there is still too much cheap land out there in the county to allow for continued sprawl. Too many empty buildings that have yet to be leased or used.

* Giggles .... M-train  ........ your wisdom never ceases to amaze me  

No one of any reasonable intelligence expects a 4 year fix from ANY mayor.. and your boy Hogan will probably , if anything, make it worse

[Jaxson]

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf?

I wasn't aware that people living in Nocatee or Oakleaf vote in the Jacksonville Mayor's race.

ZING!!!

[Timkin]

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf?

I wasn't aware that people living in Nocatee or Oakleaf vote in the Jacksonville Mayor's race.

ZING!!!

And the ref hands TUFSU a point !  +1

[tufsu1]

and with that point, TUFSU is off to go vote!

[futurejax]

This Republican just contributed $10 to the Brown campaign.

[hillary supporter]

Utilizing the urban core more is a cost saving move over what we've been doing for the last half century.

How do you sell that to the people who live near SJTC, or Nocatee or Oakleaf? Everything they have is within a short distance. Only way to save downtown is bring in new businesses who offer housing deals for their workers, if they stay downtown. The Downtown area can turn into SJTC, but it will never be able to at the rediculous rates that the landlords charge as compared to the cheaper lease rates in the burbs. I fail to see how any mayor can force the landlords and building owners to make changes that they have not for years. Neither man can mandate that downtown can and will change over night.

Its a mistake to think that a vote for the candidate who claims to have a fix for downtown  can do so in 4 years. Citizens of Jacksonville have been fighting sprawl since the Great Fire, and there is still too much cheap land out there in the county to allow for continued sprawl. Too many empty buildings that have yet to be leased or used.

Mtrain, you may be missing a pivotal issue on the election. I agree (firsthand) with your insight towards the mistake of a downtown development authority. But i think many republicans are influenced with Browns focus on the JaxPort. His plans for development of it with substantial federal obamadollars has no less than Preston Haskell support, as i witnessed at the rally at memorial park the other sunday. It caught me personally by suprise. Many voters dont care for downtown development, but i think that isnt the same as AGAINST downtown development.
This is a very exciting and good election.

[Doctor_K]

Why does "downtown revitalization" mean extra taxes or money?  Utilizing the urban core more is a cost saving move over what we've been doing for the last half century. It's the fiscal conservative approach. It would be nice if both Brown and Hogan can accept this FACT.

I wondered that too.  I think it's just the use of more keywords to the right-wingers... "taxes" and "downtown" used in the context of something that vaguely has something to do with either liberals, or non-white people, or both.

IMO - it's effective in its appeal to the base.  Sad but true.

[Jaxson]

The next Mike Hogan commercial...

[Sinister music plays in background]

Narrator: Dirty liberals like Alvin Brown want to waste your tax dollars on that rat hole we call downtown.

[Cue images of homeless people sleeping in Hemming Plaza, urinating behind a Dumpster, and panhandling outside of the Jacksonville Landing.]

Narrator: He wants to spend your hard earned money to purchase a quart of fine malt liquor for every street person who walks into Scotty's on Adams Street.

Bum (On camera in front of pile of rubble): Thanks, Alvin Brown.  You speak for me and my needs, unlike that Mike Hogan who represents normal Jacksonville folk.  [Vomits onto curb]

Narrator: What dirty liberals like Alvin Brown don't tell you is that they are going to jack up fees so the Skyway can be turned into a rolling 24/7 rave spot.

Girl waving glowsticks (Inside Club Skyway): Thank you, Alvin Brown.  Now that my MDMA habit is subsidized by normal Jacksonville folk, I can marry a Hindu lesbian like the way God intended it to be...

Narrator: What's worse is that dirty libs like Alvin Brown want to create a Downtown Development Authority to...gasp...redevelop downtown...

Strip mall owner (On camera in front of vacant strip mall): It's not the job of our city government to have a comprehensive urban policy.  That train has sailed.  We need a Suburban Development Authority to help me fill all of my half-empty strip malls and we need to build a few more flyovers to make things really cook.  We need Mike Hogan to represent the common sense ideals of our city.

[Cue video clip of tumbleweed blowing down Bay Street]

Narrator: Let Alvin Brown save his fancy pants vision and liberal ideas for San Francisco.  We are sure that Nancy Pelosi would love to have him do her bidding here.  We are just as sure that he does not stand with regular Jacksonville folks...

[Kiva]

  But quite a few Jacksonville voters would believe this!

[BillM33]

Quite a few do, unfortunately, which is why Hogan's camp continues to try to portray Brown as Obama, using the complex formula of black + Democrat = Socialist. Brown supporters need to get the word out that he is a different kind of Democrat, using Hogan's words against him.

[JeffreyS]

Quite a few do, unfortunately, which is why Hogan's camp continues to try to portray Brown as Obama, using the complex formula of black + Democrat = Socialist. Brown supporters need to get the word out that he is a different kind of Democrat, using Hogan's words against him.

We need to somehow remove the stigma of Socialism. I am not saying we should become socialist just not make it the boogy man either. 

I like to point out this fact about the biggest framer of the Constitution. 

The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only object of good government. : Thomas Jefferson

[A-Finnius]

The next Mike Hogan commercial...

[Sinister music plays in background]

Narrator: Dirty liberals like Alvin Brown want to waste your tax dollars on that rat hole we call downtown.

[Cue images of homeless people sleeping in Hemming Plaza, urinating behind a Dumpster, and panhandling outside of the Jacksonville Landing.]

Narrator: He wants to spend your hard earned money to purchase a quart of fine malt liquor for every street person who walks into Scotty's on Adams Street.

Bum (On camera in front of pile of rubble): Thanks, Alvin Brown.  You speak for me and my needs, unlike that Mike Hogan who represents normal Jacksonville folk.  [Vomits onto curb]

Narrator: What dirty liberals like Alvin Brown don't tell you is that they are going to jack up fees so the Skyway can be turned into a rolling 24/7 rave spot.

Girl waving glowsticks (Inside Club Skyway): Thank you, Alvin Brown.  Now that my MDMA habit is subsidized by normal Jacksonville folk, I can marry a Hindu lesbian like the way God intended it to be...

Narrator: What's worse is that dirty libs like Alvin Brown want to create a Downtown Development Authority to...gasp...redevelop downtown...

Strip mall owner (On camera in front of vacant strip mall): It's not the job of our city government to have a comprehensive urban policy.  That train has sailed.  We need a Suburban Development Authority to help me fill all of my half-empty strip malls and we need to build a few more flyovers to make things really cook.  We need Mike Hogan to represent the common sense ideals of our city.

[Cue video clip of tumbleweed blowing down Bay Street]

Narrator: Let Alvin Brown save his fancy pants vision and liberal ideas for San Francisco.  We are sure that Nancy Pelosi would love to have him do her bidding here.  We are just as sure that he does not stand with regular Jacksonville folks...

Not ten minutes ago, on another thread, I posted about a Hogan commercial that was a lot like this. It aired last night on the Action News at 11, two minute advantage whatever station and I am guessing you saw it too.  If you can find a link for it, please post it.  It was quite eye opening as to how Hogan really feels about downtown development.  I'm seriously concerned that if he gets in, Downtown Jacksonville will be screwed.