Challengers in the 2015 Council Races

[Cheshire Cat]

I am guessing we will see a number of names come into play down the road. We are still 2 years out.  I am thinking it will be the council races that need the most focus and it is certainly not too soon to be looking for competent candidates. 

[Charles Hunter]

Well said, Cheshire!

[isphil]

If Brown were running for re-election today, what would be his legacy? Bringing 7-11 Downtown? McDonalds & Family Dollar?  Mike Hogan once said there wasn't much difference between him and Alvin. I'm beginning to see his point.

[tufsu1]

This is a great piece from Jim Bailey of The Daily Record.  I agree with his sentiments completely and echo two of them which I have also stated myself.  One, that the financial help of Republicans and Peter Rummell is what bought Alvin Brown the office of mayor, not his politics or promises.  Second, The folks who really understand the importance of having a person of deep insight, understanding and the ability to address the serious problems of Jacksonville is terribly important to our city and the fact of the matter is we don't have that in Brown.  What we have is a guy who tags onto the efforts of others and loves the spotlight.  Other than selling himself as a salesman for the city, there is little of substance to the man or his efforts.

I might agree....but from what I can tell Diane, you've never been a supporter of the Mayor....you were directly tied to Glorious Johnson when she, inexplicably, put her support behind Mike Hogan

[thelakelander]

If Brown were running for re-election today, what would be his legacy? Bringing 7-11 Downtown? McDonalds & Family Dollar?  Mike Hogan once said there wasn't much difference between him and Alvin. I'm beginning to see his point.

7-Eleven, McDonalds, etc. would have came regardless of if Brown were mayor or not. He wouldn't have much of a downtown legacy outside of getting the DIA established and finding $9 million to be leveraged for DT projects.  Maybe in another year or so, things will be different if most of the proposed projects get off the ground. However, the DIA and the $9 million are two things that would not have happened with Hogan. Outside of DT, there's probably not much difference.  Both would continue to cut city services and quality-of-life offerings before raising taxes.

[Cheshire Cat]

This is a great piece from Jim Bailey of The Daily Record.  I agree with his sentiments completely and echo two of them which I have also stated myself.  One, that the financial help of Republicans and Peter Rummell is what bought Alvin Brown the office of mayor, not his politics or promises.  Second, The folks who really understand the importance of having a person of deep insight, understanding and the ability to address the serious problems of Jacksonville is terribly important to our city and the fact of the matter is we don't have that in Brown.  What we have is a guy who tags onto the efforts of others and loves the spotlight.  Other than selling himself as a salesman for the city, there is little of substance to the man or his efforts.

I might agree....but from what I can tell Diane, you've never been a supporter of the Mayor....you were directly tied to Glorious Johnson when she, inexplicably, put her support behind Mike Hogan

That is true however it has nothing to do with what the Mayor has or has not accomplished since he has been in office nor does it impact the sentiment of many of the people who know what is happening at city hall under Alvin's weak leadership.  Most see Alvin as a guy in search of a spotlight, skirting by with rhetoric in place of serious reform who has so far fulfilled some of the promises he made to financial supporters regarding downtown, but none of the really serious folks see him as a leader in the truest sense.  He failed on the budget and he failed on pension reform which were two of the most important things needing reform in Jacksonville.  The only plus has been downtown financing.  It remains to be seen how well the new DIA will work out. 

There are still two more years before election time and discussion behind the scenes going on between Republicans is a desire to find a true Republican candidate to run against Alvin next time around which is why Brown's re-election efforts have begun so early.  If a strong Republican candidate comes up against him, he will need a great deal of funding to keep in the race.  It really is amazing to think about the fact that for the majority of his time in office, just under two years, he has spent most of it campaigning.  I have yet to see during his campaign anything close to real leadership although I will admit he can stir peoples hopes with his upbeat rhetoric which is why he still holds a position of public approval.  It's almost like a no news is good news sort of thing. 

[simms3]

I don't think there is anything wrong with being a face for the interests of the largest movers and shakers in a given city.  I don't think anyone will deny that the current mayors of Atlanta and San Francisco are anything but, however each goes about it the right way.  Also, aside from Khan and a few others, Jacksonville has some questionable yet influential "leaders" in the private (and religious) sector who hold sway politically, but who would likely not even live, work, or play in larger cities - so that's at stake.  Also, I can't speak to Brown, but myself and many hundreds of thousands others come away with generally positive or approving thoughts when watching the mayors of Atl and SF (for those of us who snobbishly consider ourselves intellectual, we don't have any reason to "look down" on our very very almost overwhelmingly smart mayors, who also get along very very well with all of the other very very smart business leaders...hence why good things get done).

It's always nice when no matter how egotistical you are, you come away feeling like the leader of your city is definitely smarter than you and likely nobody could do a better job given the current circumstances.  I don't live in Jax, but when I lived in Atlanta I looked up to Mayor Reed (still do - I think he's one of the stronger and better mayors in the country right now), and while not super popular in a pop mayor sort of way, given his background, business relationships, job experience, and what he's done thus far, I look up to Mayor Lee in SF.  Nothing worse than a mayor where you're constantly asking yourself how the hell did HE get to be mayor of 800,000+ people?!?

[Cheshire Cat]

If Brown were running for re-election today, what would be his legacy? Bringing 7-11 Downtown? McDonalds & Family Dollar?  Mike Hogan once said there wasn't much difference between him and Alvin. I'm beginning to see his point.

7-Eleven, McDonalds, etc. would have came regardless of if Brown were mayor or not. He wouldn't have much of a downtown legacy outside of getting the DIA established and finding $9 million to be leveraged for DT projects.  Maybe in another year or so, things will be different if most of the proposed projects get off the ground. However, the DIA and the $9 million are two things that would not have happened with Hogan. Outside of DT, there's probably not much difference.  Both would continue to cut city services and quality-of-life offerings before raising taxes.

I completely agree Ennis.  The take Jacksonville to another level hasn't been such a big deal unless we consider 7/11's and McDonalds downtown as ground breaking growth.  As far as the budget and pension issues I don't believe we would have seen the sizable fails we have seen under Brown if any of the other top candidates with local government experience had gotten elected.  With these two sizable issues left unchecked you can bet that reality will come back to bite this city in a big way.  Brown has another budget cycle coming.  Let's see what he does in the next two years.  I will hope for the best because I love Jacksonville. 

[Cheshire Cat]

I don't think there is anything wrong with being a face for the interests of the largest movers and shakers in a given city.  I don't think anyone will deny that the current mayors of Atlanta and San Francisco are anything but, however each goes about it the right way.  Also, aside from Khan and a few others, Jacksonville has some questionable yet influential "leaders" in the private (and religious) sector who hold sway politically, but who would likely not even live, work, or play in larger cities - so that's at stake.  Also, I can't speak to Brown, but myself and many hundreds of thousands others come away with generally positive or approving thoughts when watching the mayors of Atl and SF (for those of us who snobbishly consider ourselves intellectual, we don't have any reason to "look down" on our very very almost overwhelmingly smart mayors, who also get along very very well with all of the other very very smart business leaders...hence why good things get done).

It's always nice when no matter how egotistical you are, you come away feeling like the leader of your city is definitely smarter than you and likely nobody could do a better job given the current circumstances.  I don't live in Jax, but when I lived in Atlanta I looked up to Mayor Reed (still do - I think he's one of the stronger and better mayors in the country right now), and while not super popular in a pop mayor sort of way, given his background, business relationships, job experience, and what he's done thus far, I look up to Mayor Lee in SF.  Nothing worse than a mayor where you're constantly asking yourself how the hell did HE get to be mayor of 800,000+ people?!?

I don't think there is a problem with that either Simm's if good things are happening behind the scenes and if the community has a strong and competent council to balance out those special interests, but that is currently not the case here in Jacksonville.  We seem more like a ship without a rudder running on sails filled with hot air. 

[simms3]

But "special interests" can possibly be aligned with taking the city forward, that's what's not currently the case in Jax.  As I said, there are questionable sources of influence in Jacksonville that just don't get much say in some other cities.  (and we both know that "interests" get officials elected - you'll never have a true government for the people by the people, but it would be nice if business interests and political will interests of the people were more aligned the way we all would like)

I would think most of Khan's "special interests" are those that will see Jacksonville grow and prosper in a tangible and sustainable way so that more people can afford Jags tickets (even if prices go up ).  His interests aren't for the further erosion of Jacksonville's core and identity in favor of cheap, suburban tract housing for low wage earners who move here from elsewhere and won't buy or be able to afford Jags tickets anyway.  He wants good, solid, high $$ job growth.  He wants to develop a generation of young people who will become devoted to the Jags when their parents take them to games (that is if the parents can afford to do so) in the hopes that a generation of lifelong fans is developed and his brand is grown and his investment grows in value.

Likewise, responsible developers (who are typically the "only" type of developers in larger, more built out cities where you don't have tract homebuilders in existence except way out in the burbs, maybe) want high $$$ job creation, as well, an influx of college educated young profs and creative types who will rent the apartments, shop in the retail stores, patronize the restaurants, etc.  These are your light rail lobbyists - developers, speculators, etc in other cities are the biggest backers of fixed transit to get these folks and increase the value of their developments!  In Jax it's the opposite, LoL.  So, see, special interests all of a sudden align!

My point is really that the makeup of the people in Jax is reflected in elected leadership.  For every smart, progressive "thinker" or do-gooder, there are 2-3 idiots who wipe that out.  It's sad.

[Cheshire Cat]

I agree about Khan, but he is a single cog in the wheel.  My guess is that Khan will also throw some money behind another candidate or two as will some of those who recently gave to Brown.  His main support Rummell is currently retired and downtown is a focus of his, however if another candidate (especially a Republican) will meet his needs he could likely throw some money their way as well.  Of course we are still way out on this election and only us political watchers care much at this point.  lol

[Cheshire Cat]

Let me just add that no matter who ends up being mayor next time around we darn well better have a competent and functional city council.  That is where my focus will be down the road.

[James Eddy]

Just like to clear up that you have my name wrong. I am running in Dist 7 and the names James Eddy. If your like to find out more information on me, please visit my web site at Eddy4dist7.com  I wish everyone running in District 7 the best of luck. It is hard to decide to run for public office. It takes all your free time and energy to make it happen. I look forward to next two years of meeting and learning more what the citizens of Jacksonville  want for the city. Jax2025 was a good start lets just hope the right ears were listening and working towards  making Jacksonville the best city in the South and the whole United States.

[sheclown]

Welcome James Eddy.  Thanks for being with us.

[James Eddy]

I would like to Welcome Richard Cuff to the race for Dist 7 City Council ,he just filed in the last couple days.