Build Something that Lasts PAC

[TheCat]

What a strange press release. It's not as ignorant as linking MLK to used car sales but this is just as useless.


Sent by Michael Munz
buildsomethingthatlasts@gmail.com

Last Friday, Mayor Lenny Curry spoke to a large crowd gathered to celebrate and honor the life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He shared the kind of Jacksonville he is working to achieve, and building on the legacy of heroes like Dr. King. The mayor's vision is a Jacksonville with the kind of hope, optimism and excitement that comes with the beginning of a new year and a new sense of focus that benefits all our city's people.

Mayor Curry also asked a serious question by referencing a speech Dr. King delivered to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's Tenth Anniversary Convention. Entitled 'Where Do We Go from Here,' Dr. King gave a riveting account of the conditions of that period - high rates of unemployment, climbing infant mortality rates and health disparities, poor education outcomes, and widespread violence. Some of the issues Dr. King identified in 1967 sound painfully similar to the issues facing our community in 2016. So, the mayor asked the same question of Jacksonville that Dr. King asked back then; "Where Do We Go from Here?"

Mayor Curry's vision is a future which requires discipline, determination, and passion as the elements for success. Central to this is his plan to fix a serious challenge facing our city: economic failure due to massive pension debt. Mayor Curry has laid out his plan this week and noted that this is the first part of the answer to the question.

To set the table here for the discussion, you have to understand that Jacksonville's three public pension funds are substantially underfunded.
The Police and Fire Pension Fund is currently only 46% funded with over $1.6 billion in unfunded liabilities.
The General Employee Pension Fund is 60% funded with approximately $910 million in unfunded liabilities.
The Correction Officers Pension Fund is 48% funded with $150 million in unfunded liabilities.
Jacksonville's TOTAL unfunded liability is $2.6 billion, and this is more than 25% of all Florida's cities and counties unfunded liability combined. If nothing is done, Jacksonville will be forced to contribute nearly a quarter of the city's operating budget towards pension alone, approximately $200 million each year.

If this is not dealt with NOW, we cannot move forward as a community and address the serious issues that need our attention now. To learn more about the issue and Mayor Curry's solution, below are links to some articles from the past week.

Build Something That Lasts is committed to supporting the mayor on his journey to make Jacksonville a great city and the first step is helping him get our city on the path to eliminating this pension liability by repurposing a dedicated source to do so. Without it, Jacksonville will continue to languish and the city we dream of will go nowhere.

Additional information here...


Curry's pension plan looks like the best option available
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2016-01-08/story/currys-pension-plan-looks-best-option-available

Curry 'pleasantly surprised' with reaction from lawmakers to pension proposal
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=546863

After hearing Mayor Curry's pitch, legislators say they are open to Jacksonville pension reforms
http://jacksonville.com/news/florida/2016-01-14/story/after-hearing-currys-pitch-legislators-say-they-are-open-jacksonville

LENNY CURRY AGAIN SCHEDULED TO HILT IN TALLAHASSEE
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/198514-lenny-curry-again-scheduled-to-the-hilt-in-tallahassee

[TheCat]

Supporters of Mayor Lenny Curry set up a state political action committee this summer that will offer backing to the newly elected Republican as well as candidates for state and local office and causes that share his vision.
The committee, still in its infancy, has $15,000 so far through two August donations from big Curry financial supporters: Former Disney Co. executive Peter Rummell and sales and marketing executive Gary Chartrand.

Based on the financial muscle Curry's campaign flexed during the spring elections, the organization has the potential to raise far more and wield significant influence. Curry, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, excelled at fundraising during his tenure.

The group is called Build Something That Lasts, a reference to Curry's first TV commercial in the mayoral campaign, during which his father, Roy, gave a down-to-earth testimonial for viewers.

"Supporters of Mayor Curry in the last election want a political entity that continues to support not just the mayor but conservative principles and political causes and potentially candidates who reflect the same vision for the future of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida," said Brian Hughes, spokesman for the PAC who also advises Curry on political issues.

This move would give Curry a first-of-its-kind ally as he navigates his first term in City Hall.

Political action committees supporting mayoral candidates or one-issue causes — such as one that backed former Mayor John Delaney's successful push for voters to approve the sales-tax financed Better Jacksonville Plan — are not unusual locally. But no previous mayor has had an active, standing political committee to provide support, either in political donations to other candidates or commercials and other ad materials boosting aspects of their mayoral agenda outside of an election.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-09-08/story/mayor-curry-supporters-set-political-action-committee-could-have-local#.Ve7rqzgVGzo.twitter

[Cheshire Cat]

Supporters of Mayor Lenny Curry set up a state political action committee this summer that will offer backing to the newly elected Republican as well as candidates for state and local office and causes that share his vision.
The committee, still in its infancy, has $15,000 so far through two August donations from big Curry financial supporters: Former Disney Co. executive Peter Rummell and sales and marketing executive Gary Chartrand.

Based on the financial muscle Curry's campaign flexed during the spring elections, the organization has the potential to raise far more and wield significant influence. Curry, the former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, excelled at fundraising during his tenure.

The group is called Build Something That Lasts, a reference to Curry's first TV commercial in the mayoral campaign, during which his father, Roy, gave a down-to-earth testimonial for viewers.

"Supporters of Mayor Curry in the last election want a political entity that continues to support not just the mayor but conservative principles and political causes and potentially candidates who reflect the same vision for the future of Jacksonville and Northeast Florida," said Brian Hughes, spokesman for the PAC who also advises Curry on political issues.

This move would give Curry a first-of-its-kind ally as he navigates his first term in City Hall.

Political action committees supporting mayoral candidates or one-issue causes — such as one that backed former Mayor John Delaney's successful push for voters to approve the sales-tax financed Better Jacksonville Plan — are not unusual locally. But no previous mayor has had an active, standing political committee to provide support, either in political donations to other candidates or commercials and other ad materials boosting aspects of their mayoral agenda outside of an election.

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-09-08/story/mayor-curry-supporters-set-political-action-committee-could-have-local#.Ve7rqzgVGzo.twitter

For those who danced around the fact that Lenny Curry was in this race for anything other than to promote the GOP presence in Jacksonville and Florida, this PAC exposes the true agenda and in it's structure is one simple yet important step away from the mayor when it comes to the GOP agenda.  We have Curry supporters, all GOP working hard to put together money to expand or cement the GOP hold on Duval and Florida.  Of course it is all legal but it is also very telling about how the GOP sees Duval which is a view that they own it and want to expand their power.  They continue to do this because of a weak association called the Duval Dems whose presence in the city is based largely upon black reps on council reflecting the poorest communities in Jacksonville who voters generally embrace  because Corrine Brown had endorsed them and Corrine is the most powerful Democrat in office connected to Jacksonville with a voice in Congress.  She is the one who deals the cards when it comes to winners or losers in local politics. She is also the one who brokers power with the GOP.  Both the GOP and Democrat party are failing the majority with the exception being that the GOP is gaining continually as a direct result of the weakness in the DEM party. 

[Know Growth]

No question the Duval DEM organization proves obtuse, weak.

I had a private conversation with an outgoing Brown Administration department head (and a Republican),we chuckled about the presence of 'tax & spend conservatives'.