Jim Bailey: Why I Want to be Mayor of Jacksonville

[jimbailey]

>> What are your plans to secure federal funding for navigational and deepwater issues for the Port?
Say something like a dedicated federal funding specialist/liason solely devoted to this issue... <<  

Fieldafm -

The port is a huge economic driver for Jacksonville â€" it always has been important and will be incredibly more so in the near future.  

But it’s also strategically vital economically and militarily to our country.  Make no mistake â€" we have to find the money to dredge the port and the State and Federal governments should be willing and eager partners â€" and if they’re not right now we need to do an aggressive and relentless job in explaining it to them until they are.  

Our superhighways, rail connections, and South Atlantic location should trump any pitches from our competitors.  

This needs to be an extremely high priority for the next administration.  Sure will be for mine.  

[jimbailey]

>> Our city is broke. How would you fix it? Be specific. <<

We have got to drive down the cost of city government.  Government at every level has failed to meet the productivity increases of private enterprise.  I have made a career of tough decisions with regard to right-sizing workforces, salaries, and business processes. 

I’m not running for this office because I think the status quo is working; I want to be the mayor who drives a culture of efficiency and productivity.  Better processes, fewer people, more output … I do it in my business and you do it in yours.  Government can do it too. 

It’s not enough, though, to move around the boxes on the organization chart.  Real reorganization will require doing the right job the right way with the right people, resources, and safeguards. 

Not only do we have to drive down the cost of city government, we have to drive down the unreasonable demands that government places on us.  Whether it’s the time it takes to make a decision, the arbitrariness of regulation, or just plain old general bureaucracy, we need a government that intrudes less on all of its citizens, including the businesses that invest here and employ our people. 

Too often “compromise” has meant more regulation, “assistance” has meant more paperwork, and “regulation” has just meant “no.” 

[jimbailey]

Well, it's 6.55 and the debate's about to start, isn't it?  Any other questions I can answer for you?  (I'm loving this, by the way.)

[Wacca Pilatka]

Mr. Bailey,

What are your thoughts on the concept of converting the Prime Osborn back into a transit hub and constructing a convention center in a location more central to the heart of downtown--perhaps the old courthouse site?  Do you have any other ideas on the future of the old courthouse site once the new courthouse is complete?

Thanks again for your time.

[fieldafm]

I left work early to give this time my undivided attention.

Thank you for taking the time to answer our questions.  The other question I would really like to hear your thoughts on is:

Would you be in favor of creating special economic zones to encourage a clustering of medical research firms to relocate and/or start in Jacksonville?  Research shows that for every one job created by a medical research firm, about 5 jobs are created from businesses used by the facility and its employees

This is something San Diego did quite well, however very strong leadership is needed to produce results like they have enjoyed.

[Ocklawaha]

But streetcars aren't a silver bullet any more than light rail, sidewalk cafes, or more streetlights.  The systems have to work together.  

Acutally as cities do not generally construct sidewalk cafes, and streetlights are an accessory to streets, I don't understand your point.

Are you saying the national $14 to $1 return on investment for streetcar and Light Rail (of which streetcar is a family member) is equal to a new downtown bistro? Bottom line, in EVERY city that has built streetcars, a land rush in the hundreds of millions of dollars has taken place. The accepted reason is that "blue-chip" corporate America is not likely to build a new 40 story tower on a street with a new light, or cafe, or even brt bus, BUT if a city commits to building the physical plant for a streetcar line, it's commitment is written in stone (literally). Mr or Ms business person can open a new sidewalk cafe, but only a city with determination will move forward with streetcars. ONLY in streetcars can a city move forward in mass transit AND infill development and job expansion in one easily obtainable step.

It IS a technical subject, and we certainly don't expect everyone to be up to speed, but in light of the facts, we need a leader willing to push the solution.

OCKLAWAHA

[jimbailey]

Ah, the Convention Center ... in the late seventies/early eighties it was a good Convention Center. That model is no longer competitive in today's market - it's now a Community Center.  It's a darned fine Community Center, by the way, but it's not the economic driver that we need.  

What I personally would have loved would have been to see Florida Coastal School of Law go in there, or something like that.  We obviously have a strong candidate in the old City Hall/Courthouse property for a Convention Center (we would have to work with Hyatt on that.)

But for Prime Osborn, a transportation hub is an exciting prospect if we can work out the necessary leverages.

For instance, can we get Amtrak downtown?  

Can we get the JTA to maximize the use of the property?

Can large downtown stakeholders (employers, FSCJ, the District and Federal Courts, etc.) help us leverage its development?  

If we can do those things, then the questions that the Mayor has to ask are

"Why wouldn't we?"

"Have you got something better ... now?"  

I like the picture, but we've got to make sure that the numbers work if we're going to MAKE IT HAPPEN.  

I REALLY look forward to the conversation though.

[jimbailey]

Ocklawaha - I'm still with you, whether you agree with me or not. 

[jimbailey]

FIELDafm -

>> Would you be in favor of creating special economic zones to encourage a clustering of medical research firms to relocate and/or start in Jacksonville?  Research shows that for every one job created by a medical research firm, about 5 jobs are created from businesses used by the facility and its employees  <<

Of course I would!!! That's the kind of force-multiplier that we need to embrace and amplify.  We have a astounding bio-medical complex here already - at the stage RIGHT NOW of being a target for medical tourism. 

We need to go farther than medical tourism ... we need to cluster those medical-related industries and build great jobs for a our people and their kids. No kidding - this is a big fat slow pitch and we need to hit this one hard!

[jimbailey]

>> How would you transform our city into a world-class SMART city that runs on network-based on telecomm-based systems to allow for better management of city services, encourage more economic opportunity, and an overall better quality of life? <<

Technology is not only "the future" as every lame lunch speaker you have ever heard has said, technology is "the path" to the future. 

I want you to imagine two "Finance Departments." 

One is that of a Jacksonville company, say web.com or MPS Group (now Adecco.) 

The other is the City of Jacksonville's Finance Department. 

Which do you think is more effective, more efficient,  better at controlling costs and projecting expenses? 

I think that city government - any city government - is twenty years behind its passage into the 21st century. 

Look at the city website - try to complete an application to have a sign for your business.  Can't do it. 

If we are to become a great city - we can't be a great city of the 1930's like Paris or the 1960's like London, we've got to be a great city of the 21st century.  We have to master technology and have that be both our way of work and our emblem of success. 

That's what a Mayor can do.  A Mayor can drive public processes to mirror current and emerging realities.  And employ people who both believe in the city and understand the technology underpinnings. 

We can do this.  With your help we can MAKE IT HAPPEN. 

[Noone]

Time is about to expire and I just would like to know your position on the Promised 680' Downtown Public Pier that was part of Shipyards/Landmar. There are so many other threads on this issue that you can see pictures and even a MJ Poll.

If you want to address other members questions and get back to this one that is OK. I want to thank you again for making yourself available to respond to the questions and ultimate actions that will take our city to the next level.

[jimbailey]

One last thing ...

I started out saying that we need jobs in this town.  Unless you simply don't interact with other people, you understand that that's what's on everybody's mind.  

What face us - you and me - going forward is the task of aligning EVERYTHING to the goal of bringing good jobs to Jacksonville, jobs that will feed, clothe, and educate our families, jobs that will bring us quality of life.  

To get those jobs will require leadership, teamwork, and hardwork.  But it's not just those things, it's also alignment.

Go to the city's website tonight.  In the search box, type "start a business" and see what the city is offering you.  

There are, if I remember correctly, three links (external, of course) to other entities that will help you devise a strategic plan.  

There are also seven or eight links to authorities who want to tax your new enterprise.  That's the current state of how we the CITY are helping you to develop jobs and our local prosperity.  

Perhaps our City's response to this computer search could be more robust.  

I believe it could be and that it can be if work we hard, together, to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

And I don't think we should settle for anything less.  

Please visit my website: www.jimforjax.com to sign up to volunteer, contribute, etc

Also, if you text message and would like to receive the occasional update...text the word "jim" to 72239.

Thanks for participating!

[Wacca Pilatka]

What frustrates me with the convention center issue, among other issues in Jacksonville, is a seeming perpetual history of doing expensive studies to state the obvious.  Why was it necessary for the city to pay hundreds of thousands (if I recall correctly) to do a study to conclude that the Prime Osborn is poorly located and undersized for becoming an economic driver--something I as a resident of Virginia (but passionate supporter of Jacksonville) could have concluded for free.  Why was it necessary to spend a bundle on a ill-conceived, passive park on Main St. that is surrounded by parking lots and does nothing to attract pedestrians or downtown visitors due to its lack of adjacent complementary facilities.  And is only two blocks removed from the public square of the city.  The people of this site did a logical presentation about why the pocket park was a terrible idea, presented it to the mayor, and saw the park sprout anyway.  Horrible, horrible waste.  At least 90% of the time the city pays for a white paper or a consultant, this site has done all the work for free.  It's paying fortunes to realize common sense.  It doesn't only waste money, it wastes time and sets the city further back from actually accomplishing solutions.

In your references to leadership and efficiency and your understanding of downtown I see hope that this culture will change.  Would you be able to generally describe some specific ways that you can cut out the red tape and waste and encourage action on long-outstanding issues like the convention center and transit development?

Thank you again for your time; I believe in this city despite my frequent frustration with the sometimes mind-boggling slowness and waste that seems to be inherent to make things happen.  I am hopeful that you can change this culture dramatically.

[Wacca Pilatka]

One other comment, again as an outsider.  I find Jacksonville to be a delightful place to visit.  Obviously its attractions do not have the theme park glamour of Orlando, but I very much enjoy its museums, eco-tourism, outdoor recreation opportunities, just touring the historic neighborhoods, etc. 

I find the city lacking at times in promoting what it has to offer.  For instance, I have specifically contacted the CVB about specific amenities it is NOT promoting at all, such as the Karpeles Museum, with little response.

More disturbingly, I find a large portion of the city seems to have embraced a self-deprecating point of view.  Forever I am reading or hearing "we have no history, there's nothing to do here, we're just Macon with a pro football team," et al.  And I know that none of that is even close to accurate.  I also encounter far too many Jaxsons who react with shock when I express my enjoyment of visiting Jacksonville.

I'd be curious to know your thoughts on what as mayor can be done to change that negative mindset that seems all too prevalent, though thankfully far from universal.

[simms3]

Interesting read from the beginning.  Great points.

I like Mr. Bailey's use of words in these two segments and I agree:

We have wasted decades messing up downtown.  One of the hallmarks of my campaign is the simple idea that Jacksonville will do better when we "slow down the screwing up."

It's not about home-runs, it's about singles and doubles. 

First of all we need the right people in the room.  For far too long we have depended on super-consultants, brokers, and out-of-town developers who were long on "big ideas" and short on money - money they wanted from us - the taxpayers.  It's a bad formula for us to depend on "their ideas" and fund it with "our money."  It should be the other way around.  .

We have the talent and expertise in Jacksonville to make a great downtown.  We may not have all the capital, but we can certainly find capital investment from without - that kind of capital formation and attraction is what you hire a Mayor for. 

We got the great downtown potential, we've got the smart operators who can put together a coherent and workable plan, and we need a Mayor who can sell it - who can MAKE IT HAPPEN! 

Noone - great point!  Here's what I think:

People in Jacksonville understand that downtown is a nieghborhood.  13 million people a year go there - so it's not like a revolutionary concept.

Parking meters are just the most visible part of the issue, though,  People will come downtown (a) when there's something to come for and (b) when coming isn't a hassle.  Let's go to (b) for a moment. 

To reduce the hassle factor we have to integrate and systematize downtown parking.  (What?  What's he talking about now?) 

When your spouse or kid goes downtown, they want to park (a) where they can see where they're going, (b) where it's safe, well-lighted and convenient, and (c) where they know what the deal is.  In some places today it's a flat $10 dollars for a whole day.  In other places, it's free for the first two minutes (it seems) and then a dollar an hour and then five dollars.  It's bewildering to someone who is in the car, on strange territory, in a hurry, and listening to the car behind them honking at them. 

Does that happen in San Marco, Avondale, St. John's Town Center?  No.  I think it's incredible that we have so many citizens who put up with an anti-visitor downtown.  They've reluctantly overcoming their perceptions of an urban system that simply DOES NOT WELCOME THEM. 

We have to turn this approach on its head.  Parking lots, garages, metered spaces, all need to be clear, welcoming, and low-hassle.  That's takes leadership to MAKE IT HAPPEN.