QuoteIf current trends continue, by the beginning of next week more early and absentee votes will be cast in Jacksonville's runoff election than were submitted during the entire two-week early-voting period before the city's first municipal election in March.
At the end of the fourth day of early voting Thursday, 27,522 ballots had been cast, up about 85 percent from the last election.
Absentee ballots are up 89 percent; early votes are up 80 percent. Voting at early polling places in the Gateway, Regency and Highland areas have more than doubled.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-05-06/story/energized-jacksonville-electorate-flood-early-voting-sites-cast-mayoral#ixzz1La1n4HTB
Gateway, Regency and Highlands have more than doubled. good for Alvin? we shall see.
It is a wild time. Hogan's new commercial got me off my ass yesterday to make a donation to Alvin's campaign. Let's all do what we can, talk to who we can and vote if you can.
I saw Mike Hogan's new commercial and puked.
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/timothy-gibbons/2011-05-06/alvin-brown-campaign-says-poll-shows-candidate-within
Quote from: stephendare on May 06, 2011, 10:36:58 AM
Quote from: thelakelander on May 06, 2011, 10:04:08 AM
QuoteIf current trends continue, by the beginning of next week more early and absentee votes will be cast in Jacksonville's runoff election than were submitted during the entire two-week early-voting period before the city's first municipal election in March.
At the end of the fourth day of early voting Thursday, 27,522 ballots had been cast, up about 85 percent from the last election.
Absentee ballots are up 89 percent; early votes are up 80 percent. Voting at early polling places in the Gateway, Regency and Highland areas have more than doubled.
Right Stephen! I caught that too. Im Africian Americian so I already knew " Oh yeah the black voting district is what they wanted to say." But it is good to see that everyone is out voting. This will make things very interesting.
Read more at Jacksonville.com: http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-05-06/story/energized-jacksonville-electorate-flood-early-voting-sites-cast-mayoral#ixzz1La1n4HTB
Interesting where the early voting is taking place. And kind of hilarious that the times union leaves it in the unsaid that these are dense african american voting districts.
This is beginning to shape up as we anticipated. I think Alvin may pull this out in a squeaker.
Quote from: JeffreyS on May 06, 2011, 12:11:06 PM
It is a wild time. Hogan's new commercial got me off my ass yesterday to make a donation to Alvin's campaign. Let's all do what we can, talk to who we can and vote if you can.
LOVE IT! :D I just donated $10 myself to Alvin. It is the least and best I can do for myself and the city of Jacksonville.
-Josh
I want to add something to this..
(http://www.wjsimpson.com/random/count-on-mike.jpg)
This screenshot points to this lady talking. If you noticed closer, she was reading off the telepromoter which suggests lot of different reasons. I am not going to go there, but you make your own conclusion of what is scripted or what is real. This is not about the lady.
Mike Hogan's Video: Count On Mike Hogan
http://www.youtube.com/v/5ed64GdPYq4
-Josh
I was looking for the disclaimer print that said "actor portrayal".
For as long as I remember, our local government and the inner city have been at odds over the real or perceived lack of services when compared to the suburban areas. This is an election, in my opinion, where the previously underserved residents of our city can opt for real voice in city matters. I believe that this is partly the reason why voter turnout is strong in the northern parts of the city/county.
Quoteperceived lack of services when compared to the suburban areas.
Ask Blacks and Whites if there are race relation issues and whether there are or not, Blacks perceive there to be issues. Whites only seem to perceive issues when there IS a real issue. When there isn't, the white population goes back to their normal activities.
Jacksonville as a whole is the same way. Sure there are issues in the urban core, but are they enough to swing the voters in the suburbs to care to add taxes to fund a better downtown? Brown's whole campaign is based on reviving downtown, the entire downtown. That is a HUGE gamble for an area with only a few thousands full time residents.
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.
QuoteUtilizing 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.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 04:58:27 PM
Quoteperceived lack of services when compared to the suburban areas.
Ask Blacks and Whites if there are race relation issues and whether there are or not, Blacks perceive there to be issues. Whites only seem to perceive issues when there IS a real issue. When there isn't, the white population goes back to their normal activities.
Jacksonville as a whole is the same way. Sure there are issues in the urban core, but are they enough to swing the voters in the suburbs to care to add taxes to fund a better downtown? Brown's whole campaign is based on reviving downtown, the entire downtown. That is a HUGE gamble for an area with only a few thousands full time residents.
I do not think that the issue is merely a downtown problem. I remember when the 'Northwest Quadrant' was making news because their residents felt that their infrastructure (e.g. drainage) was being neglected. As taxpayers, they have a right to get decent services where feasible.
That said, I have to agree with mtraininjax that properties in downtown are woefully overpriced by landlords who would rather have their properties rot than actually have tenants.
I am from Oakleaf and realize Down town is our most cost effective and best ROI neighborhood to invest in.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
QuoteUtilizing 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.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
QuoteUtilizing 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.
QuoteOnly 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.
QuoteThe 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.
QuoteIts 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.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
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.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
QuoteUtilizing 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 :)
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 06, 2011, 09:33:59 PM
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
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!!!
Quote from: Jaxson on May 07, 2011, 11:20:46 AM
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 06, 2011, 09:33:59 PM
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
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
and with that point, TUFSU is off to go vote!
This Republican just contributed $10 to the Brown campaign.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2011, 05:16:37 PM
QuoteUtilizing 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.
Quote from: thelakelander on May 06, 2011, 05:08:36 PM
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.
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...
;D But quite a few Jacksonville voters would believe this!
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.
Quote from: BillM33 on May 09, 2011, 08:26:29 PM
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
Quote from: Jaxson on May 09, 2011, 06:04:10 PM
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.
What an incompetent person to be running for mayor. FBC would be proud. this way they could buy the rest of downtown... no .. wait.. Hogan would give it to them.
This guy cannot end up in the Mayor's office. That will finish downtown off . :(
Tonight I heard a JP Morgan/Chase ad that exactly sets the tone Alvin Brown should be using. If anyone in his campaign can find that ad and have it paraphrased or even blatantly copied I think it would shoot down anything the Hogan camp can throw out.
I was almost totally occupied with something else I needed to do so I can't even remember the words I heard. I just recall the tone and the message was just right. The ad aired during the TLV12 News segments between 5 and 6:30 pm.
Also, my take on the current Brown "attack" ad: Get rid of it! It sounds like someone NOT smarter than a fifth grader wrote it. Hogan may have received 13 raises over the years but so has every other public employee of this city.
UPDATE:
I found the ad:
Play the second ad on the page...
http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2011/jp-morgan-chase-the-way-forward/
The tone is right and someone with a flair for writing can fill in the blanks between "Communities are built by everyone doing their part" and "Investing in the places we call home" and "This is the way forward"
Alvin's Downtown Authority will be demonized as a hole in the ground being filled with tax dollars with no end in sight, such as the definition of a boat is a hole in the water you pour money into. I think the message has to be revised to include more than the perception that the few blocks dominated by the mini-skyscrapers, the Landing and city hall are all there is to downtown. Hogan's group is feeding that perception. There has got to be something else NOT called the Downtown Development Authority. Also, at the close of the ad the narrator says Alvin is a businessman, not a politician. That right there reminds everyone of our current mayor. Does Alvin NEED that type of recognition, especially since so many have had so many negative comments regarding Peyton's "business" approach to his time in office?
When did downtown Jacksonville become our Willie Horton issue? This is absurd!
I don't understand this, either. A booming downtown is vital to a flourishing Jacksonville. Cities the size of Jacksonville tend to have 10,000 or so residents living downtown, Jacksonville has only 2,000. This needs to change.
Brown has never said he would raise taxes to fund downtown, just that he wanted to focus on planning for a downtown that brings more people there, to live, work, and play, year-round. The contortions the Hogan camp are going through to make that a negative are hilarious.
Downtown is the new welfare queen!!!
Stephen my hopes are riding high. I think you are right!
I hope that Stephen is right. I feel like I am an electoral jinx. Every state and local candidate and cause that I have supported in the last two years has gone down in flames. Can I at least get this one right? Please? Pretty please?
Jaxson ,you are not an electoral jinx.. The situation(s) have not been the best.. What went down in flames for you ,went down for many others as well. This is one , however, where I hope Stephen is correct. I don't even want to think about the consequences of the other at this point