Congratulations to Mayor Alvin Brown on his re-election to the City Hall of Jacksonville Florida. With a campaign that can only be worthy of Muhammad Ali's famous quote, "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee"!
http://folioweekly.com/DUVAL-REPUBS-EJECT-FOLIO-WEEKLY-WRITER-WHO-IS-NOT-REALLY-A-FOLIO-WEEKLY-WRITER-FROM-REC-MEETING,11909
If this accurate... >:(. The longer the Curry campaign goes the less inclined I am to vote for him.
QuoteBishop got just enough support to deny Curry the party's endorsement, which meant the party wouldn't endorse at all, which ... wouldn't look so great.
So newly installed REC chairman Robin Lumb decided to have a do-over, this time allowing three new members, whom he'd previously disallowed from voting because it was against the rules, and apparently over the objections of REC member and supervisor of elections Jerry Holland, to vote. And they all voted for Lenny Curry. Imagine that.
Then...
Quote...the emcee announced that there was a writer from Folio Weekly in the house, and since the meeting was closed to the press, that person had to leave.
[Jessie] Wilson, who writes for Void on occasion, and who has never written for this magazine [folio] so far we can tell, looked around, but didn't see any Folio Weekly writers in attendance, because there were none. But then, he says, a few minutes later some men approached him and escorted him out of the building — in front of everyone. He took to Twitter last night to protest...
(http://folioweekly.com/uploads/inline_large/1421763666_bd29.jpg)
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The REC seemed to forget that, until recently, Jesse was running for City Council as a Republican.
(http://i.imgur.com/Wi1jGy2.png)
Quote from: TheCat on January 20, 2015, 01:34:46 PM
(http://i.imgur.com/Wi1jGy2.png)
WHAT??? THEY KICKED YOU OUT, EXCLUSIVELY?
Oh yeah, Twitter was alive with activity as Jesse Wilson and Jon McGowan tweeted from the event. Neither attended as reporters and Jon didn't know the endorsement vote was happening. Jon continued tweeting even after Jesse was kicked out, but said he "got in trouble for tweeting". Also, it appears he was a Cury supporter and they couldn't lose anymore votes.
Quote from: ben4prez on January 20, 2015, 01:59:54 PM
Also, it appears he was a Cury supporter and they couldn't lose anymore votes.
Ding ding ding. Real reason Jesse was removed, he was a Bishop supporter.
Quote from: ben4prez on January 20, 2015, 01:59:54 PM
Oh yeah, Twitter was alive with activity as Jesse Wilson and Jon McGowan tweeted from the event. Neither attended as reporters and Jon didn't know the endorsement vote was happening. Jon continued tweeting even after Jesse was kicked out, but said he "got in trouble for tweeting". Also, it appears he was a Cury supporter and they couldn't lose anymore votes.
Just to clarify, was Jesse also entitled to a vote?
Quote from: TheCat on January 20, 2015, 02:18:43 PM
Quote from: ben4prez on January 20, 2015, 01:59:54 PM
Oh yeah, Twitter was alive with activity as Jesse Wilson and Jon McGowan tweeted from the event. Neither attended as reporters and Jon didn't know the endorsement vote was happening. Jon continued tweeting even after Jesse was kicked out, but said he "got in trouble for tweeting". Also, it appears he was a Cury supporter and they couldn't lose anymore votes.
Just to clarify, was Jesse also entitled to a vote?
Even so, as Lumb said, the vote was so overwhelming the ejection of Jesse made no difference. They actually, in Lumbs words, buried the ballots as to hide the large majority victory. And to give solace to Bishop supporters. Our friends the Republicans!
Bishop is done.
This will long be forgotten by the end of March, when the primary rolls around.
Since it is an open* primary, Bishop's only hope is for progressives, and others, unhappy with Brown, and who would never vote Curry, is to vote for Bishop, instead of "making a statement by not voting". Not voting is a sure way to get stuck with someone you don't want as the winner. Since qualifying is over, it is probably too late for Bishop to renounce the GOP and become an independent, since an "R" behind his name will scare away some Dems, regardless of his positions.
* "open" may not be right word (non-partisan?), but the point is, everyone votes for the same slate of candidates, without regard for party affiliation, or non-affiliation.
Quote from: Charles Hunter on January 20, 2015, 08:17:19 PM
Bishop's only hope is for progressives, and others, unhappy with Brown, and who would never vote Curry, is to vote for Bishop, instead of "making a statement by not voting".
"and others" being Democrats. Voting for a Republican over their own party? I doubt even half of Jacksonville's progressive independents (all 100 of them that, in your correct words even vote, will vote for the Republican. And as you pointed out, even if he revokes his party, its not possible to remove the "R" from his ballot. Bishop is done. The best he can do, if indeed he wants to be in politics, which may itself be over, is to resign his campaign and leave the Republican party.
The strongest part of your argument is how all of this will be forgotten in March. More reason for both Bishop and Wilson to leave the basement of the Republicans and jump to the top of the Duval Democratic party. ASAP! Because in March, when Hillary comes to Jactionville, Brown will have the push that matters. The Democrats of the USA will, ARE salivating at the notion of having a solid Democratic mayor atop Jactionville in 2016. And Brown, with his term limited, will be at a most proactive admin the city as ever seen.In the conservative bastion of Florida. The most treasured electoral state in the country!
I was there, beginning to end. People with an "agenda" have given a distorted vision of events. A rarely used procedure was done incorrectly, was questioned, and then done correctly. Like sausage making - not pretty- but the end result is certifiably edible. No one can (truthfully) accuse the Duval REC of rubberstamping. Stephen, you've known me for many years. I may not always be liked, but I am always honest. Let's get together sometime when you need a break from the script of the century!!
Quote from: jerry cornwell on January 20, 2015, 08:49:29 PM
The Democrats of the USA will, ARE salivating at the notion of having a solid Democratic mayor atop Jactionville in 2016. And Brown, with his term limited, will be at a most proactive admin the city as ever seen.In the conservative bastion of Florida. The most treasured electoral state in the country!
I can't tell if this is a joke or unintentional hyperbole. But the idea of Mayor Brown being either a "solid Democrat" or "Proactive" is laughable at best.
Quote from: judy8166 on January 21, 2015, 02:18:30 AM
I was there, beginning to end. People with an "agenda" have given a distorted vision of events. A rarely used procedure was done incorrectly, was questioned, and then done correctly. Like sausage making - not pretty- but the end result is certifiably edible. No one can (truthfully) accuse the Duval REC of rubberstamping. Stephen, you've known me for many years. I may not always be liked, but I am always honest. Let's get together sometime when you need a break from the script of the century!!
Why was a "rarely used procedure" used to start with? It has been my experience that those types of things are dredged up because the person using it does have an agenda and has found a way to push that agenda forward. And in the real world, sausage making may always end up with sausage, but there is no guarantee that it will be edible.
QuoteWhy was a "rarely used procedure" used to start with? It has been my experience that those types of things are dredged up because the person using it does have an agenda and has found a way to push that agenda forward.
You are learning, grasshopper!
Well, I certainly hope Metro Jacksonville gives this much attention to the next dumb thing the Alvin Brown campaign does. I mean, it's not like he's blowing off important budget meetings to go raise money with Bill Cosby in New York and then having to give all the money back or anything.
Quote from: Tacachale on January 21, 2015, 08:49:57 AM
Well, I certainly hope Metro Jacksonville gives this much attention to the next dumb thing the Alvin Brown campaign does. I mean, it's not like he's blowing off important budget meetings to go raise money with Bill Cosby in New York and then having to give all the money back or anything.
not that I agree with the decision to go to New York, but there is a reason that Mayors have a staff. In the case of Alvin Brown, his Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff were heavily involved in the process.
Quote from: Tacachale on January 21, 2015, 08:49:57 AM
Well, I certainly hope Metro Jacksonville gives this much attention to the next dumb thing the Alvin Brown campaign does. I mean, it's not like he's blowing off important budget meetings to go raise money with Bill Cosby in New York and then having to give all the money back or anything.
not that I agree with the decision to go to New York, but there is a reason that Mayors have a staff. In the case of Alvin Brown, his Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff were heavily involved in the process.
[/quote]
Yes, he's very fortunate to have so many people to pass the buck to.
Rule 8 of the Republican Party of Florida (Party rules of Procedure 1-14-2012) was invoked because a quorum of the Duval County Republican Executive Committee requested that the party endorse a Mayoral candidate in the upcoming City election. This was a grassroots effort and not done at the behest of the Chairman. (Please forgive the pedantic language - I am a former English, as well as Math teacher - old habits die hard).
Quote from: judy8166 on January 21, 2015, 02:38:49 PM
Rule 8 of the Republican Party of Florida (Party rules of Procedure 1-14-2012) was invoked because a quorum of the Duval County Republican Executive Committee requested that the party endorse a Mayoral candidate in the upcoming City election. This was a grassroots effort and not done at the behest of the Chairman. (Please forgive the pedantic language - I am a former English, as well as Math teacher - old habits die hard).
So some did indeed have an agenda - to get Curry endorsed when we can assume (from the multiple blank ballots turned in) that many seemed to think it was not a correct thing (endorse either candidate) to do at this point. You said the procedure was rarely used therefore we can also assume the request was somewhat unusual as was the process which from all accounts was a bit flawed. Not a shining moment for the party nor for the new Chairman, Mr. Lumb.
Why would the Executive Committee endorse anyone for any race? Why not let the voters make up their own minds? It is all about providing a predetermined result rather than letting the free flow of ideas occur.
^to try and present a unified front so there's not a situation like 2011, where the two best Republican candidates knocked each other out of the race and the third lost.
Quote from: Tacachale on January 22, 2015, 09:47:03 AM
^to try and present a unified front so there's not a situation like 2011, where the two best Republican candidates knocked each other out of the race and the third lost.
That would make sense in 2011, but there are only two GOP candidates and only one Democrat this time. That scenario can't occur this time.
Either one candidate wins outright (not likely at all), or there is a runoff, one of which (at least) has to be a Republican. An endorsement can only influence WHICH of the two goes to the runoff. There is no way a potentially weak Republican 'runs up the middle' because for there to be a 'middle' there has to be three GOP candidates.
There is a nonpartisan candidate that filed, but they have raised and spent virtually nothing.
Quote from: vicupstate on January 22, 2015, 10:29:13 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on January 22, 2015, 09:47:03 AM
^to try and present a unified front so there's not a situation like 2011, where the two best Republican candidates knocked each other out of the race and the third lost.
That would make sense in 2011, but there are only two GOP candidates and only one Democrat this time. That scenario can't occur this time.
Either one candidate wins outright (not likely at all), or there is a runoff, one of which (at least) has to be a Republican. An endorsement can only influence WHICH of the two goes to the runoff. There is no way a potentially weak Republican 'runs up the middle' because for there to be a 'middle' there has to be three GOP candidates.
The two Republican candidates can still knock each other out though and enable Brown to win without a runoff. The more the two focus on each other (like this incident) and beat each other up, the more likely that Brown is able to slip through and win. Incidents like this are likely to lead to voter apathy from local Republicans, and a reduced voter turnout. Or swing moderate votes Brown's way again.
I know I'd like to hear a lot more about issues and vision, and less about petty drama.
^More likely, they want to support the candidate they think has the best chance of defeating Brown in the general election, so we don't have another situation where the stronger candidate is knocked out in the runoff.
Quote from: Tacachale on January 22, 2015, 10:45:44 AM
^More likely, they want to support the candidate they think has the best chance of defeating Brown in the general election, so we don't have another situation where the stronger candidate is knocked out in the runoff.
I agree that is the right strategy in theory. Doesn't appear to have been well executed though.
The party has a tough time with local elections for this reason. From the party perspective, the State and Federal takes care of it with the process - Party Primary, then the party dumps everything into the winner.
From Facebook:
QuoteLesley Davidson:
I will share again my status after REC - on this improper REC "vote-" Absolutely embarrassing show at the REC meeting tonight.
After the rule eight endorsement vote the result was no majority winner. So there would be no endorsement in the mayoral race. However, members didn't like this result. So they voted to overturn the chairman's rule on three new members voting status. They couldn't get a correct vote for that motion by hand count, so they had to stand up and count themselves out to find out how many were left in the meeting.
They had to put a sheriff's officer at the door to keep anyone from leaving. Then they voted again but they forgot to count who was abstaining to see if they had quorum.
Then supervisor of elections Jerry Holland stood up and explain the rules and basically that what they were doing wasn't following the correct rules. But they chose to ignore him.
They moved onto more votes and then finally yellow card stock votes. And finally another vote at 9:45 that just made it to the vote they needed after swearing someone who left and came back and was a valid voter.
EMBARRASSING TO BE A REPUBLICAN. THIS WAS IMPROPER FOR SO MANY REASONS. FIRST FOR ROBERTS RULES. SECOND BECAUSE ROBIN LUMB AS CHAIRMAN WAS UNETHICAL AND WEAK. AND THIRD THAT THIS WAS BAD FOR BOTH CANDIDATES.
https://www.facebook.com/MetroJacksonville/posts/10153061953543979?comment_id=10153062116678979¬if_t=feed_comment (https://www.facebook.com/MetroJacksonville/posts/10153061953543979?comment_id=10153062116678979¬if_t=feed_comment)
Political Parties have a single overriding agenda.....to win. Little thought is given to the matter of who would best serve the community. So, the agenda of the parties and that of the community often do not align. This is the case in the Jacksonville Mayoral race. The Mayor is hugely important to a community's wellbeing and I suggest that many voters will cast their ballot on that basis. Under that premise, Bill Bishop has a good chance of winning.
Political Parties have a single overriding agenda.....to win. Little thought is given to the matter of who would best serve the community. So, the agenda of the parties and that of the community often do not align. This is the case in the Jacksonville Mayoral race. The Mayor is hugely important to a community's wellbeing and I suggest that many voters will cast their ballot on that basis. Under that premise, Bill Bishop has a good chance of winning.
Quote from: tayana42 on January 22, 2015, 03:00:22 PM
Political Parties have a single overriding agenda.....to win. Little thought is given to the matter of who would best serve the community. So, the agenda of the parties and that of the community often do not align. This is the case in the Jacksonville Mayoral race. The Mayor is hugely important to a community's wellbeing and I suggest that many voters will cast their ballot on that basis. Under that premise, Bill Bishop has a good chance of winning.
Isn't Bill Bishop a Republican? Isn't he saying that he's the BEST Republican most experienced running for Mayor? Thats what I read in his platform.
Quote from: vicupstate on January 22, 2015, 09:33:41 AM
Why would the Executive Committee endorse anyone for any race? Why not let the voters make up their own minds? It is all about providing a predetermined result rather than letting the free flow of ideas occur.
This is the essence of the Mayoral Election this year. The Republican party policy of endorsing or non endorsing the canddidate. I f Bill Bishop couldnt get the outright endorsement, he needed at least a non endorsement. The endorsement of Curry has killed his campaign. Vicupstate, note that the Duval Democratic party as a policy of NO endorsement within run offs! But Curry had not just a strong but overwhelming number (or so he THOUGHT, right?) to win an outright endorsement. Had Curry NOT gotten a run off, Bishop would have had a fighting chance to make the general election. Hence, the senario of Tuesday's shenanigans a go go.
Quote from: Tacachale on January 21, 2015, 09:16:13 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on January 21, 2015, 08:49:57 AM
Well, I certainly hope Metro Jacksonville gives this much attention to the next dumb thing the Alvin Brown campaign does. I mean, it's not like he's blowing off important budget meetings to go raise money with Bill Cosby in New York and then having to give all the money back or anything.
not that I agree with the decision to go to New York, but there is a reason that Mayors have a staff. In the case of Alvin Brown, his Chief Financial Officer and Chief of Staff were heavily involved in the process.
Yes, he's very fortunate to have so many people to pass the buck to.
[/quote] Well, with Currys campaign nicking the nomination in the bucket and fellow Republicans (most off the political shirt tales of the former State Republican Chairman) putting him on the starting line with well over $1millon, its easy to see why Brown did what he did. And why Lenny didnt wait to throw his first punch at Brown going to NYC.
Quote from: stephendare on January 21, 2015, 09:07:38 AM
Well we did spend a lot of time on Alvin refusing to speak out about the clerk of courts issue at the Martin Luther King breakfast, which is kind of a huge blunder I think
This is the most effective way to get equality through in Jacksonville. Keep hammering the mayor on these issues. Because of his term limits, he will be politically more able to make these controversial, and in Jacksonville they ARE, progressive issues within the context of a still very conservative electorate. As demostrated in 2014 with the overwhelming support of all republican conservative candidates.