Election season is kicking into full gear. We're looking at lining up interviewing candidates over the upcoming weeks. What questions answered, positions stated, etc. would you like to learn from candidates?
I would like to see some sort of editorial board endorsement from MetroJax staff. I know its a mix of contributors, so maybe not a complete editorial endorsement, just a rating on certain issues that are usually covered.
HRO
Mobility Plan
Blight/Demolitions/Historic Preservation
Multi-Modal Transportation
Downtown Redevelopment (Specifically the Shipyards)
Will Bill Bishop be attending the February 20th REPUBLICAN PARTY Lincoln day dinner featuring keynote speaker Ted Cruz?
What Bridges said, and
Incentives for development - Downtown / NW / elsewhere
Harbor Deepening - how to pay the local share (if do at all)
to add to Downtown Redevelopment focus - Landing and old JEA site
Tax increases - totally off the table or worth considering
For all City Council and mayoral candidates:
*HRO.
*Public transit.
*Mobility plan.
*HRO.
*Downtown and urban core issues, including the preservation/demolition debate, pedestrian/transit/bike infrastructure, and funding for downtown projects.
*HRO.
*Specific steps for resolving the Pension crisis.
*The tax/revenue balance: how can we fund our basic services, let alone needed new projects, with the current tax structure and the pension debacle hanging over our heads.
*What is your opinion on the Clerk of the Courts' decision to stop performing all weddings to avoid performing now-legal same sex marriages?
For Alvin:
*Warren Jones said to the Times-Union (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2012-08-17/story/warren-jones-says-political-pressure-changed-human-rights-vote-suspects#ixzz23r83kaDo) that he suspects you made backdoor deals with Council Members Johnny Gaffney and Reggie Brown to defeat the HRO (and therefore kept off your desk). Is this true? How do you explain your inaction during the HRO debates?
*Setting the budget is one of the responsibilities of your office. Do you take responsibility for the disaster surrounding the 2014-2015 budget, which forced the City Council to take over the budget and rewrite it?
*You took a lot of flak for your handling of the water taxi deal. How do you respond?
*Please explain your thought process on going to a fundraiser with Bill Cosby in New York instead of attending a crucial budget meeting in your own City Hall.
For Lenny:
*You've been accused of wishy-washy needle-threading in your responses to questions about the HRO. Without resorting to wishy-washy needle-threading, would you support a similar bill if you're elected?
You guys crack me up with these politiks...
I have a better idea. Why don't you assign a reporter to cover each of the 'main' mayoral candidates and follow them to every engagement possible. Figure a clandestine way to have the same question asked at every venue, and not one of the hot-button issues that they probably will carry a canned, wait and see answer, but something that should actually be answerable. Keep track of how the candidate's answer varies depending on the crowd that they're speaking/stumping to and then you'll know your 'true' candidate.
"______________, what do you see as the strongest/weakest attributes that we as a city have, and how would you build from/anticipate correcting that after elected?"
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on January 23, 2015, 05:13:18 PM
You guys crack me up with these politiks...
I have a better idea. Why don't you assign a reporter to cover each of the 'main' mayoral candidates and follow them to every engagement possible. Figure a clandestine way to have the same question asked at every venue, and not one of the hot-button issues that they probably will carry a canned, wait and see answer, but something that should actually be answerable. Keep track of how the candidate's answer varies depending on the crowd that they're speaking/stumping to and then you'll know your 'true' candidate.
"______________, what do you see as the strongest/weakest attributes that we as a city have, and how would you build from/anticipate correcting that after elected?"
I think thats what cost Mitt Romney the Presidency.
Ennis, I am happy to see you are planning to ask questions of the candidates for office. One of the hottest races going on is the one for Sheriff. Will you be including them in this endeavor? I notice that some of the questions posed for this time around were areas of concern before the last election. I think it would be interesting to see if the current mayor kept his promises to take us to another level and what that level may be? Did he tick off any of the boxes for real and lasting change? Clearly he did not in the eyes of Peter Rummell. :) It would also be interesting to know what Lenny Curry's plans might be as mayor. So far Lenny's rhetoric reminds me of the the same "feel good" sound bites of Alvin Brown last go round save discussion about a National Basketball team but no real plans or ideas have been forthcoming from him or his camp. Curry's and his team did issue a few barbs from his camp at Alvin and received barbs from the Brown camp aimed at Lenny's claims of being a political outsider. Lenny had until recently been the chair of the state GOP, hardly outside of politics. lol What does Browns record tell us about him and his ability to lead etc.? Bill Bishop also has a record in office we can look at and frankly more real time experience in city hall as an elected official than the other two candidates of note. His views and plans would be interesting to know more about for sure. The final candidate for mayor is simply an Omega Allen who qualified. To date this person is pretty much a ghost in the race. I wonder if they will show up or fade away? Time will tell.
FYI.
Event Place Time
Candidate Forum for all
City Jacksonville
candidates
St. Paul A.M.E.Church
6910 New Kings Rd.
Jacksonville, FL 32219 February 26, 2015
5:00PM-6:00PM Meet & Greet
6:00PM
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on January 23, 2015, 08:23:18 PM
FYI.
Event Place Time
Candidate Forum for all
City Jacksonville
candidates
St. Paul A.M.E.Church
6910 New Kings Rd.
Jacksonville, FL 32219 February 26, 2015
5:00PM-6:00PM Meet & Greet
6:00PM
Yes! And "action-packed" for sure!