We will be seeing a viable race for mayor this year even though one candidate is an incumbent which of course is Mayor Alvin Brown. For a time there had been speculation about whether or not he would face any real challengers for his office in that an incumbent is often hard to beat. It appears the consensus is that Democrat Alvin Brown is in a vulnerable position as Mayor and is seen by many as lacking in leadership. The first person of note to challenge Brown for his office is Councilman Bill Bishop a Republican. Not too long after Lenny Curry former GOP Chairman also entered the race at the urging of Peter Rummell a former Brown supporter who now is one of his biggest critics. There is one remaining candidate in the race named Omega Allen NPA who served as a member of the Northwest Jacksonville Trust Fund Advisory Committee. This will be a "Unitary Election" meaning one not decided by party designation. There will be two stages in the election process, the First Election March 24, 2015 which will decide the two candidates with the most votes regardless of party. That will be followed by the General election on May 19th, 2015 which will decide who the next mayor will be.
Candidates for Mayor:
Alvin Brown, Incumbent (D)
William "Bill" Bishop (R)
Lenny Curry (R)
Omega Allen (NPA)
There are only two "bio" statements on the SOE website submitted by candidates for the office of Mayor. Those persons are Bill Bishop and Omega Allen. Brown as an incumbent has a record as his bio. There is nothing submitted by Lenny Curry at this time.
Here is the SOE bio for Ms. Allen:
Website: omega4mayor.com
Phone: (904)465-4660
Facebook: Omega Allenfor Mayor
Email: omegaallenformayor@gmail.com
With a vision for true prosperity for the people of Jacksonville, Omega Allen represents a different/new breed of government – a government that is once again FOR and BY the PEOPLE with transparency, accountability, and integrity as its foundation.
Appointed by Mayor John Delaney, Omega Allen served as a member of the Northwest Jacksonville Trust Fund Advisory Committee for a decade. She had the distinguished honor of serving as Committee Chair for three years. The Committee administered and approved disbursement of $25 million of funding through the Better Jacksonville Plan, which was designated for Economic Development in areas North and West of the St. Johns River. The primary focus of the Committee was to create jobs and enhance business development in the target areas.
As a Certified General Contractor, she has been instrumental in the renovation of commercial property located in Downtown Jacksonville and at the Jacksonville International Airport. As program manager for the City's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), with a $26.2 million operating budget, Omega Allen provided oversight and direction for the purchase, renovation, and re-sale of more than 100 foreclosed upon properties. The NSP served as a catalyst for revitalizing targeted communities throughout Jacksonville and improving the quality of life for new home homeowners. She was the assistant project manager for the construction of the Aloft Hotel in the River City Market Place. As an educator, Ms. Allen cherished the opportunity to influence young minds and inspire students to achieve great things through higher education. Her focus and ambition is to make a difference in people's lives.
Omega Allen holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Management and an MBA from Jacksonville University. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Public Administration at Northcentral University. Her professional organization affiliations are The National Center for Construction Education and Research (NCCER) – Certified Craft Trainer and the National Association of Minority Contractors – Secretary, Northeast Florida Chapter.
Here is the SOE bio for Bill Bishop:
Bill Bishop for Mayor
704 Rosselle Street
Jacksonville, FL 32204
904-356-2654
BillBishopforMayor.com
Facebook: BillBishopforMayor
Twitter: @Bishop4Mayor
Bill and his family have lived in Jacksonville for over 30 years, the last 22 in Clifton. He is Vice President and Principal of Akel, Logan, Shafer, a 50-year-old Jacksonville-based architectural and planning firm. Through Bill's thirty years experience as a practicing architect, he has a thorough understanding of the importance of good design and community planning and its impact on the city.
Since 2007, Bill has served on the Jacksonville City Council, representing District 2. Bill currently serves on the Rules and Land Use and Zoning Committees. He has chaired the Rules and Transportation, Energy, and Utilities Committees. He also serves on the North Florida TPO and chairs the Northeast Florida Regional Transportation Commission.
Bill's work on the Jacksonville City Council over the past 7 years includes:
Served as Council President in 2012/13.
In 2011/12, as Council Vice President and Rules Chair, he led the city through its most efficient and least contentious redistricting process in decades.
He convinced the JTA to institute the recently completed corridor study of Southside Boulevard as a prerequisite to design changes to the Atlantic Blvd/Southside Blvd intersection.
As previous Chair of the Jacksonville Waterways Commission he was a leader in the effort to convince the administration to fight the Central Florida initiative to withdraw large quantities of water from the St. Johns River.
He worked with the Environmental Protection Board to successfully pass the city's first sustainable building ordinance that provides for expedited permitting for those engaging in environmentally sustainable building activities.
He worked with the Jacksonville Historic Naval Ship Association to bring the USS Charles Adams (DDG2) to Jacksonville as a ship museum, including sponsoring the legislation providing a home for the ship on downtown Northbank.
Prior to being elected to serve District 2 on the City Council in 2007, Bill was actively involved in numerous Jacksonville community boards and commissions including the JCCI, Downtown Economic Advisory Committee, Riverside Avondale Preservation, City of Jacksonville Small and Emerging Businesses Summit, and more.
If elected as Jacksonville's next Mayor, Bill Bishop will lead the city by taking action to ensure economic, cultural and environmental strength and fortitude in the region. Bill believes it is our responsibility to do these things so that we can become the next Great American City.
Transform Downtown into the region's premier business, cultural, and entertainment center.
Implement citywide development policies that promote business development, economic opportunity, job growth, and protect and support Jacksonville's varied and unique neighborhoods.
Develop an integrated, proactive transportation policy to promote commerce and improve our quality of life.
Promote Jacksonville's premier business sectors such as banking and finance, health and wellness, the military, and logistics.
Promote expansion of college, technical, and continuing education.
Protect and promote our nationally-acclaimed resources including the St. Johns River, Timucuan Preserve, Beaches, Atlantic Ocean, Talbot Islands, and other special places.
Solve our long-standing financial challenges to reduce taxes and improve the economic environment.
For more information on Bill Bishop for Mayor, please visit BillBishopforMayor.com or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
I did find a candidate FB page for Omega Allen which is https://www.facebook.com/Omega4Mayor?fref=ts
No other candidate website found.
Candidate FB page for Bill Bishop https://www.facebook.com/billbishopmayor
Website: Bill Bishop for Mayor, http://www.billbishopformayor.com/
Candidate FB page for Lenny Curry, https://www.facebook.com/curryformayor
Website: Curry for Mayor, http://www.lennycurryformayor.com/
There is no FB "candidate" page for Alvin Brown there is one for him as Mayor Alvin Brown. https://www.facebook.com/MayorAlvinBrown
In regards to Ms Allen: This - "As program manager for the City's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP), with a $26.2 million operating budget, Omega Allen provided oversight and direction for the purchase, renovation, and re-sale of more than 100 foreclosed upon properties. The NSP served as a catalyst for revitalizing targeted communities throughout Jacksonville and improving the quality of life for new home homeowners." - is perhaps a big reason NOT to vote for her and why she is NOT qualified to be Mayor. The NSP program was one of the worst run programs in this city - Just ask HUD. HUD found the city and therefore those within the city who were responsible for those federal programs, including NSP1 and NSP3, incapable of properly implementing the required policies which resulted in the funds being improperly spent. As part of that fiasco, how could we expect any more from her as Mayor? The information about HUD issues on this subject can be found elsewhere on this forum.
Of course, that fact that this continued to happen under Mayor Browns watch adds to the question of his qualifications as well.
^I completely agree Joe.
Diane. I just want to thank you for the way you've conveyed to us busy and ignorant persons the overview of the candidates in the upcoming mayor election. :)
Ron, you are so funny. I just want busy folks to be informed voters and gain some insight into Jacksonville politics. Many people honestly do not understand the web of intrigue and manipulation that is Duval/Florida politics, not because the are ignorant but because the necessary time to research and study the players is not available to them. Politics is largely illusion while good people are looking for honest and competent representation in leadership. They are often tricked by charisma and marketing into believing in some folks who are in the political process for power and money first and representation comes later as it is convenient or politically advantageous. That dynamic can change when folks seriously engage the political process and do more than look at the surface rhetoric of campaigns and instead do research and look for candidate plans as opposed to promises. It is not about who raises the most money and that should never be the measure. That is faulty thinking yet a belief that this society has been groomed into believing is an appropriate measure of leadership. It is not!
:)
Well stated Diane.
Ignorance, complacency, comfort, and selfishness are the hinges by which most vote, or choose to abstain.. Only when comfort declines, and ignorance is gained by the pressure of need, will the voter gain the sense to avoid being hoodwinked by the charming charlatan ... the typical politician ... the wealthy mediocrity who simply wants status, money, and power. Our city meanders in seeming mediocrity as a consequence of a lack of real leadership, which is a consequence of voter apathy and ... as said in the beginning ... ignorance, complacency, comfort, and selfishness in the citizenry.
Here is a view of the three top/viable candidates for Mayor of Jacksonville. They are Alvin Brown (incumbent), William "Bill" Bishop and Lenny Curry. There is no video reporting of much information on the final candidate Omega Allen. From "This Week in Jacksonville" News4Jax spoke with Brown, Bishop and Curry. It is a good piece that gives us some insight it the views and plans of the three aforementioned candidates. (Perhaps one of the moderators can embed the video on this thread). To view it click: http://www.news4jax.com/the-mayoral-race-heats-up/30341698
I want to make a personal comment here. After watching the video above which interviews Brown, Curry and Bishop I have the following comments. First it the fact that Alvin Brown is still full of promises and hot air and glorifying the budgets he submitted that did not raise taxes but were so faulty when handed off the the city council they had to be reworked and taxes raised. His vision for Jacksonville? The same one he had last election cycle, the mysterious yet undefined "next level". He could not explain what next level he took our city to but promised we would hear some big announcements in 2015. He had a problem answering direct questions or naming anything positive he has accomplished save picking a good staff. Lenny Curry, chokes on the words "Candidate for Mayor". He does not answer direct questions fully. He thinks the way to handle crime is more officers on the street, when asked specifics he gave none and continued to claim he is the most qualified, sighting an 8 year career as and accountant and calling himself an entrepreneur and job creator but did not sight the jobs he has created. The tag under his name online says "He co owned and operated a local business", no mention of his years as a fund raiser and political pundit for the GOP. He spoke briefly to Downtown and criticized Brown budgets and handling of the pension. Bill Bishop comes last in this exchange and he certainly packs the most punch both with his ideas and understanding of what our city is facing along with a great vision of where our city can go. He speaks directly to funds to create enterprise and where they can be found. He spoke to crime and the many facets of that issue most importantly he also spoke directly to the need to involve the citizens of Jacksonville in solutions especially those in the N.W. sector who have the most crime but the least input into the potential solutions and their concerns about it. He also speaks to the proud heritage of Jacksonville as a military city. In conversation he states his support for downtown revitalization and explains what the city can do to make that happen by getting themselves and their red tape out of the way. If anyone can view this segment and not clearly understand why Bill Bishop should be our next mayor, well then you are either standing on political preference or simply not paying attention to who is asking to be mayor that has the experience to fill the office. Bishop has nearly 8 years on council and a complete understanding of how the city does business. He knows the ins and outs of city operation. Bishop is the man who can come into office and hit the ground running and really take our city forward in a positive manner and do so skillfully. I am tired of Alvin Browns hype and incompetence in the office of mayor. He is a lightweight who seeks media attention and knows how to spin a charming yarn. Basically he tells a good story but not much else. I don't believe Lenny Curry has any of the experience necessary to be mayor and eight years as an auditor does not cut it. He has no real plans he is presenting to voters but lots of feel good soundbites about himself and his hopes for Jacksonville. Frankly he is the flip side of the Alvin Brown coin but so like Brown before and during the last election cycle. Curry has zero real experience in city governance yet wants to run Jacksonville. Unfortunately as someone who is supposed to come to this office in a non partisan mindset, his entire bulk of experience in politics was as the Chairman to the State GOP and they are among his greatest supporters which means at some level he is still attached to one of the main forces of partisan politics which is the State GOP that means strings "are" attached. Alvin Brown who carries the tag of Dem brags that he has not involved himself in politics or other campaigns, which is true and confounding when I think about the reality that some Dem's still support him in spite of the fact that he failed to support the HRO legislation and equality. Bill Bishop is a Republican but one who is moderate in view and action, has several positive plans, has sat through all current legislation and understands it. He also understands the budget and how to write and present one contrasted with Brown who has failed miserably in the budget all his time in office. Three budgets submitted and not one that was truly balanced or viable. Bishop has a plan to solve the pension issue as well as create more excitement for downtown and stability and growth for the entire city. He is the candidate that I will be voting for without hesitation. He is the best qualified for the job with the most experience and is a man who when he speaks people can feel the intellect behind the words. No hype, no hot air and empty promises but a man with solid and viable plans to make Jacksonville whole. In spite of being a life long Democrat I will not vote based on partisan politics or empty headed words of hype and promise. I never have and never will. I vote for the person who is qualified and competent period. I don't want to put our city through another couple of years of a new office holder with no real experience. Curry who must start with next to no understanding of city politics, legislation and funding. That means valuable time lost during his learning curve. I will vote for real experience, honesty, integrity and a man who while representing our city will be seen as a thinker as opposed to ceremonial ribbon cutter. Not a man like Brown who got into to office with promises still unfulfilled as he asks for another term. A man who most movers and shakers do not take seriously. Bill Bishop is the man who should be our next Mayor. Brown lacks leadership,depth and wisdom. Curry is a man tied to the GOP state structure coming to us with no experience in city government and no real plans or understanding of what is right and what is wrong in Jacksonville. We don't have time for a Brown do-over or for a new office holder to get up to speed. Bill Bishop is the only man in this race who is truly qualified to hold the office of Mayor of Jacksonville. With my years of political insight and clear understanding of our city and how it operates I fully support Bill Bishop for Mayor and he will get my vote and the votes of my friends and family.
So you and the other mensas/politico operatives from MJ will be voting for the guy that either comes in 3rd or is not on the ballot? Way to go 0-forever
Bill. My comment above was personal and not representative of what other posters may feel. I simply shared my thoughts and the reasoning behind them. I will however cop to having been asked to join Mensa on a number of occasions. :) Bill Bishop is the only candidate who to my view is truly qualified and experienced enough for the office of mayor and for that reason he will be getting my vote. We will know after the election what position he comes in and that frankly has no bearing on evaluating a candidate at this stage. Right now what everyone should be focused on is choosing the candidate that they think is best qualified for the office of Mayor. That is precisely what I am now doing and have done my entire voting life which is decades long. It's the only intellectually honest thing to do. The rest is just playing odds or favorites without any real consideration being given to the qualifications of the person one is voting for. When that happens one might think they are are the winning side but in reality have ended up losing the best person for the office. This is no different than looking at applicants for a job. You hire the person who is most qualified and who has the most experience in the field with the opening. In this case that position is the one of Mayor, the top leadership roll in city government. Eight years of experience in city government and legislation trumps three and half unproductive years in elected office (Brown) and certainly greatly exceeds no experience in city government at all (Curry).
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on January 29, 2015, 12:35:23 AM
Bill. My comment above was personal and not representative of what other posters may feel. I simply shared my thoughts and the reasoning behind them. I will however cop to having been asked to join Mensa on a number of occasions. :) Bill Bishop is the only candidate who to my view is truly qualified and experienced enough for the office of mayor and for that reason he will be getting my vote. We will know after the election what position he comes in and that frankly has no bearing on evaluating a candidate at this stage. Right now what everyone should be focused on is choosing the candidate that they think is best qualified for the office of Mayor. That is precisely what I am now doing and have done my entire voting life which is decades long. It's the only intellectually honest thing to do. The rest is just playing odds or favorites without any real consideration being given to the qualifications of the person one is voting for. When that happens one might think they are are the winning side but in reality have ended up losing the best person for the office. This is no different than looking at applicants for a job. You hire the person who is most qualified and who has the most experience in the field with the opening. In this case that position is the one of Mayor, the top leadership roll in city government. Eight years of experience in city government and legislation trumps three and half unproductive years in elected office (Brown) and certainly greatly exceeds no experience in city government at all (Curry).
While I agree with you completely on the voting for bishop. I guess at the moment I am torn as I am not sure how viable he is to actually pull it off. The kind of thinking you note actually is what brought us Brown as the mayor. I and many others actually felt Moran was best that time around and voted for her and then she did not even make the runoff which left many of us to vote Brown in over the alternative. And to me Moran had a much better chance of being elected than Bishop. For me to vote for Bishop, which is who I prefer, I feel like I I have to be prepared to really like one of the other two strongly over the potential opponent. So do I feel strongly voting for a guy who had shown no leadership in 3 plus years or a guy who has the potential to scare me like Hogan?? That is what I am truly wrestling with right now before I go full force for Bishop. If I conclude that neither of the other two are options I really like then I will also go Bishop and then live with the consequences of one of the other two I guess. Not a happy situation in my optinion. Hopefully in the end I feel comfortable with 2 candidates. Like life I guess politics isn't easy either. Oh well enough of my babbling. :-\
I understand what you are saying edjax and agree that it may be difficult to know for sure what the result of your vote will be. The most important thing is that your vote reflect your honest opinion of who is right for the job. I don't actually agree that this kind of thinking is what brought us Brown. His campaign was a mess and struggling. What turned the tide for him was the infusion of 400K from Republican Peter Rummell and his buddies. They did not back Brown because he was the best guy for the job, it was more about who they thought would readily fulfill their agenda. That money and attention is what pushed him over along with the bitter exchanges between Moran and Mullaney at the time. Of course none of that matters now. What matters is what Brown has done in the time he has been in office which to my view is not much. There are some other things to consider when casting your vote and what impact Bishop may have on the election. First is that a vote for Lenny is pretty much a vote for the far right GOP mindset. It was Rummell who got him into the race and Rummells agenda has not changed. This means Lenny comes with plenty of GOP strings tied to power players. A vote for Lenny also means we will likely have him in office for 8 years. The GOP will fight hard to hold the seat. Many of the GOP/Civil Council/Chamber players are relics of the past and bring with them the same political views and ways of doing business that has in many ways caused Jacksonville to languish in a stiff conservative attitude toward progress all while our tax dollars are picked off the tree for special interest projects. A vote for Alvin give us four more years of "pretend". Pretend we can do a budget, pretend we can fix the pension, pretend we are headed to some magical "new level". Four more years of hype. Bishop being in the race does a lot of things. First and foremost he is the good and competent candidate people always say they "wish" would run for office. He has the experience to hit the ground running, where Curry will be another newbie with a huge learning curve and that takes time. He has no idea how our city operates. Bishop will also be the cog this race turns on though many don't realize it. His presence changes the race dynamics. His presence keeps the power players backing Lenny in check. Bishop will get many moderate republican votes. His presence also impacts Brown in this way. He will keep Lenny in check which means Lenny may not have the needed votes to overtake Brown. If it came to a race between Lenny and Brown I would rather face four more years of his Brown's silly glad handing and such knowing there will be a council with Boyer and Guilliford to keep him straight then have our government back in the hands of high stake special interests and politicians. The last factor is a big one. If folks go back and check the campaigns in the first election they will see Brown was an absolute non starter that no one gave a chance of winning to. His campaign was a mess, he stumbled through campaign managers, he stumbled with a non platform of pure rhetoric until he started to mimic the ideas of other candidates to make some sense. Basically I am saying, it ain't over till it's over and anything can happen. I fully believe that when true debate happens between these candidates Bill Bishop will shine in intellect and experience. That will have a huge impact on voters. At the very worst we would end up with four more years of Alvin, not eight with Lenny and the very real possibility that Bishop could be our mayor in just four years. The best outcome is that Jacksonville voters wake up and show some insight and sophistication in choosing our leadership as opposed to blindly standing on party politics or believing that rhetoric and big talk trumps experience, knowledge and real plans. If people vote smart Bill Bishop will be our next mayor. :)
(http://i.imgur.com/Sx3IC0B.jpg) Jim Rinaman
A letter of endorsement for Bill Bishop from Attorney and former city of Jacksonville General Counsel, Jim Rinaman:
"I have decided to support Bill Bishop for Mayor. I decided a year or more ago that Mayor Brown was "all hat and no cattle" as they say in Texas, and I would not support him again. (The business community supported Brown because Hogan was proposing tax reduction by sale of preservation lands) When Peter Rummel announced his support for Lenny Curry, and so many business leaders joined him, I thought he was the best choice to beat Brown, especially after he was able to accumulate so much money for his campaign, and in spite of the fact that I worried about his lack of knowledge and experience in government, and obvious partisanship as chair of the Florida GOP. Recently I looked closer at Bill Bishop, who I have known for at least twenty years in various civic projects, and decided that we need less partisanship in local government, and more knowledge and experience than Brown or Curry bring to the table. I also believe that Jacksonville will not necessarily vote for the biggest spender, if they come to realize that they need a Mayor who knows what the problems are, and has a viable plan for resolving them. Bill is the only candidate who could do that. I encourage each of you to consider these issues and give your support to Bill, in the hope that we can have some capable and effective leadership for the next eight years. Party and campaign funds should not be the determining factors to achieve this."
Diane, Thank you for posting this. I do get involved and vet candidates, so any interesting information on sites like this is helpful. I've gotten on Bishop train in last couple of weeks, after being very involved in original Mayor Brown election. Your personal thoughts were well thought out & I appreciate your particular insight. People will realize us "older" over 40 year old voters still have input and ability to get people involved in political process affecting them in Jacksonville, FL. and USA.
Yes indeed the info posted here is helpful to us under 40's as well as our voice resonates strong in today's political scene. I have been a staunch Brown supporter but Bishop seems to be a good fit, maybe better than Brown in my eyes. I support both men, as I still feel Brown was never given a fair shake to get things going on his own, and was an outstanding partner with the Jags but Bishop maybe, just may be the one best suited to continue the push forward for Jax. Can't wait for debates to come as I'm still undecided, but the info posted here is invaluable. Thanks.
Marle, I appreciate and respect your views. Brown has held his office now for 3 1/2 years and accomplished nothing of note. All the other candidates on the ballot favor the Jags and would have a great working relationship with them. Alvin is a nice guy and has charisma but he has failed to show leadership on key issues like the HRO but more importantly has failed to submit a single competent and viable budget in a city with serious financial issues. He has also tried to add 240 million in debt to our city while the rest of our leadership is trying to figure out how to find money to meet our current needs. He just does not understand city government. The question then becomes how many times have the constituents gotten a fair shake from him? His incompetence on the budget all three years resulted in tax increases when it was left to council to fix it and serious cut backs in JSO funding in a city that has more than it's share of murders. The voters have got to learn that they are interviewing candidates for jobs that will be paid with our taxes. It is not a personality contest. It is about the most competent and qualified person to hold the job. Brown will not support the HRO and has worked to make sure it did not pass. That is not good for Jacksonville as a city and as it is perceived nationally and internationally and is a single example of not understanding the climate this city needs to move forward. To my view the younger voters, those coming up today understand the importance of civil liberties for all and I do believe they will make that known in all upcoming elections. Thanks for your input and view Marle! :)
Jacksonville time to brace for more negative campaign ads, lots of stuff coming to you in the mail and more. Lenny Curry has shown his focus is currently on raising money for campaign pr as opposed to giving the voters any real plans or understanding of what he would do if elected to the office of mayor. Make no mistake that this is a GOP power move which is tied to control in Duval which impacts state politics when it comes to electing a president which which is coming our way soon. We have moved beyond what is best for Jacksonville for some and been reduced to a pawn on the bigger political chessboard for others. So, how well will Jacksonville voters navigate the upcoming media barrage and negative ads remains to be seen. You can count on the process being tedious. The key for voters will be to keep their focus on the content of the candidates platforms as well as their experience and what is said during debates. That will show everyone who understands the issues facing our city and who is capable of dealing with them through experience.
Today the Daily Record reported on Curry's campaign chest. As I said, the GOP power structure is serious about tagging Duval as their own.
QuoteAfter just eight months of campaigning, mayoral candidate Lenny Curry has passed a major milestone.
Curry's fundraising total topped $2.1 million on the heels of a huge January, which brought in $439,585.
The bulk of the money came through his political action committee, Together for a Greater Jacksonville, which collected $329,500, according to numbers released by the campaign.
Curry's local account received $110,085 in contributions.
Last month, Curry pulled within $75,000 of Mayor Alvin Brown's nearly $1.72 million war chest, despite the mayor having a 15-month head start on his biggest challenger. Brown began raising money for his re-election in March 2013; Curry started in June of last year.
RELATED: The story behind Lenny Curry's decision to run for mayor.
Click link for full story.
http://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=544812
Also some seriously bad news for Alvin:
Quote
Brown did not list any contributions for Jan. 1-16 for his local account in a report filed. The report for the second half of the month is due Feb. 10. The January report for Brown's Taking Jacksonville to the Next Level political action committee is due next week.
...
In other words, he's starting to tap out his well while Lenny's still going strong. Even Bishop seems to have had a better couple of weeks than Brown.
^Exactly Tacachale. I am seeing previous Brown supporters open their eyes about him and a great many are distancing themselves from him and his campaign. The important thing folks should understand about the campaign run for Brown is that he has lost most of his moderate supporters in other political parties, especially Republican who will likely fall behind Bishop but more importantly he has angered many in the black community, a sizable part of his base who feel he has done nothing of note for them and their old communities as well as addressed issues of crime effectively. He recently put together an effort he is promoting to fight crime with sports in time for the election cycle. Pretty transparent. Looks to me like sports is his fallback on all things Jacksonville. :) The drive to put Curry into office is a GOP politically driven effort that began with a disgruntled Rummell and grew to a greater effort on the part of the GOP to get control of Duval as a political stronghold for conservatives in order to strengthen their control on the state. This as a part of a greater plan for Duval in the upcoming race for President. What we are seeing with the fundraising at this level frankly is the same dynamic that is impacting the highest level of politics and campaigns which is basically the "purchase" of political office via mega funding of candidates driven by special interests and PAC's non of which is based in overall interest in the needs of the citizens but rather the desires of political parties and power players. At all levels the voters need to become aware of the fact that we hold the cards in our future via our vote and our votes should be tendered only to those who are experiences and qualified to hold office and represent the needs of all. Especially at the level of City Hall in a unitary election. This election will be a measure of our sophistication as voters. How many are followers and how many can think independently about the needs of our city.
Dissatisfaction with Brown's performance is at a high. If Alvin hadn't been so weak, the same people who backed him before would have backed him again. He's planted this field himself over the last four years, and now harvest time is coming.
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 03:14:05 PM
In other words, he's starting to tap out his well while Lenny's still going strong. Even Bishop seems to have had a better couple of weeks than Brown.
actually he hasn't even tried to get local money...there is no campaign website or Facebook page with a Donate button
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 02, 2015, 09:37:46 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 03:14:05 PM
In other words, he's starting to tap out his well while Lenny's still going strong. Even Bishop seems to have had a better couple of weeks than Brown.
actually he hasn't even tried to get local money...there is no campaign website or Facebook page with a Donate button
You mean Bishop? Yeah, he's a good guy but he's not really running an effective campaign.
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 09:50:47 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 02, 2015, 09:37:46 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 03:14:05 PM
In other words, he's starting to tap out his well while Lenny's still going strong. Even Bishop seems to have had a better couple of weeks than Brown.
actually he hasn't even tried to get local money...there is no campaign website or Facebook page with a Donate button
You mean Bishop? Yeah, he's a good guy but he's not really running an effective campaign.
Ha, I just saw that in direct contrast, Brown's campaign page is nothing *but* a donation link.
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 09:55:23 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 09:50:47 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 02, 2015, 09:37:46 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 03:14:05 PM
In other words, he's starting to tap out his well while Lenny's still going strong. Even Bishop seems to have had a better couple of weeks than Brown.
actually he hasn't even tried to get local money...there is no campaign website or Facebook page with a Donate button
You mean Bishop? Yeah, he's a good guy but he's not really running an effective campaign.
Ha, I just saw that in direct contrast, Brown's campaign page is nothing *but* a donation link.
I was referring to Mayor Brown. Bill Bishop has actually put together a pretty good campaign given that the "establishment" has chosen to go with a guy who has no government experience.
^I agree tufsu1. Tachchale it may be that you are not plugged into some of the outlets where info about Bishops campaign is being shared and there are many. It is truly a grassroots effort. The Bishop folks have been doing a great job with FB and putting him before various diverse groups of voters. The good old boy establishment want's to do business as usual and part of that business means dismissing the most qualified republican candidate in order to push the fellow that will do business their way. This is not a new dynamic but one that has long needed changing. I am noticing a different trend this election cycle and in our city. Many people are tired of politics as usual, of being sold out by politicians and the folks who play political games on both sides of the isle to their own advantage. There is a rapidly growing base of republicans who are getting behind Bishop because of his qualifications and experience and are driven by the fact that the local GOP played a very unfortunate manipulative game of in house voting in order to promote Curry. That was just incredibly poor form. Curry will draw the hard right voters who follow the GOP playbook. Bishop however will carry moderate republicans and those disgruntled with business as usual in their party as well as a good percentage moderates in all parties including an unexpected amount of backing by Democrats disillusioned with Alvin Brown. Remember the first election is not a primary but unitary which means voters of all parties will be voting and that could impact the bottom line for Curry in unexpected ways. To my view it will be the mayoral debates that will open the eyes of the voters as to who is selling hype and who has real plans and experience. Jacksonville has got to learn to vote in a more sophisticated manner imo and following party lines in unitary elections is not the appropriate way to choose a local leader if in fact the goal is competent and strong leadership. Another factor that will impact the voting will be how weary people get of the many negative political ads that will be hitting the airways and our mailboxes during the Curry on Brown attack which has to come. That too may work to the advantage of Bill Bishop.
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 03, 2015, 08:29:15 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 09:55:23 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 09:50:47 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 02, 2015, 09:37:46 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 02, 2015, 03:14:05 PM
In other words, he's starting to tap out his well while Lenny's still going strong. Even Bishop seems to have had a better couple of weeks than Brown.
actually he hasn't even tried to get local money...there is no campaign website or Facebook page with a Donate button
You mean Bishop? Yeah, he's a good guy but he's not really running an effective campaign.
Ha, I just saw that in direct contrast, Brown's campaign page is nothing *but* a donation link.
I was referring to Mayor Brown. Bill Bishop has actually put together a pretty good campaign given that the "establishment" has chosen to go with a guy who has no government experience.
This is Brown's website. No "about me", no list of positions or accomplishments, just buttons to "contribute" and "sign up". And he still reported no new donations for the first half of January. Though if I were him I probably wouldn't try to draw attention to my "accomplishments" either.
http://www.mayoralvinbrown.com/
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on February 03, 2015, 08:44:23 AM
^I agree tufsu1. Tachchale it may be that you are not plugged into some of the outlets where info about Bishops campaign is being shared and there are many. It is truly a grassroots effort. The Bishop folks have been doing a great job with FB and putting him before various diverse groups of voters. The good old boy establishment want's to do business as usual and part of that business means dismissing the most qualified republican candidate in order to push the fellow that will do business their way. This is not a new dynamic but one that has long needed changing. I am noticing a different trend this election cycle and in our city. Many people are tired of politics as usual, of being sold out by politicians and the folks who play political games on both sides of the isle to their own advantage. There is a rapidly growing base of republicans who are getting behind Bishop because of his qualifications and experience and are driven by the fact that the local GOP played a very unfortunate manipulative game of in house voting in order to promote Curry. That was just incredibly poor form. Curry will draw the hard right voters who follow the GOP playbook. Bishop however will carry moderate republicans and those disgruntled with business as usual in their party as well as a good percentage moderates in all parties including an unexpected amount of backing by Democrats disillusioned with Alvin Brown. Remember the first election is not a primary but unitary which means voters of all parties will be voting and that could impact the bottom line for Curry in unexpected ways. To my view it will be the mayoral debates that will open the eyes of the voters as to who is selling hype and who has real plans and experience. Jacksonville has got to learn to vote in a more sophisticated manner imo and following party lines in unitary elections is not the appropriate way to choose a local leader if in fact the goal is competent and strong leadership. Another factor that will impact the voting will be how weary people get of the many negative political ads that will be hitting the airways and our mailboxes during the Curry on Brown attack which has to come. That too may work to the advantage of Bill Bishop.
I know that a lot of people like Bishop, and I do to. But the fact is he's polling at 8% when the other two guys are in the 30s and he's only raised $70k when they're at or near $2 million. Yes, there's still a lot of race to run, but his polls are behind the *4th* place candidate from 2011.
Bill Bishop is head and shoulders above either of the other two candidates in the race in terms of qualifications and experience.
At the very end of the Curry ad that keeps running on TV over and over again; am I the only person who thinks that his funny smile that he holds at the end makes him look exactly like Alfred E. Neuman of Mad magazine? ( I know I'm showing my age with that reference.)
As a Republican who voted for Alvin, I am nothing but disappointed in his leadership. He talked a good game, but his actions spoke louder. I do like Bishop, but I remember his strong support of extending Monroe St in front of the new courthouse, I know we are over that but I still cant forget it. If I had to choose I would pick Bishop over Curry. Hopefully Bishop can continue to gain votes, but a split could let Brown sneak in.
If it comes down to it, I will still vote for Brown over Curry
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 03, 2015, 09:01:40 PM
If it comes down to it, I will still vote for Brown over Curry
Hopefully Bishop will become viable.
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 03, 2015, 09:01:40 PM
If it comes down to it, I will still vote for Brown over Curry
This. Is it possible to fill in those little bubbles while holding your nose?
Quote from: Charles Hunter on February 03, 2015, 09:33:04 PM
Quote from: tufsu1 on February 03, 2015, 09:01:40 PM
If it comes down to it, I will still vote for Brown over Curry
This. Is it possible to fill in those little bubbles while holding your nose?
sadly it won't be the first time I've done that
I can understand folks wanting Bishop, or being skeptical of Curry. But I can't understand anyone who's been paying attention at all saying they'll vote for Alvin Brown again.
The other choice in a Brown/Curry race is to undervote - not vote for anyone for Mayor.
Melissa Ross of First Coast Connect interviewed Bill Bishop today on her show. The interview is available now as a podcast. She also has a FB page where you can go and read some of the comments she received about the broadcast and Bill Bishop. I have long been saying that it will be when people actually hear Bill Bishop discuss his plans and answer questions that they will come away knowing this is the man who is best qualified to be our next mayor. Listen for yourself and read the comments on FB. There is a groundswell of support for Bill Bishop growing and I predict it will become stronger and stronger as he faces the other candidates Brown and Curry in debate. Watch and listen by clicking this link! http://www.wjct.org/fcc-february-04-2015/
Here also are a few comments from Melissa's FB page you can view them all on her page:
QuoteKirk Chamberlain I am sorry I missed it. I like Bill very much based on personal interaction. Saying you are a Republican brings a heavy burden. I wonder if the Herman Cain affiliation/ endorsement issue came up. Google Herman Cain if you aren't familiar.
Unlike · Reply · 1 · 1 hr · Edited
First Coast Connect For those who missed today's show, (or any show we air) the daily podcast of First Coast Connect is now on iTunes.
Unlike · Reply · 3 · 1 hr
Paula Steiner Darn. I'd sworn I'd write in one of my cats rather than another Republican, but this guy comes through as so open and honest, I'll have to vote for him.
Unlike · Reply · 9 · 2 hrs
Mike Bernos Bill Bishop welcomes Jacksonville to the 21st century. A breath of political fresh air.
Unlike · Reply · 6 · 57 mins · Edited
Douglas S. Coleman What a surprise, to have a candidate actually answer questions. And with great answers!
Unlike · Reply · 6 · 2 hrs
Alicia Cabrera-Thomas I met Bill at an event at Wayne Wood's
& we talked about so many things regarding the city of Jacksonville,
from Public Transportation to how to best do for the citizens to MOCA Jacksonville
This man
is a breath of fresh air!!
I can think of tons of times
that an "Underdog"
did the best job!!!
I will inquire with Melissa whether or not she has interviewed Curry or Brown with regard to the current race. Will let all know what she says.
There is an aspect to this election that I think many are missing and I am not speaking to anyone in particular but in general. The aspect that has me most worried is the reality that in America and even in our little city we are allowing ourselves and our politicians to be bought. In fact all too often the voters are culpable in the process There is this accepted view that money is the deciding factor in measuring a candidate. Power players in both major political parties use their money to prop up the person they feel will do their bidding as opposed to the most qualified individual and one who will have the best interest of the voters at heart. They package an individual with soundbites of promises or feel good meme's. No substance to the candidate or platform required. Right now Curry's campaign consists of saying everyone in Jacksonville deserves good stuff and is minus discussion of plans in order to make that a reality. Like pension, crime, health, development etc. This time around Brown is refusing to engage the people via a real campaign and has focused on repeating his old promises with no real record to stand upon. The candidate with the qualifications is purposely being shutdown by operatives in both the Dem and Republican party whose goal is for party retention in the office of mayor which affords access at the state and national level. The average citizen is being sold out by both parties supported by the mass accepted delusion that money equals worth. Only when "we the people" say those rules don't apply and we chose substance and experience over hype and empty words will the tide change for "we the people" in a positive way. I will vote the most competent person in what is a "unitary" election and always have done. My only wish for our city is that our voters become informed and educated about the candidates and the process and the fact is both major parties are working hard to see that all adhere to party structure period and vote accordingly regardless of real qualifications. However both parties will eat their own if given the chance and we are seeing that with the Republicans this time around and the Dems are doing the same in some local council races as well. It's manipulative and it happens because we the voters allow it to.
After writing the above this came across my feed. Looks like Ruth and I are on the same page.
(http://i.imgur.com/Ma6wgL4.jpg) Ruth Bader Ginsburg
QuoteSupreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg doubled down Wednesday on her belief that Citizens United was the worst decision made by the current U.S. Supreme Court, saying it is the the first decision she would overturn if she had a "magic wand."
Ginsburg said the current campaign system is "being polluted by money" during a C-SPAN3 appearance, crediting the Citizens United decision, which effectively gave corporations and unions the right to give and spend unlimited funds on independent political activity.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/05/ruth-bader-ginsburg-campaign-financing_n_6622432.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000013
Lenny Curry has received the endorsement of Jax Biz, the political arm of the Chamber. No surprises here. It is still pretty much a mystery what Curry's platform is or his plans to deal with serious issues like the pension, infrastructure, historic communities, development etc. The only thing for certain we know is that Lenny Curry want's your money. Apparently a platform is not even required. His next public event is as follows and if you donate online you can get a bumper sticker.
For endorsement story click link: http://jacksonville.com/news/2015-02-04/story/jax-chamber-group-backs-lenny-curry-over-mayor-alvin-brown#gsc.tab=0
And then there's this reporting from Kevin Meerschaert, formerly of WJCT.
BILL BISHOP LOOKS TO PEEL OFF VOTERS FROM ALVIN BROWN
Jacksonville mayoral candidate Republican Bill Bishop may not be getting support from party leaders or big donors, but he is putting together a coalition of GOP moderates and Democrats and independents who have become disillusioned with incumbent Alvin Brown...
Full article: http://floridapolitics.com/archives/6493
My own belief is that Bill Bishop will peel off Curry voters as well. But it's tough to ignore the number of Democrats who attended Bishop's rally yesterday in Memorial Park.
Edit to add: Any decision makers from WJCT reading this, please put Kevin back to work. His presence has been sorely missed on my radio.
Judging from that last poll, Bishop's peeling off more Curry voters than Brown voters. Not to make everyone panic, but this could very easily lead to Brown getting in without a runoff. Even if Bishop keeps polling at under 10%, it could go 50-42-8 and then we're stuck with Brown for another four years. But of course Alvin keeps giving people a reason not to vote for him.
^^This has been my fear all along.
Thanks @Cheshire, you're 100% correct. Politics is all about money, and it extends to non-partisan endorsements as well. I've recently found out, much to my surprise, that many groups and organizations have monetary campaign contribution minimums in order to qualify to receive their endorsements.
As a voter I am surprised that groups would avoid endorsing candidates that share their opinions on the issues, and some cases even endorse a candidates opponent who stands against their core beliefs, simply because the candidate hasn't raised enough money and therefore isn't considered "viable."
I get the problems with Brown. Non budget-budget left to the CC, management of city services terrible, no stands taken for anything and he has not be able to clean up for Peyton/Delaney pension holiday debt. However he hasn't let the sky fall either projects that were doable he has helped prod into existence. I doubt he would have let the FSU medical school, First Coast school of law and Art Institute get away from downtown like his predecessor. Bishop is my first choice but Brown would not upset me.
Quote from: Tacachale on February 09, 2015, 12:25:43 PM
Judging from that last poll, Bishop's peeling off more Curry voters than Brown voters. Not to make everyone panic, but this could very easily lead to Brown getting in without a runoff. Even if Bishop keeps polling at under 10%, it could go 50-42-8 and then we're stuck with Brown for another four years. But of course Alvin keeps giving people a reason not to vote for him.
The only chance Brown has to win is to win outright, without a runoff, IMO. I have a hard time believing he is at 50% or more right now. If the Khan announcement is splashy and gets rave reviews, he might pull it off, but that remains to be seen.
I've been on both sides of that issue, Jason. When I ran, I wasn't considered viable for a host of reasons, including minimum campaign fundraising. But viability is a factor that groups should consider in determining whether to endorse, or not.
Now that I'm not a candidate, and more of an endorser, I definitely look at many factors when I evaluate a race, including fundraising. Fundraising isn't just a function of "politics is all about money," but it's a reflection of the impact and connection a candidate is making with voters. I think more highly of a campaign in which 100 people giving $10 to a candidate than I do of one where one person gives $1000.
There are groups in town that will endorse what they see as a sure thing, even if the candidate doesn't align on their issue profile. They do this, I suppose, to beef up their win/loss record to make a case for their own organizational viability. I don't have much respect for that approach. There are some races in which no candidate should be endorsed. And others that might have multiple endorsements for the same race. I don't like partisan endorsements at all, at least not for our unitary municipal elections. There are candidates and officeholders from both parties that I think are effective, intelligent, compassionate, and driven to make our city better.
tl;dr: Endorsements are complicated.
Quote from: vicupstate on February 09, 2015, 01:54:51 PM
The only chance Brown has to win is to win outright, without a runoff, IMO. I have a hard time believing he is at 50% or more right now. If the Khan announcement is splashy and gets rave reviews, he might pull it off, but that remains to be seen.
Agree with this completely. AB has a base of support somewhere around 35-40% of the electorate. I don't see much he's done in 4 years to keep his non-base voters on board - those of us who propelled him to the narrowest of wins over Mike Hogan. There is some power of incumbency, but not enough to bring his numbers above 50%. People keep telling me about polls they've seen that paint the race in nearly every shade of the rainbow, depending on the bias of the person telling me about the poll. I think it's wide open and anything can happen March 24, except for a one-and-done scenario for any candidate.
Thanks Jimmy, I appreciate your perspective. I agree the process of endorsing a candidate can be difficult, and you raise many valid points, I'm merely trying to emphasize that people should rely more on their own investigation into a candidate rather than on whose seal of approval they have received.
The way some groups chose a candidate to endorse, as you described, may surprise even a large number of the people who are actually a part of that group. Before running for office I assumed I could count on the endorsement of certain organizations to inform me who the best candidates were, and ultimately who I should vote for, but I've learned recently that this isn't always the case.
Taken as a part of the whole, I can see the logic behind considering a candidates fundraising efforts in a decision, but to assign an arbitrary dollar amount as a threshold for who is viable or who can even be considered for an endorsement seems short sided to me, and I think many voters would agree...if they knew that was how the decisions were being made.
Quote from: vicupstate on February 09, 2015, 01:54:51 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on February 09, 2015, 12:25:43 PM
Judging from that last poll, Bishop's peeling off more Curry voters than Brown voters. Not to make everyone panic, but this could very easily lead to Brown getting in without a runoff. Even if Bishop keeps polling at under 10%, it could go 50-42-8 and then we're stuck with Brown for another four years. But of course Alvin keeps giving people a reason not to vote for him.
The only chance Brown has to win is to win outright, without a runoff, IMO. I have a hard time believing he is at 50% or more right now. If the Khan announcement is splashy and gets rave reviews, he might pull it off, but that remains to be seen.
there are several key announcements to be made in the coming weeks...in addition to the Khan thing, there is the re-opening of the Southbank riverwalk at the end of February...and a rumored announcement on the USS Adams.
These things, along with the excitement being generated by Bill Bishop, may force Lenny Curry to spend more money in the first election than he wants to.
Quote from: JeffreyS on February 09, 2015, 01:43:36 PM
I get the problems with Brown. Non budget-budget left to the CC, management of city services terrible, no stands taken for anything and he has not be able to clean up for Peyton/Delaney pension holiday debt. However he hasn't let the sky fall either projects that were doable he has helped prod into existence. I doubt he would have let the FSU medical school, First Coast school of law and Art Institute get away from downtown like his predecessor. Bishop is my first choice but Brown would not upset me.
Brown couldn't even complete a contract to keep the river taxi running for one of the biggest weekends of the year. He's dropped the ball on everything he's tried, and that's when he tries to do anything at all except mug for the cameras.
Quote from: vicupstate on February 09, 2015, 01:54:51 PM
The only chance Brown has to win is to win outright, without a runoff, IMO. I have a hard time believing he is at 50% or more right now. If the Khan announcement is splashy and gets rave reviews, he might pull it off, but that remains to be seen.
Despite everything he's got a base; a lot of folks are going to vote for him no matter how poorly he does. I do tend to doubt he's really at 50%, but there are a lot of undecided voters still out there, and stranger things have happened. I definitely agree that he'll be in a much weaker position if he has to go into a runoff election.
Quote from: Jimmy on February 09, 2015, 02:00:51 PM
Agree with this completely. AB has a base of support somewhere around 35-40% of the electorate. I don't see much he's done in 4 years to keep his non-base voters on board - those of us who propelled him to the narrowest of wins over Mike Hogan. There is some power of incumbency, but not enough to bring his numbers above 50%. People keep telling me about polls they've seen that paint the race in nearly every shade of the rainbow, depending on the bias of the person telling me about the poll. I think it's wide open and anything can happen March 24, except for a one-and-done scenario for any candidate.
To my knowledge the only recent poll has been the St. Pete Polls (http://stpetepolls.org/files/StPetePolls_2015_FloridaPolitics_Jacksonville_January_25_BG28.pdf) poll. It shows Brown at only 37.9% but a lot of people are still undecided or checked "Someone else". As tufsu1 says, Brown could peel some of them off with some well-timed good news.
Folks, We have us a real "horse race" this election cycle. Any one of the candidates could pull the needed 51% if the cosmic forces align in just the right way. I don't see that happening and am not worried about it. There are dissatisfied folks in the two major parties and those who are disillusioned along with the moderate voters out there will impact the race in ways that as of today cannot be measured. There are twists and turns yet to come in this election cycle and one wrong move in any one campaign could have a major impact on this race. Brown still has nothing to say beyond repeating his goals from the last election cycle. The only reason the sky didn't fall under him was the hard work of the city council and others in positions of influence. Make no mistake that there is a fire under the Bishop campaign that is growing daily. Right now we still have Curry asking for donations but no real plans or platform has been stated. Looks to me like his campaign is mirroring the last one Brown had, which was lots of "feel good statements" but no viable platform. That is just how much depth there is to his supporters and those of Alvin Brown. IMO No real content or depth to either candidate.
Meanwhile in Jacksonville these things happened over the weekend. Lenny Curry won the "straw poll" taken at the "Tea Party" hobnob.
(http://i.imgur.com/ktcEfdd.jpg)
Bill Bishop met with over 250 supporters at Metropark.
(http://i.imgur.com/BW3sjGI.jpg)
Alvin Brown still is largely "not present" in this race beyond a couple of commercials and soundbites during which he repeats his ideas from last election cycle, none of which were made manifest and photo ops, lets not forget the importance of photo ops.
(http://i.imgur.com/AOF3dMp.jpg)
Then there is Alvin Brown with Rick Scott whom he thought he was in good favor with.
(http://i.imgur.com/d9FRFRZ.jpg)
This is what Scott said at a meeting a few month's back:
Quote
Perhaps the most notable cheerleaders for Curry were Governor Rick Scott and his top fundraiser, Darlene Jordan. When given the microphone to address the crowd of more than 300, both described Curry as the person they expect to defeat Alvin Brown in the city's next municipal election. In Republican-heavy Duval, the support of Scott and his finance chair are powerful votes of support.
http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/162092
My guess is Bishop is pulling voters who voted for Brown last time that have become disenchanted with his lack of leadership. But I also think he is also pulling some of those that had been leaning toward Curry because they just did not want Brown again. But I think Curry continues to lose those that just sided with him because he was not Brown due to his silence on the HRO issue and his continual no tax increase mantra. Not to mention he has not offered any specifics either.
Quote from: Jtetlak on February 09, 2015, 01:17:12 PM
Thanks @Cheshire, you're 100% correct. Politics is all about money, and it extends to non-partisan endorsements as well. I've recently found out, much to my surprise, that many groups and organizations have monetary campaign contribution minimums in order to qualify to receive their endorsements.
As a voter I am surprised that groups would avoid endorsing candidates that share their opinions on the issues, and some cases even endorse a candidates opponent who stands against their core beliefs, simply because the candidate hasn't raised enough money and therefore isn't considered "viable."
To your point.
(http://i.imgur.com/bcVP660.jpg)
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/avondale-riverside/2014/08/14/jacksonville-election-donations-candidate/14059619/
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on February 09, 2015, 02:59:27 PM
Meanwhile in Jacksonville these things happened over the weekend. Lenny Curry won the "straw poll" taken at the "Tea Party" hobnob.
Bill Bishop met with over 250 supporters at Metropark.
Alvin Brown still is largely "not present" in this race beyond a couple of commercials and soundbites during which he repeats his ideas from last election cycle, none of which were made manifest and photo ops, lets not forget the importance of photo ops.
Alvin Brown and City staff were at the first of their scheduled community empowerment days on the northside...another photo opp, maybe...but pretty meaningful to the area's residents as well.
Can someone explain the lack of Democratic representation in this race? It seems like there should've had atleast one more registered Democrat running in the election.
Quote from: I-10east on February 11, 2015, 09:17:35 AM
Can someone explain the lack of Democratic representation in this race? It seems like there should've had atleast one more registered Democrat running in the election.
Brown is a Democrat. In name only, perhaps. As he is the incumbent and in the weakest party, the Democrats would discourage any inter-party competition.
Brown was "ordained" to be in this race by the Dem party. No help would be forthcoming to any democrat that would enter this race. Money and support was locked down big time. I am going to do some sharing about party manipulations in our local government very soon.
Another meaningful endorsement for Bill Bishop.
Bill is grateful to have just received 71% of the vote in the Southside Businessmen's Club(SBMC) Mayoral straw poll!
^Bishop definitely seems to have some momentum building. He's probably going to end up being a bigger factor that it looked like early on.
QuoteJACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The city's elections are six weeks out with the candidates for mayor including the incumbent busy stumping for votes.
Four people are in the race including Mayor Alvin Brown who wants another four years.
"People know my heart, my compassion to do what is right for the city," said Brown following an official event in Arlington when asked questions about the problems plaguing the city Downtown following the Liberty Street collapse. Brown said he could not comment on the campaign since he was on official business.
City councilman Bill Bishop is also in the race. Eight years on the council, he says, gives him perspective on what needs to be done in Jacksonville.
"What we are talking about ought not be a popularity contest or beauty contest," said Bishop who compared the election to the voters interviewing the next CEO of the city.
Lenny Curry who joins Bishop as the other Republican in the race has raised the most money more than $2 million so far. Curry is the former head of the Florida Republican Party and is undertaking his first bid for public office.
"Folks want to know they can get a good job, kids go to good schools and they want safer streets, " said Curry on Tuesday at a campaign function.
Omega Allen is also in the race with no party affiliation. She says wants to be the "People's Mayor" with jobs and economy the big issues facing the city.
The primary election is March 24 with a candidate needing to get 50 percent plus one vote to be the outright winner. Otherwise the candidates who place first and second advance to the May general election.
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/02/11/jacksonville-city-elections-mayors-race/23244051/
We have been very disappointed in Curry's negative ads both on TV and mailings. I don't love Brown's tenure, but I am looking for someone with ideas/vision. Curry doesn't look to be that person.
Who's Lenny Curry? Had anyone outside the Republican Executive Committee ever heard of him before the TV ads started?
Stephan Dare and I both are more qualified to be Mayor than Lenny Curry and we are NOT qualified enough.
Lenny Curry was the head of the Florida Republican Committee until he stopped and pretended to be "NOT" a "politician". All the heavy weights (figuratively and literally) in Republican party in Florida is pouring money in his campaign, strictly because he has represented R forever.
Yesterday, on my twitter feed was a photo of Curry in a tie, putting his sign in a front yard, with the caption....."Person to Person"....I'm still trying to find my eye balls after that eye roll.
He is following in Brown's steps of getting as many 'photo ops" as possible.
I was a strong Brown supporter...and volunteer four yrs ago, and I'm strictly in Bill Bishop corner now. I truly think he has the experience Curry doesn't and will take our city places, Brown will never go.
I'm leaning heavily toward Bishop, too. Can't wait to see the debates!
To really look at the issues Brown has not meet his obligations as Mayor. He has failed to provide the a balanced budget to City Council from all three years he has been responsible for the budget. He promised not to raise taxes in spite of the fact that the tax base had fallen and there was not enough funding for basic city services. We cannot afford four more years of Brown.
I would rate the candidates as follows:
1. Bishop
2. Curry
3. Brown
I rate the candidates as follows:
1) Bishop
All actions, changes, or improvements in any system ... organic or societal ... begin with the needs therein. A clear understanding of the needs of any system, along with the understanding of the related mechanisms to affect, will encourage the proper action to their satisfaction. Our city has for too long accepted only politicians as leaders. Only when the voting public ends the habit of electing politicians according to the number of expensive media ads ... supported by moneyed special interests ... will we begin to see real leadership, and thus progress, in our city. Only when we discard our habit of giving credibility to a candidate because he or she is supported by the moneyed wealthy ... the powerful groups ... will we move to a candidate able to address the needs of the majority in our city.
Who, among the three candidates, actually understands the needs and mechanisms in our city government? Who is moved by sincere dedication and concern for our city's future, and not only moved by a wish to "be mayor"? Who is free of constraints shaped by the wishes of the wealthy or powerful ... free of debt to large contributors, and thus free to focus on the real issues, and the mechanisms to their solution? Freedom from obligations to special interests ... even freedom from blind adherence to the dogma of one's political party ... gives one the freedom to do what is right for the majority. And the majority, as I recall, is what democracy is all about.
1) Bishop
Jumping on the Bill Bishop bandwagon!
Alvin Brown operatives were working our neighborhood on Saturday. They looked a little forlorn in their Tshirts holding their materials.
Someones operatives were attempting to do handouts on the 295 exit ramps at Atlantic this evening.
Bill Bishop has been Chair of the Transportation Planning Organization where he has been Duval County's representative for a number of years. He is currently Chair of the N.E. Florida Transportation Planning Commission.
He was instrumental in getting District 2 of FDOT to make major modifications to their disastrous plan for the re-re-model of the I-10/I-95/Fuller Warren Bridge project. He went directly to the Secretary of FDOT and told him that he would see that the project was killed and the money sent elsewhere is the communities concerns were not addressed. He then worked with Robin Lumb to gather those concerns and present them to FDOT. It was a long laundry list and everyone of them has been incorporated in the project.
He has been a leader on the Council in the effort to solve the Pension mess.
He is one of at least four City Council members who are more qualified to be Mayor than Brown or Curry.
Quote from: Dog Walker on February 16, 2015, 11:52:36 AM
He was instrumental in getting District 2 of FDOT to make major modifications to their disastrous plan for the re-re-model of the I-10/I-95/Fuller Warren Bridge project. He went directly to the Secretary of FDOT and told him that he would see that the project was killed and the money sent elsewhere is the communities concerns were not addressed. He then worked with Robin Lumb to gather those concerns and present them to FDOT. It was a long laundry list and everyone of them has been incorporated in the project.
That is quite a testimony for him. DOTs can be a real bully/pain in the ass to deal with, and you need someone that will play hardball when it is required.
I am a native and lifelong resident of Jacksonville. I was born almost 6 months prior to consolidation. My ancestry in this city goes back almost a century.
Several weeks ago I sent each mayoral candidate and each at-large city council candidate these same questions. Only Theresa Graham, Group 2 at large candidate, has bothered to even acknowledge my email, and she has yet to reply with answers.
I would appreciate it if others would press this issue in any way they can.
1. Why is this city spending taxpayers' money on a football team when our public libraries cannot maintain normal business hours?
2. Why do we not have commuter rail service connecting the Beaches, Orange Park, the airport and Nocatee with downtown?
3. Why must I walk a mile just to get to the bus stop closest to my house?
4. Why are my neighbors being allowed to terrorize me with their pit bulls because animal control refuses to do anything about them?
5. Why does my neighborhood flood every time it rains for more than 3 days because the city won't properly maintain the ditches and storm drains my taxes pay for?
My mayoral race rankings right now.
1. Brown
2. Bishop
3. Curry (I can't see myself supporting him)
Of course many people will object to my opinion, but Alvin had alot of jobs coming through in his tenure; Yeah he had his follies, what mayor doesn't? The upstart bandwagon candidate that many is rooting for Bill Bishop, I admitted don't know much about him; Maybe he can take the number 1 spot if I knew more about him, but I'm not ready to go there yet. Lenny Curry's mud slinging negative ads is all that I have to say about him.
Here is what I give Brown during an improving economy he didn't get in the way. I prefer Bishop I would like to see someone who might be actively involved in improving the city. Curry ummm no.
Quote from: jax-native68 on February 17, 2015, 02:41:29 PM
I am a native and lifelong resident of Jacksonville. I was born almost 6 months prior to consolidation. My ancestry in this city goes back almost a century.
Several weeks ago I sent each mayoral candidate and each at-large city council candidate these same questions. Only Theresa Graham, Group 2 at large candidate, has bothered to even acknowledge my email, and she has yet to reply with answers.
I would appreciate it if others would press this issue in any way they can.
1. Why is this city spending taxpayers' money on a football team when our public libraries cannot maintain normal business hours?
2. Why do we not have commuter rail service connecting the Beaches, Orange Park, the airport and Nocatee with downtown?
3. Why must I walk a mile just to get to the bus stop closest to my house?
4. Why are my neighbors being allowed to terrorize me with their pit bulls because animal control refuses to do anything about them?
5. Why does my neighborhood flood every time it rains for more than 3 days because the city won't properly maintain the ditches and storm drains my taxes pay for?
How about|
1. What are your plans to bring true pension reform?
2. Would you at least consider a raise to taxes to meet the needs of the city currently and to move it forward?
3. How would you expect the city to flourish when I pay less in property taxes now than I did 10 years ago?
A former Lenny Curry support explains why he "fears" Lenny Curry becoming the mayor of Jacksonville. He calls it 10 reasons not to vote for Lenny Curry.
QuoteLet me say, I once supported Lenny Curry. I liked his exuberance and what I thought was "your good guy next door" image. I knew very little about Bill Bishop and was often frustrated with Alvin Brown. I posted this:
Lenny Support I now fear the thought of Lenny Curry leading this City. I have spent an inordinate amount of time talking to Bill Bishop and Alvin Brown, researching and consuming information and (more recently) being glared at and insulted by Team Curry. People have asked me why I changed my mind, so I sat down and wrote this. It is the little things. And the big ones. And Jacksonville needs a true leader right now. Not a politician.
To read click link and scroll down to the second article for Feb 20th. http://courtsandsportsradio.com/
From Ron Littlepage of TU
QuoteRon Littlepage: Brown and Curry - one is in Fantasyland, the other's in La La Land
By Ron Littlepage Fri, Feb 20, 2015 @ 1:49 pm
Alvin Brown and Lenny Curry just don't get it.
Curry comes right out of central casting for the Republican Party. Wind him up, and he'll promise not to increase taxes and then spend the rest of his time lambasting his perceived main opponent, Brown.
Of course, Brown beat Curry to the no-tax pledge when he ran for mayor four years ago.
And he's spent these last four years saying he's fulfilled that promise even though he submitted city budgets so out of whack that the City Council had to step in with a tax increase or watch the city's quality of life plummet even further.
It's time to move beyond this silliness and to recognize that to have a truly great city, a tax increase may — with an emphasis on may — be necessary at some point.
City Councilman Bill Bishop, the other major candidate in the mayoral race, isn't afraid to say that.
Who are you going to trust on this issue: Brown, who inhabits a fantasy world where money is free; Curry, who has never wrestled with a city budget; or Bishop, who has eight years of experience scraping for money to keep libraries open, the parks in halfway decent shape and public safety functioning?
Jacksonville is on the cusp of making great strides forward. That's why this mayoral race is critical.
For full article click link:
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/ron-littlepage/2015-02-20/story/ron-littlepage-brown-and-curry-one-fantasyland-others-la-la
^ a great article.
From Facebook
QuoteFirst Coast Connect
1 hr ·
Is homosexuality a choice? This morning on the show, Jacksonville mayoral candidate Omega Allen said she believes it is, and thus, will not support an expanded human rights ordinance.
I was pretty horrified to hear Ms. Allen say that this morning. Though not terribly surprised.
If anyone is close to the Mayor, I'd love to hear his take on that. Does he believe that homosexuality in a choice?
It got some quick press on the FloridaPolitics blog: http://floridapolitics.com/archives/8389 toward the bottom.
(http://i.imgur.com/mp68rBV.jpg)
Bill Bishop for Mayor as he answers a Mr. Smith on the radio this morning WOKV 104.5:
As a business owner, homeowner, and taxpayer, I do not want to pay any more taxes that I have to. We see all kinds of examples at all levels of wasteful spending in inefficient or ineffective use of tax dollars. That being said, I can tell you categorically, Jacksonville does not bring in enough revenue to fund our public pension system, pay debt service on accumulated borrowing, hire the necessary additional police officers and maintain our failing infrastructure. The JSO budget is almost $50 million higher today than 4 years ago and they have 147 fewer officers on the street, no CSO's and a greatly trimmed administrative staff. Virtually all of the budget increase went to pension payments. Now, you don't know me and you don't have to believe this if you choose not to but these are the facts. Your comment below is correct on one level, if the voters of Jacksonville do not want any sort of tax increase, then the choice is to decide what you want to do witho
Lenny Curry spoke at a men's club sponsored event at my synagogue yesterday. He was, for the lack of a better term, AWFUL! He pretty much said nothing. This is not just my opinion, as pretty much everyone I spoke with had similar feelings.
It also didn't help that he was followed by Jay Farhat (running for Sheriff) who offered ideas and specifics. It also didn't help that Lenny left the event before it was over or that he didn't really mingle with the crowd.
(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/bill%20bishop.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/bill%20bishop.jpg.html)
Bill Bishop was pretty wonderful when he met with the CPAC chairs last week. He told us to be "squeaky wheels" and encouraged us to be bold. He did speak about the pension reform with us as well.
I will be voting for him. Plain and simple. Underdog or not, nothing else makes sense.
A UNF poll which interviewed likely voters in Duval County, revealed Alvin Brown is leading the mayor's race with 37 percent; Lenny Curry: 25 percent; Bill Bishop: 11 percent; Omega Allen: 2 percent; and 25 percent don't know or refused to answer.
http://news.wjct.org/post/unf-poll-voters-uncertain-undecided-jacksonville-election-looms
Didn't Audrey Moran win a straw poll at the Hyatt in the last election? Polls are worth what you paid for them....
It was about a 600 person poll which is not bad for Jax. However it is a random sampling so if Mr. Bishop can generate a better than modeled turnout amongst those paying more attention or swing voters he could get into the runoff.
Here's the full results:
http://www.unf.edu/publicrelations/media_relations/press/2015/UNF_Poll_Finds_Uncertainty_and_Indecision_as_March_Election_Looms.aspx
A poll is a poll is a poll. In this case we have a random sampling of about .001% of the known active voter base in Jacksonville which is 549,069 individuals. When reading the breakdown of all the questions in the poll it is clear to me at least that our future is still being decided largely by un-informed voters (meaning people uneducated to the issues and the candidates). Right now this tiny sampling also says that Alvin Brown is not leading with the numbers he needs to win, especially when it is runoff time. 25% of the voters are "undecided" which is a huge percentage.
Then there is this: "Of the 546 likely voters polled, 44 percent think Brown is a strong leader and 41 percent don't think he is a strong leader, with 15 percent unsure or unwilling to answer. 44% of the folks responding have not looked to issues or facts in making their decisions about what leadership means. For many of these folks strong leadership means plenty of PR and no real scandal. It does not mean delivering a competent budget, leading on serious issues like the HRO and having nearly zero ability to work with the city's legislative body, which is of course the city council.
It goes further which is to indicate that by race 67% of black voters will vote for Brown. That 67% being drawn down from the 28% of voters who are African American. Clearly race is a factor when it comes to their voting habits.
Then we have Curry who only 38% of those polled could identify as a conservative in spite of him having been chair of the state GOP with with 62% having no clue about his political leanings.
Then we have Bill Bishop, whom 13% considered a moderate and 66% hadn't a clue what his politics are. This is after him serving nearly 8 years on the council. Amazing.
The biggest get in this poll to my eye is the very real and undeniable fact that the voters of Jacksonville are largely uneducated about or indifferent to the actual functioning of our government and further are not vetting the candidates that they vote for. Until the voters become engaged and educated we will continue to see folks put into leadership positions by voters who frankly know little about them.
The other get in this poll is the 25% undecided which means the upcoming election could turn out as a shocker depending upon who manages to garner that uncommitted 25%, My guess is that the 25% are the more educated voters who are no want to make a rash decision and that means the upcoming debates will be a major factor in deciding who makes it to the May 6th race for Mayor.
QuoteThen we have Bill Bishop, whom 13% considered a moderate and 66% hadn't a clue what his politics are. This is after him serving nearly 8 years on the council. Amazing.
Not so amazing when you consider 40 or 50% of the public can't name the Vice President.
If you assume the undecideds split 50/50 between the incumbent and his opposition, then Brown is almost there. That may not be a valid assumption, but it wouldn't surprise me if it was. The only way Brown wins is if he avoids a runoff altogether, or at the very least comes VERY, VERY close (48-49%).
Bishop has to land a serious punch on Curry to make the runoff, if there is one.
vic, I agree with you to some extent, but I can't imagine a scenario where this race stops March 24. We're not talking about John Peyton and Jackie Brown. This is a serious fight. And I'm not sure that Bishop is drawing from Curry. In my case, and in the case of a LOT of people like me, Bishop is drawing from the Mayor. The whole I'm With Audrey brigade.
if Lenny Curry's operation was smart and not afraid of conflict (which seems to be the case), they would do robocalls and/or mailers to certain voter groups to remind them of how conservative AB is. His tea party connections; all the photo ops with Rick Scott. The way he stayed neutral in the 2012 Presidential campaign. Such a strategy would potentially keep some of the Mayor's supporters at home.
Some have suggested that AB has written off liberal/progressive voters and is making a play for tea partiers and westside conservatives. It's true, he's been with the Tea Party and Billie Tucker herself. So... ff you give me the choice between Coke or Chek Cola, I'm going to be pick Coke every time. Lenny is Coke for the conservatives. Alvin is Chek Cola. He's miscalculated and shrunk his base to fellow African American evangelicals, the 50 die-hards who can endure DEC meetings and are impervious to facts, and low-info voters who only vote for Corrine's Quick-Picks. That might, MIGHT, squeak him through to May. But that's the end of the line unless he can bring back progressives. And time is a wasting.
Both the polls so far show that Bishop is pulling from Curry far more than he's pulling from Brown. In today's UNF poll (http://www.unf.edu/publicrelations/media_relations/press/2015/UNF_Poll_Finds_Uncertainty_and_Indecision_as_March_Election_Looms.aspx), Bishop and Allen voters were asked who they'd pick as a second choice in a Brown-Curry race, and 48% said Curry while only 31% said Brown.
Bishop's obviously getting a chunk of the old "I'm With Audrey" crowd, but not all of it, since he's only polling at 11%. Probably similar proportions of them are going for Brown, Curry, or none of the above.
It could be the case that a lot of the Audrey Moran folks are in the 25%. It's a weird race, with the 3-way split. All 3 choices are on some level conservative candidates. The biggest failure this election season may reveal is on the part of liberals to produce any useful impact on the Mayoral election. I hope that's not the case, but it could occur.
I think there are opportunities to change - in a big way - the composition and mindset of the Council.
The debates will be what the race for mayor ends up turning on. I am convinced of that.
^ I highly doubt the poll 4 years ago had Audrey Gibson winning the mayor's race ;)
Well, I must admit that I did not go to the trouble to research this completely as the comment is simply a side note. The info was given me by a friend who is generally informed. In any case, polls and straw polls are not real indicators of how a race will turn out and people are seeing that more and more in local races and in state/national contests too. They seem to be more and more sketchy, especially when it comes to local races. What matters are the absentee ballots and the ballots cast during early voting and on election day. :) Jacksonville is a hard city to read during some election cycles and this is one of those hard to read contests. Politics in this city can turn on a dime now and again. Last years race for mayor made that perfectly clear.
Note: This was a comment about Audrey Moran not Audrey Gibson who a UF poll had winning the last election. :) I made a blunder when I first posted the info.
^I think what he's saying is that her name is Audrey *Moran*.
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on March 05, 2015, 09:58:05 PM
Well, I must admit that I did not go to the trouble to research this completely as the comment is simply a side note. The info was given me by a friend who is generally informed. It could be that there was one of those who would you vote for polls that asked if these candidates were on the ballot. In any case, polls and straw polls are not real indicators of how a race will turn out and people are seeing that more and more in local races and in state/national contests too. They seem to be more and more sketchy, especially when it comes to local races. What matters are the absentee ballots and the ballots cast during early voting and on election day. :) Jacksonville is a hard city to read during some election cycles and this is one of those hard to read contests. Politics in this city can turn on a dime now and again. Last years race for mayor made that perfectly clear.
I think you need to check your name on who they said would win.
You are so right Tacachale and I had already gone to bed when it hit me that I had completely messed that up so I got up to post a correction right now. lol The reason is likely that I was having a conversation earlier this evening with someone else about the fact that Audrey Gibson's mother had just passed away yesterday I believe. So I got my Audrey's messed up tonight for a moment. Please pardon the error. :)
edjax. Audrey Moran. lol Yes, I messed up. :)
It's a tough crowd.
DEBATE DEBATE DEBATE!
Make sure and mark your calendars folks. This is a very important view for everyone when it comes to understanding the candidates running for mayor and what they bring to the table. :)
WJCT, in partnership with First Coast News and The Florida Times-Union, is hosting the 2015 Jacksonville Mayoral Debate Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m. on WJCT-TV 7, WJXX ABC 25, 89.9 FM and streaming online at WJCT.org, Jacksonville.com and firstcoastnews.com.
WJCT First Coast Connect host Melissa Ross will moderate the debate, and the panel of journalists includes First Coast News anchor Shannon Ogden and Florida Times-Union reporters Rhema Thompson and David Bauerlein.
News4Jax DEBATE DEBATE DEBATE!!!!
News4Jax will be having a debate between the candidates for Mayor on Wednesday March 18th with JU at 8:00PM. The debates will be broadcast live on Channel 4 and will also be streaming live.
UNF conducting another poll. Just received my call. Mark down a vote for Bishop!
Quote from: edjax on March 07, 2015, 03:23:32 PM
UNF conducting another poll. Just received my call. Mark down a vote for Bishop!
Great, that is great. :)
(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Bill%20Bishop%202.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/Bill%20Bishop%202.jpg.html)
Bishop made a stop in Springfield last night talking to the community about returning two-way streets "downtown is not a race track".
He spoke about a broken code enforcement system (which got this group of preservationists ready to raise him on their shoulders and march him around Liberty Street). He spoke about his experience as a small business man and the challenges of meeting payroll and offered this experience as an indicator of his fiscal reliability.
He compared his experiences as an architect -- designing a place for people to live -- as a foundation for his role as leader of Jacksonville.
(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/cpac%20lenny%20curry.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/cpac%20lenny%20curry.jpg.html)
The CPAC chairs had a great meeting today with Lenny Curry.
Some topics: the river, the blight, the role of CPACs.
Could not have been more surprised by him. He is very warm and open.
(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/Lenny%20Curry%202.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/Lenny%20Curry%202.jpg.html)
^^ Would love to hear more details sheclown, when you get the chance. Do be mindful that in small gatherings like this, it is easy for any candidate to say what the audience wants to hear, since it isn't subject to heavy media coverage, that might point out discrepancies with prior rhetoric.
He's kinda got a JFK thing going on.
He uses people's names a lot when he speaks. He says "Gloria, I never knew that about the blight bill."
He spoke about the river dredging (to "boos" all around I might add). We heard the same old reasoning...jobs and keeping up with the Jones'.
But then he smiles and says we can disagree in one area and work together on others.
We spent a good portion of the meeting talking about CPACs' role in his administration. He agrees they are underutilized and asked when the CPACs golden years were. How we get back there.
We discussed our challenges, lack of budget and staff cuts, and our desire to have a seat at the planning commission table.
We mainly talked about relationships, neighborhoods, how they differ, how they are the same. He is concerned about neighborhoods, crime, and I believe he truly wants a ground-level view.
Quote from: sheclown on March 11, 2015, 03:14:45 PM
He's kinda got a JFK thing going on.
He uses people's names a lot when he speaks. He says "Gloria, I never knew that about the blight bill."
He spoke about the river dredging (to "boos" all around I might add). We heard the same old reasoning...jobs and keeping up with the Jones'.
But then he smiles and says we can disagree in one area and work together on others.
We spent a good portion of the meeting talking about CPACs' role in his administration. He agrees they are underutilized and asked when the CPACs golden years were. How we get back there.
We discussed our challenges, lack of budget and staff cuts, and our desire to have a seat at the planning commission table.
We mainly talked about relationships, neighborhoods, how they differ, how they are the same. He is concerned about neighborhoods, crime, and I believe he truly wants a ground-level view.
Lenny is very personable but that is political charisma you experienced, nothing more. :) Look to the campaign he is running to know the truth about what he will do and how he will do it to "win" what he wants. In the big picture when the needs of the small preservation groups and those who make their living by restoring historic homes comes up against an issue that will impact the money people or NEFBA, the small guys will be trampled. Don't be fooled, Lenny is another Alvin Brown who is all about power, connections and money.
Calm down cowgirl. Don't shoot
I am giving my impression of him.
He was not what I was expecting nor do I suffer any illusions of my small little spec of influence in the universe
I do believe Bishop is more experienced and familiar with the workings of city hall.
Love you Diane.
I was quick on the draw after all. lol Love you too.
Quote from: sheclown on March 11, 2015, 03:14:45 PM
He's kinda got a JFK thing going on.
He uses people's names a lot when he speaks. He says "Gloria, I never knew that about the blight bill."
He spoke about the river dredging (to "boos" all around I might add). We heard the same old reasoning...jobs and keeping up with the Jones'.
But then he smiles and says we can disagree in one area and work together on others.
We spent a good portion of the meeting talking about CPACs' role in his administration. He agrees they are underutilized and asked when the CPACs golden years were. How we get back there.
We discussed our challenges, lack of budget and staff cuts, and our desire to have a seat at the planning commission table.
We mainly talked about relationships, neighborhoods, how they differ, how they are the same. He is concerned about neighborhoods, crime, and I believe he truly wants a ground-level view.
Lenny is a very likeable guy and very sincere. He's also a very effective person, he takes satisfaction in getting things done. He's not a soundbite.
The picture some people paint of him on this board doesn't match up to reality when you speak to Lenny one on one. He's very approachable, very sharp and very focused on getting things right. Neighborhoods haven't always gotten their due and he is intent on reversing that trend.
I was a bit surprised at Sheclown's take on Curry and in a positive way. Still, Curry, regardless of how he comes across personally, worries me if only for the reasons of who brought their money to bear for him, the kinds of moves they've made to promote him, including both the shenanigans by the Republican committee and the PAC's very negative ad campaign tactics, and the time it took for anyone to know his stance on things. Still looks like he was waiting for someone else to tell him what to do. Since I am having trouble seeing his campaign as ethical, I am also having trouble seeing the man as having the best qualities I want in a Mayor. I firmly know that Bill Bishop is the best one for the job but to be honest, I am more firmly believing Curry is the second choice - change, smart and corrupt (if that is the case) is far better than not smart and corrupt (which I believe we have now), however you may wish to define corrupt.
That said, everyone should recognize that no matter what, a vote for Bishop will not be a wasted vote. From what I can see, no one is going to win the primary outright with 51% or more, so there will be another election for mayor. The worst case (to me) is Brown and Curry, but if everyone who thinks that Bishop is the first choice but they also think it is a wasted vote and will be voting for Brown or Curry actually voted for Bishop, it could just as easily be Bishop and Curry or Bishop and Brown. To me, voting for Bishop on March 24th is a potential win no matter what.
Isn't it time we elected some strong, ethical and intelligent leaders to guide our city's future?
I find it troubling that you associate the word corrupt with Curry. Even after your wife met him. That just proves my point.
BTW, Bishop has had 8 years to accomplish things (including one as Council President). His accomplishments have been few and far between... unless you count finally killing the Mobility Plan despite telling the very advocates who were trying to save it that he was 'on your side'
What's really ironic, is that by killing the Mobility Plan by pushing this ridiculous credit system, he was trying to curry favor with two large developers whom he thought would financially support his candidacy. Yet you label Curry 'corrupt'.
Quote from: fieldafm on March 11, 2015, 08:09:10 PM
I find it troubling that you associate the word corrupt with Curry. Even after your wife met him. That just proves my point.
BTW, Bishop has had 8 years to accomplish things (including one as Council President). His accomplishments have been few and far between... unless you count finally killing the Mobility Plan despite telling the very advocates who were trying to save it that he was 'on your side'
What's really ironic, is that by killing the Mobility Plan by pushing this ridiculous credit system, he was trying to curry favor with two large developers whom he thought would financially support his candidacy. Yet he is the 'hero' and Curry 'corrupt'.
Bishop was one member of a council of 14 district members plus 5 at large members of which he was a single voice. He was not the Mayor and did not have the latitude of action a sitting mayor has. So claiming he should have done more with a single vote allotted to him on any issue is a bit of a nonstarter. Mike you are an exceptionally nice guy and doer and you see others through that friendly lens. I have never thought Lenny Curry short on charisma and in the past have stated several times he is a nice guy. But when it comes to politics at the level of the office of Mayor, nice can sometimes get left at the door and that charisma that worked to get votes and make friends at one stage of a campaign will find it's focus on the big players once the race is run. This is not about how charismatic a person is. Brown is plenty charismatic but he could not lead and photo ops don't make a city all that it could be. That lesson should have been learned by now. Curry's campaign and the tone of it clearly show that he will leave civility at the door when it comes to politics and power. Facts are also left at the door to the point that some of his campaign connects Brown's problem leadership to Obama. That's just silly emotional politics at play aimed at his base which is far right and ultra conservative. That is a fact that should be taken in tandem with the nice guy persona, especially considering the high level of funding from special interests in support of a man with no experience in City Governing or real understanding of what this city needs to move forward, beyond what those in his campaign and on his donors list say are important issues. Lenny should not be our mayor. He is far to partisan and tied at the hip to the State GOP not to mention the fact that he ran on "no platform" until the day before early voting. Not a good sign of his depth or understanding.
QuoteBishop was one member of a council of 14 district members plus 5 at large members of which he was a single voice.
The whole 'single voice' argument does nothing for me. Bishop has been in office under two different administrations now. Lori Boyer has somehow defied these supposedly insurmountable 'single voice' odds and has gotten things accomplished. Effective people find a way to effect results.
The truth is this. I have watched the best of them, meaning those on city council, sell out for some perceived gain. I believe you will find the term political capital used a lot. Everyone, Lori Boyer, Robin Lumb and even Bill Bishop included, has made those deals. I have seen it personally and have been told about it by those doing it as well. It has become a fact of life for them.
Jacksonville has had decades too much of it. From Corrine Brown to Alvin Brown - I would think most would think it was time to stop it. Not sure we can though.
Curry, yes, a bit of an unknown. And that bothers me a bit. Why the big bucks? Why the heavy handed ways? I said I felt the campaign was not as ethical as it could be and so of course that casts a shadow over the man.
QuoteI find it troubling that you associate the word corrupt with Curry. Even after your wife met him. That just proves my point.
QuoteI am more firmly believing Curry is the second choice - change, smart and corrupt (if that is the case) is far better than not smart and corrupt (which I believe we have now), however you may wish to define corrupt.
First, Sheclown is entitled to have and act on her own opinion, just like I am. Just like you are. Not sure what point you are trying to make here. Suggest you look deeper into it.
Perhaps it would be wiser to come up with an argument that proves me wrong.
Meanwhile, I will stand by my opinion that most (if not all) Jacksonville politicians do things that fit the word "corrupt". We at least deserve them to be smart about it while they are doing it.
Quote from: fieldafm on March 11, 2015, 08:47:03 PM
QuoteBishop was one member of a council of 14 district members plus 5 at large members of which he was a single voice.
The whole 'single voice' argument does nothing for me. Bishop has been in office under two different administrations now. Lori Boyer has somehow defied these supposedly insurmountable 'single voice' odds and has gotten things accomplished. Effective people find a way to effect results.
Fair enough Mike. I guess it depends on what one considers a worthwhile accomplishment while in office. Looking at accomplishment in that light, what has Curry accomplished in his years as GOP chairman for the City of Jacksonville? What is his record of holding public office as an elected official here or elsewhere?
I'm unsure if Curry has enough experience, knowledge and objectivity for any elected office in Florida. The guy's a politician who is running w/ loads of money from special interests and the republican party. I think we all have realized that a person w/ has great personality and someone ' you would have a beer with" is not exactly what you need for a political office. Quite the opposite. Many charming politicians over the years who have failed at what they were elected to do.
Curry has no experience running anything in government...and that is a huge red flag for me!
I'm not for Curry or against him, but he's all the republican faithful can follow. No core republican can follow Bishop, he's all for raising taxes, period. In the end, the picture Curry is trying to paint of Brown, and not doing a good job of it, is that Brown is mediocre as mayor. Not good, not great, but just lukewarm. In the end, my bet is that people will choose lukewarm over the unknown. Unlike 2011, when people chose "Change", this year, they are probably going to choose.....more of the same. Ironic.
Quote from: mtraininjax on March 12, 2015, 12:38:28 AM
I'm not for Curry or against him, but he's all the republican faithful can follow. No core republican can follow Bishop, he's all for raising taxes, period. In the end, the picture Curry is trying to paint of Brown, and not doing a good job of it, is that Brown is mediocre as mayor. Not good, not great, but just lukewarm. In the end, my bet is that people will choose lukewarm over the unknown. Unlike 2011, when people chose "Change", this year, they are probably going to choose.....more of the same. Ironic.
I've got news for you. It doesn't matter who gets elected, there will be a tax increase of some kind in the next four years. Period.
There was a tax increase under Brown, even though he did not support it. John Peyton got elected by saying his opponent (Carlucci) had raised taxes and then in his first term raised taxes more than once in the same way his opponent did. He then proceeded to implement a trio of new fees as well.
Why did those things occur? Because despite the empty 'read my lips' rhetoric, at the end of the day, bills have to be paid, and budgets have to be balanced. At least Bishop has the fortitude to be honest about the situation.
Jax is one of the least taxed cities in one of the least taxed states in the country. Despite whatever benefit that might have, it is wallowing in a recession that the rest of the country by and large has moved beyond. It is facing huge debt problems despite a growing population in one of the fastest growing states. The urban renaissance that is engulfing the major urban centers of the country has largely bypassed JAX. Maybe it is time to change the strategy from 'cheap land, cheap labor, cheap taxes' to something that will allow JAX to better compete in a global economy.
I support Bill Bishop. I have watched him for 8 years on the council and while I don't always agree with his decisions -- mobility fee, dragging his feet on the Claude Nolan landmarking, I do know this about him.
He is thoughtful. He ponders. He considers.
(I particularly enjoy watching his response to absurd comments. He looks to his left and his right "did anyone else hear what I just heard?")
This quality of careful consideration makes the possibility of Bishop for Mayor worth fighting for. I see him as a mayor who will trust himself to make the important decisions of the city (albeit bending to political pressure when necessarily -- they all will). He will choose wisely to fill the seats around him with intelligent and knowledgeable staff. He will speak his mind and fight for what he believes in.
He will play the political game just like anyone else, but he isn't carrying the political debt the others are.
Quote from: Jax native on March 11, 2015, 10:20:36 PM
I'm unsure if Curry has enough experience, knowledge and objectivity for any elected office in Florida. The guy's a politician who is running w/ loads of money from special interests and the republican party. I think we all have realized that a person w/ has great personality and someone ' you would have a beer with" is not exactly what you need for a political office. Quite the opposite. Many charming politicians over the years who have failed at what they were elected to do.
Curry definitely is the guy you want to have a beer with, the guy you want living next door to you. He is very charming and yes, these are qualities that ARE important if you are running for mayor. What do you think he's going to be doing in that fancy office? Getting people to get on board with the city's plan.
And while I support Bishop, I'm not going to throw myself off the Main Street Bridge if Curry is elected.
Brown gathered the urban core voters to him by making promises to help the core. At the end of the day, we ended up with a talking trash can and bad legislation that puts the neighborhoods at risk of annihilation. 140 houses out for bid. Under his watch federal funds were mishandled, money that could have made significant strides toward helping the urban core.
We really never know what we are in for.
Hey everyone. The first televised Mayoral debate is tonight. It's not being held in front of an audience. But there are debate watch parties all over town.
The Northeast Florida LGBT Leadership PAC would like to invite you to ours at Bold City Brewery this evening.
https://www.facebook.com/events/1548629788759757/
^Thanks Jimmy. Does anyone know if any place in San Marco is showing the debate?
^Not in San Marco but the Sun Ray in Five points will have it on their large screen for free.
Who is watching and from where?
Brown disagrees with discrimination but won't go on record for HRO
Curry talks about the kindness of the people of Jax -- will work to solve the problem -- skirts the issue
Bishop says loudly YES
Second question is about the unfairness of Curry's campaign ads. Specifically surrounding crime.
Curry skits the issue. Not very affective
Brown defends himself.
Bishop seems moderate on this.
Port:
Curry will work hard to fund deepening the port
Bishop doesn't want the port deepened if we harm the river and or if we can't fund it.
Brown wants to deepen the river.
Curry's inexperience:
His response -- he's an accountant for a billion dollar company. He's a business owner. Jacksonville is an accounting mess that he could balance.
okay going there!
QuoteBTW, Bishop has had 8 years to accomplish things (including one as Council President). His accomplishments have been few and far between... unless you count finally killing the Mobility Plan despite telling the very advocates who were trying to save it that he was 'on your side'
Good point. I agree that you can make an impact in your district in a short amount of time. Good leaders do this. Bishop has had 8 years as a councilman, perhaps someone here can point out the good things he has done for the residents in his district, that would make ME want to vote for him.
Call the Curry ads underhanded if you will, but right or wrong, they are there to touch the nerve of his base who are fed up with the Willy Lomax of Mayor's, Alvin Brown. Whoever wins will have to moderate, or just continue to push hard issues, as Brown has done for 4 years. "Uh, no I never raised taxes", no you did not Mr. Mayor, you made the council do your job for you to keep the city going.
There should be a sales tax for everyone to pay on, if there is to be a tax. At least Bishop realizes this, but is telling the truth what gets officials elected?
Because Rick Perry is familiar w/ jacksonville, FL and sees Curry "as a leader' ?!?
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/12005
I saw a "punch-back" negative ad against Lenny Curry today funded by Florida Democrats. Impressive. It used similar colors and tone as the anti-Brown ad from Curry. "If this is the way he wants it . . . this is the way he gets it." Unfortunate that campaigns fall back to negativity, but at least Florida Democrats said enough is enough. It is a good ad.
from facebook
QuoteBILL BISHOP REMARKS ABOUT RECENT INCREASE IN CRIME
JACKSONVILLE, FL
This morning, the media reports yet another shooting in Jacksonville — an unacceptable trend and the direct result of the loss of 147 officers.
"The increasing pension fund payments (PFPF) have crippled the city's ability to defend its citizens and fairly pay JSO officers," said Bill Bishop, candidate for mayor. "We currently pay over $150 million per year toward the PFPF because of bad decisions made years ago providing high benefits without a secure way to pay for them."
As Bishop has stated previously, "Revenue from economic growth will not balance the books fast enough and there is not enough growth in revenue to support hiring back the needed officers. There are certain financial obligations that we cannot get out of short of bankruptcy. Two of the largest are: pension payments and debt service, which are equal to about $250 million per year or 25% of the general fund and rising. This is not sustainable." "The reality is, we either need more revenue or we will have to decide what to live without — libraries, parks, a few fire stations, or infrastructure," Bishop continues.
"All the emergency 90-day audits in the world will not find enough savings on a RECURRING basis to fund the additional $40 million per year recommended by the pension reform task force to pay down the unfunded liability. As Mayor, I will fix the pension problem and work with the newly-elected sheriff to change this vicious cycle and improve the quality of life for all citizens."
QuoteFCC Recap: Mayoral Candidate Omega Allen
By Jessica Palombo
Jacksonville mayoral candidate Omega Allen says, if elected, she would appoint a special liaison to the city's Northwest side to help oversee economic development in that quadrant.
Allen made that remark and more on this Thursday's "First Coast Connect."
Allen clarified her position on expanding the city's human-rights ordinance to include gay and transgender people, something she seemed to oppose on a previous First Coast Connect appearance.
Now, Allen says she would likely support it, but can't commit 100 percent because she hasn't read the specific language in the bill.
She also responded to the Florida Times-Union editorial board's writing she's not ready to be mayor and should get more experience in a city council seat first.
"I believe that I am educationally sound, and I have the credibility to run, and I have business experience," Allen said.
"I have a heart for the people of Jacksonville, and government is supposed to be for and by the people. I have no agendas that are related to parties."
Allen also says her gender sets her apart from the three men in the race. She added women are nurturers, and she wouldn't have what she called "testosterone issues" causing her to butt heads with others.
Listen to the podcast to hear the entire interview with Omega Allen on "First Coast Connect." On Monday morning, incumbent Democratic Mayor Alvin Brown joins the show.
http://news.wjct.org/post/fcc-recap-mayoral-candidate-omega-allen
http://www.youtube.com/v/MyVl18XP0Jo?rel=0"
(http://i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/222/136/1324684271001.jpg)
So bad.... it's good. Lol!
Quote from: sheclown on March 23, 2015, 07:42:19 AM
http://www.youtube.com/v/MyVl18XP0Jo?rel=0"
It seems we have another contender for the "worst locally produced video promoting local issue". Of course, Mike Weinstein's son clearly holds the lead by a large margin, then Jim Love et al, "I love Jacksonville" joined in and now this. This may be the classiest of them all, but did we really need this? Will this change anyone's vote? It shows that "trying too hard" to make a viral video is extremely difficult. Said from a Bill Bishop supporter!
He's just an old candy bar in a new shiny wrapper. Tax and spend, tax and spend. Blame everyone in the past for our woes, but I have a plan based on my 8 years with the same people I just threw under the bus, I helped create the mess, but I have a plan to get us out of it.
Brown did not have that bad this past 4 years, it might be enough, however sad, to keep him another 4 years.
Quote from: mtraininjax on March 24, 2015, 07:06:59 AM
He's just an old candy bar in a new shiny wrapper. Tax and spend, tax and spend. Blame everyone in the past for our woes, but I have a plan based on my 8 years with the same people I just threw under the bus, I helped create the mess, but I have a plan to get us out of it.
Brown did not have that bad this past 4 years, it might be enough, however sad, to keep him another 4 years.
He was done when the REC threw him to the curb last month. He needed at least a non endorsement. But the full endorsement for Curry effectively ended it. And Curry's poor performance, mostly because of inexperience, pretty much guarantees Brown, who got 42.8% tonight, re election.
Mtrain did hit the nail. Bishop raised property taxes. In the Great recession. To a large number of negative equity mortgages. Against a no tax increase budget submitted by the democrat.
(http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g374/sheclown2/rock%20and%20a%20hard%20place.jpg) (http://s1098.photobucket.com/user/sheclown2/media/rock%20and%20a%20hard%20place.jpg.html)
Lenny Curry endorsed by former Mayor John Delaney, and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
http://www.news4jax.com/politics/lenny-curry-endorsed-by-john-delaney-mitt-romney/32508018
QuoteAnd Curry's poor performance, mostly because of inexperience, pretty much guarantees Brown, who got 42.8% tonight, re election.
That was with a split vote. We shall see who shows up in May for the election.
Quote from: I-10east on April 22, 2015, 04:48:35 PM
Lenny Curry endorsed by former Mayor John Delaney, and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
http://www.news4jax.com/politics/lenny-curry-endorsed-by-john-delaney-mitt-romney/32508018
knowing that people like Romney, Marco Rubio, and Rick Perry endorse him plays a big part in my support for Curry ;)
knowing that people like Romney, Marco Rubio, and Rick Perry endorse Curry plays a big part in the reason I'm going to vote for Brown.
Quote from: tufsu1 on April 23, 2015, 12:05:04 AM
Quote from: I-10east on April 22, 2015, 04:48:35 PM
Lenny Curry endorsed by former Mayor John Delaney, and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
http://www.news4jax.com/politics/lenny-curry-endorsed-by-john-delaney-mitt-romney/32508018
knowing that people like Romney, Marco Rubio, and Rick Perry endorse him plays a big part in my support for Curry ;)
This is a joke right? Tell me it's a joke.
Quote from: mtraininjax on April 22, 2015, 06:29:55 PM
QuoteAnd Curry's poor performance, mostly because of inexperience, pretty much guarantees Brown, who got 42.8% tonight, re election.
That was with a split vote. We shall see who shows up in May for the election.
Curry just leaped ahead. His accusation of Brown being a Hillary clone just wiped the slate clean. If Curry convinces Jax voters of such, he'll be our new mayor. Browns new announcement concerning action towards discrimination fell in place for Curry.
And the debates havent even started.
Quote from: -jerrycornwell on April 23, 2015, 06:07:28 PM
Quote from: mtraininjax on April 22, 2015, 06:29:55 PM
QuoteAnd Curry's poor performance, mostly because of inexperience, pretty much guarantees Brown, who got 42.8% tonight, re election.
That was with a split vote. We shall see who shows up in May for the election.
Curry just leaped ahead. His accusation of Brown being a Hillary clone just wiped the slate clean. If Curry convinces Jax voters of such, he'll be our new mayor. Browns new announcement concerning action towards discrimination fell in place for Curry.
And the debates havent even started.
Interesting perspective but in order for the slate to be wiped clean Democrat, Independent, NPA's and undecided will have to buy into that being a bad thing. That simply will not happen. GOP hardliners will love the statement but those are the people Curry has in pocket already.
^I agree. Both campaigns are listening far to much to state and national party "operatives", rather than people who know how to win in Jacksonville. It's too bad, as now no one is effectively reaching moderates and independents.
Quote from: Tacachale on April 23, 2015, 06:33:08 PM
^I agree. Both campaigns are listening far to much to state and national party "operatives", rather than people who know how to win in Jacksonville. It's too bad, as now no one is effectively reaching moderates and independents.
Agree and agree.
May is right around the corner and the airwaves are about to get busy!
The latest poll by St. Pete Polls shows Curry leading, 49% to Brown's 45%. That leaves only 6% undecided and less than 2 weeks to reach them.
http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/230208
Quote from: stephendare on May 06, 2015, 04:46:59 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 06, 2015, 04:34:37 PM
The latest poll by St. Pete Polls shows Curry leading, 49% to Brown's 45%. That leaves only 6% undecided and less than 2 weeks to reach them.
http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/230208
meh. A link to a florida politics article by AG Gancarski. While Tony's interpretation of what the polls mean is amusing, its not terribly accurate. Wishful thinking isn't a really great basis on which to do analysis. ;)
Here is the actual link to the St. Pete Poll conducted by Fextel.
http://stpetepolls.org/files/StPetePolls_2015_FloridaPolitics_Jacksonville_May_5_P3E6.pdf
I just spoke with Matt Florell, President (and owner) of the Fextel company that conducted the poll, and it turns out that they only included people that they could reach on landlines. No cell phones, (including obamaphones) and no email addresses or response forms. Not a very representative sample of who is showing up to vote in order to make a conclusive finding, and certainly hasn't been a good indicator in previous polls ability to predict the outcomes of close elections.
In fact, the last election had a similar poll finding Hogan winning by 8 points just a couple of days before the election.
The analysis provided at your link is especially meaningless in light of the fact that the margin of error, (3.1 %) combined with the confidence level (95%) that Fextel admits to places the election exactly where everyone has been thinking it is: Dead heat.
For what it's worth, it matches what I heard last night from the Curry camp's latest internal polls. We'll see how accurate the poll is and how much changes in the next 13 days.
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-06/story/mayor-brown-agrees-action-news-debate-challenger-lenny-curry#cxrecs_s (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-06/story/mayor-brown-agrees-action-news-debate-challenger-lenny-curry#cxrecs_s)
Mayor Brown caves...... :o
QuoteMayor Alvin Brown said Wednesday he will participate in an Action News debate with challenger Lenny Curry, agreeing to that debate just hours before it will take place.
Brown previously declined Action News' invitation a month ago. He said Wednesday he changed his mind because he wants to "look Lenny in the eye" and rebut criticism Curry has leveled in the course of the campaign — criticism that Brown labeled distortion and lies.
"The decision was made to defend the city of Jacksonville," Brown said. "Lenny Curry has been going around over the last few months, but especially over the last several weeks, and has done nothing but criticize Jacksonville. He's lied about who we are and what we've accomplished and sought to diminish our incredible growth over the last four years."
The decision was made to defend the city of Jacksonville........ ::)
If the survey is conducted without cell phones in the model, it's useless. Ask President Romney. Of course, this will be a blue hair election as few people under 40 vote in odd year local elections.
Tonight's spectacle will look like a GOP primary which is sad. Lenny Curry's people believe he won already (before the debate) despite the fact his answers and talking points could fit on a cocktail napkin. After the Palin-Biden debate in 2008, the GOP is convinced debates can be won by trained chimps so long as the answers are sufficiently vacuous and accusatory. Curry is too disciplined to fall into any rabbit holes laid by Brown I'm afraid.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2015, 06:15:31 PM
http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-06/story/mayor-brown-agrees-action-news-debate-challenger-lenny-curry#cxrecs_s (http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2015-05-06/story/mayor-brown-agrees-action-news-debate-challenger-lenny-curry#cxrecs_s)
Mayor Brown caves...... :o
QuoteMayor Alvin Brown said Wednesday he will participate in an Action News debate with challenger Lenny Curry, agreeing to that debate just hours before it will take place.
Brown previously declined Action News' invitation a month ago. He said Wednesday he changed his mind because he wants to "look Lenny in the eye" and rebut criticism Curry has leveled in the course of the campaign — criticism that Brown labeled distortion and lies.
"The decision was made to defend the city of Jacksonville," Brown said. "Lenny Curry has been going around over the last few months, but especially over the last several weeks, and has done nothing but criticize Jacksonville. He's lied about who we are and what we've accomplished and sought to diminish our incredible growth over the last four years."
The decision was made to defend the city of Jacksonville........ ::)
Oh wow. Hopefully he'll still doing the other two, right?
Tuning in now.
Wow! Mayor Alvin Brown uses the 'L"word in the first minute. I weep for our City!
"Laser focus?"
Could be a nail biter but similar polls had Hogan far ahead of Brown last go round and we know how that ended up. This is a snapshot from today. Anything can happen in two weeks.
"We're all working together, Republicans and Democrats. "
Mayor Brown discussing Jacksonville North Carolina, cause that sure ain't FL.
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2015, 07:46:09 PM
"We're all working together, Republicans and Democrats. "
Mayor Brown discussing Jacksonville North Carolina, cause that sure ain't FL.
actually it has been pretty clear for the past 4 years that Mayor Brown is not that partisan. Many of his policies and positions have been in complete opposition to general Democratic Party positions.
Also, Mayor Brown has crossover support from Republican elected officials....I'm still waiting for a Democratic official to endorse Curry.
I'd rather see who the competent officials are endorsing. Guess who's winning that race?
Quote from: Tacachale on May 06, 2015, 11:22:19 PM
I'd rather see who the competent officials are endorsing. Guess who's winning that race?
By competent do you mean Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and Rick Scott?
As for local officials, I think the Bill Bishop, Warren Jones, John Crescimbeni, and Stephen Joost are very competent councilmen
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 07, 2015, 08:06:07 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 06, 2015, 11:22:19 PM
I'd rather see who the competent officials are endorsing. Guess who's winning that race?
By competent do you mean Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and Rick Scott?
As for local officials, I think the Bill Bishop, Warren Jones, John Crescimbeni, and Stephen Joost are very competent councilmen
Yep, I'd regard Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as competent officials. Rick Scott must also be pretty important, considering how much Alvin invoked his name until the moment he backed Curry. I'll see your Rick Perry and raise you a Bill Cosby.
Locally, there's also Sheriff Rutherford, John Peyton, the FOP, the Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council, Ander Crenshaw, Aaron Bean, and John Delaney. Not knocking Jones, Joost, et al, but...
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 08:41:56 AM
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 07, 2015, 08:06:07 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 06, 2015, 11:22:19 PM
I'd rather see who the competent officials are endorsing. Guess who's winning that race?
By competent do you mean Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and Rick Scott?
As for local officials, I think the Bill Bishop, Warren Jones, John Crescimbeni, and Stephen Joost are very competent councilmen
Yep, I'd regard Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as competent officials. Rick Scott must also be pretty important, considering how much Alvin invoked his name until the moment he backed Curry. I'll see your Rick Perry and raise you a Bill Cosby.
Locally, there's also Sheriff Rutherford, John Peyton, the FOP, the Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council, Ander Crenshaw, Aaron Bean, and John Delaney. Not knocking Jones, Joost, et al, but...
Every proper name that you mentioned is simply a Republican endorsing a Republican (except for the last sentence of Brown endorsers, of course). Do you really think Rick Perry knows jack squat about the issues facing Jacksonville? I'd be impressed if he could point to it on a map frankly.
If the GOP party really gave a damn, they would have backed a genuinely competent candidate with a vision for the city, instead of handing out a 'reward' to one of their fellow party hacks.
Quote from: vicupstate on May 07, 2015, 10:46:03 AM
Every proper name that you mentioned is simply a Republican endorsing a Republican (except for the last sentence of Brown endorsers, of course). Do you really think Rick Perry knows jack squat about the issues facing Jacksonville? I'd be impressed if he could point to it on a map frankly.
If the GOP party really gave a damn, they would have backed a genuinely competent candidate with a vision for the city, instead of handing out a 'reward' to one of their fellow party hacks.
EXACTLY!!!
and then there is this....while I am no fan of Mike Hogan, Mayor Brown has shown crossover support. Curry continues to only show us big-name Republican supporters.
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/182305
Quote from: vicupstate on May 07, 2015, 10:46:03 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 08:41:56 AM
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 07, 2015, 08:06:07 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 06, 2015, 11:22:19 PM
I'd rather see who the competent officials are endorsing. Guess who's winning that race?
By competent do you mean Rick Perry, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney, and Rick Scott?
As for local officials, I think the Bill Bishop, Warren Jones, John Crescimbeni, and Stephen Joost are very competent councilmen
Yep, I'd regard Jeb Bush and Marco Rubio as competent officials. Rick Scott must also be pretty important, considering how much Alvin invoked his name until the moment he backed Curry. I'll see your Rick Perry and raise you a Bill Cosby.
Locally, there's also Sheriff Rutherford, John Peyton, the FOP, the Chamber of Commerce, the Civic Council, Ander Crenshaw, Aaron Bean, and John Delaney. Not knocking Jones, Joost, et al, but...
Every proper name that you mentioned is simply a Republican endorsing a Republican (except for the last sentence of Brown endorsers, of course). Do you really think Rick Perry knows jack squat about the issues facing Jacksonville? I'd be impressed if he could point to it on a map frankly.
Who cares their party if they're competent? All the party connection really shows is that competent politicians in Jax and Florida tend to be Republicans. (Not that every Republican is competent, or their endorsement is relevant to the race; I don't care about Rick Perry any more than I care Bill Cosby.)
There's also the Civic Council and Chamber endorsements, not to mention the various folks who supported Brown in 2011 but switched in 2015.
Quote from: vicupstate on May 07, 2015, 10:46:03 AM
If the GOP party really gave a damn, they would have backed a genuinely competent candidate with a vision for the city, instead of handing out a 'reward' to one of their fellow party hacks.
Exactly the same thing is true of the Democrats: if the party gave a damn, they wouldn't have dumped millions into electing an unproven nobody in 2011, and then re-electing him in 2015 even after he proved to be a disaster. Both parties are only involved here because this is an important region in state and national elections.
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 07, 2015, 11:23:27 AM
and then there is this....while I am no fan of Mike Hogan, Mayor Brown has shown crossover support. Curry continues to only show us big-name Republican supporters.
http://floridapolitics.com/archives/182305
I'll certainly give Brown credit for being bi-partisan. It's definitely one of his strengths. However, it hasn't made him a competent mayor, which is the real problem.
QuoteExactly the same thing is true of the Democrats: if the party gave a damn, they wouldn't have dumped millions into electing an unproven nobody in 2011, and then re-electing him in 2015 even after he proved to be a disaster. Both parties are only involved here because this is an important region in state and national elections.
Curry is an unproved nobody as well. At least Brown has already gone through the learning curve and will be term-limited.
Democrats supported Brown because they needed someone to run and he was willing and reasonably qualified. They only poured money into the race when it was obvious the GOP nominee was toxic. They saw a chance to break the iron grip of the GOP, and rightly took advantage of it. They support him this time, because when you are the minority party and you have an incumbent that is not convicted of a crime, you support them. If Hogan had won and been a lousy mayor, the GOP would support him too.
QuoteAt least Brown has already gone through the learning curve and will be term-limited.
That is the same argument the "I'm with Alvin" crowd made 4 years ago. Try out a new guy they said, he'll be different. He was everything but better. Keep going with that argument, Brown has experience........he has experience passing the buck to City Council.
Who wants 4 more years of passing the buck? You get that with Alvin.
Here are some current stats on where the voting stands for the May 19th runoff as it will impact the mayors race and others.
As of todays date and time there have been 70,249 mail in ballots requested.
The breakdown of votes shown here are from yesterdays totals as the polls are still open today.
35,165 via mail
15,839 early votes at polling sites
10 provisional
The party breakdown is: 23,134 Republican
21,839 Democrat
5,931 Other
The other category is what this election will turn on in my view. :)
Quote from: vicupstate on May 07, 2015, 12:45:34 PM
QuoteExactly the same thing is true of the Democrats: if the party gave a damn, they wouldn't have dumped millions into electing an unproven nobody in 2011, and then re-electing him in 2015 even after he proved to be a disaster. Both parties are only involved here because this is an important region in state and national elections.
Curry is an unproved nobody as well. At least Brown has already gone through the learning curve and will be term-limited.
what folks should have learned from the first terms of Peyton and Brown is not to elect someone mayor who has had no previous governing experience.
That same adage now applies to Mr. Curry
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 07, 2015, 02:19:55 PM
That is the same argument the "I'm with Alvin" crowd made 4 years ago. Try out a new guy they said, he'll be different. He was everything but better. Keep going with that argument, Brown has experience........he has experience passing the buck to City Council.
I was with Alvin four years ago and never made such claim. In fact, I am skeptical of any politician that claims government experience isn't important when running for a "chief executive" office. See post above.
Quote from: vicupstate on May 07, 2015, 12:45:34 PM
QuoteExactly the same thing is true of the Democrats: if the party gave a damn, they wouldn't have dumped millions into electing an unproven nobody in 2011, and then re-electing him in 2015 even after he proved to be a disaster. Both parties are only involved here because this is an important region in state and national elections.
Curry is an unproved nobody as well. At least Brown has already gone through the learning curve and will be term-limited.
Democrats supported Brown because they needed someone to run and he was willing and reasonably qualified. They only poured money into the race when it was obvious the GOP nominee was toxic. They saw a chance to break the iron grip of the GOP, and rightly took advantage of it. They support him this time, because when you are the minority party and you have an incumbent that is not convicted of a crime, you support them. If Hogan had won and been a lousy mayor, the GOP would support him too.
Curry has much more real experience that Brown has even now. As far as the learning curve goes, I have yet to see any evidence that Brown has gone through it.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 03:33:20 PM
Quote from: vicupstate on May 07, 2015, 12:45:34 PM
QuoteExactly the same thing is true of the Democrats: if the party gave a damn, they wouldn't have dumped millions into electing an unproven nobody in 2011, and then re-electing him in 2015 even after he proved to be a disaster. Both parties are only involved here because this is an important region in state and national elections.
Curry is an unproved nobody as well. At least Brown has already gone through the learning curve and will be term-limited.
Democrats supported Brown because they needed someone to run and he was willing and reasonably qualified. They only poured money into the race when it was obvious the GOP nominee was toxic. They saw a chance to break the iron grip of the GOP, and rightly took advantage of it. They support him this time, because when you are the minority party and you have an incumbent that is not convicted of a crime, you support them. If Hogan had won and been a lousy mayor, the GOP would support him too.
Curry has much more real experience that Brown has even now. As far as the learning curve goes, I have yet to see any evidence that Brown has gone through it.
That simply is not so. :) If nothing else Brown has been inside the city system for the last four years. Curry has never had anything to do with city politics or any knowledge of how the city machine works. There will be a learning curve for him if elected and his scant few years in business and as the GOP chairman again does not give him the needed experience in government. Not defending Brown either. I am ever so aware of his short comings but he does have experience now that Curry does not. That is just the fact of the matter.
To me, the two things Curry brings to the table are his strengths in accounting and management of staff. He does have 20 years of experience in that area and this is something everyone who has worked with him will tell you. They're also two of the key strengths a mayor will need to get us out of the current mess. Brown has been in office for four years, and he's got a lot of other positive qualities, but I'm sorry, I just don't see any evidence that's he's learning or improving in these areas. If I did I'd be right there with you.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 03:55:46 PM
To me, the two things Curry brings to the table are his strengths in accounting and management of staff. He does have 20 years of experience in that area and this is something everyone who has worked with him will tell you. They're also two of the key strengths a mayor will need to get us out of the current mess. Brown has been in office for four years, and he's got a lot of other positive qualities, but I'm sorry, I just don't see any evidence that's he's learning or improving in these areas. If I did I'd be right there with you.
I understand your view. To me an accounting background is not enough. Running a city is far different from either of the area's of experience he has. Lori Boyer will be on the council next term along with Bill Guilliford and John Crescimbeni who all know the flaws in our accounting and budgeting system. Brown did not have any experience in local government or city functions when he ran, in my opinion which is why I did not support him at that time and supported his opponent. :)
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 03:55:46 PM
To me, the two things Curry brings to the table are his strengths in accounting and management of staff. He does have 20 years of experience in that area and this is something everyone who has worked with him will tell you. They're also two of the key strengths a mayor will need to get us out of the current mess. Brown has been in office for four years, and he's got a lot of other positive qualities, but I'm sorry, I just don't see any evidence that's he's learning or improving in these areas. If I did I'd be right there with you.
Yeah but...
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on May 07, 2015, 02:41:56 PM
The more thought I give it, the more unimportant I think it is for the mayor to produce a yearly budget. It's not going to happen. Your guy Curry isn't going to be able to do it either, advanced math or not, when every department under you is requesting a larger budget from the previous year and the revenue is still stagnant, if not declining. Isn't he running on a 'no new taxes' mantra as well?
Which programs are you willing to see cut? Wouldn't the representatives of each district be more in tune with what's essential and what not?
I may be mistaken, but doesn't the CFO come up with the budget and the CEO only signs off? Who's the CFO for the city?
Hell, it seems this forum contains a wealth of fiduciary genius based on the sheer quantity of criticism of the budget. I'm sure the city would put up a plaque in a very prominent place, using the money you saved, if you'd quit being so secretive and just donate your wondrous plan to the city for the benefit of all of us.
QuoteTo me an accounting background is not enough. Running a city is far different from either of the area's of experience he has.
Vote for who you feel is best. I respect that.
But its absurd to suggest that a CPA with extensive experience with auditing, financial analysis, process improvement and developing financial operational procedures for companies with larger budgets than COJ isn't the exact definition of someone that is qualified to handle municipal budget issues.
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on May 07, 2015, 04:07:13 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 03:55:46 PM
To me, the two things Curry brings to the table are his strengths in accounting and management of staff. He does have 20 years of experience in that area and this is something everyone who has worked with him will tell you. They're also two of the key strengths a mayor will need to get us out of the current mess. Brown has been in office for four years, and he's got a lot of other positive qualities, but I'm sorry, I just don't see any evidence that's he's learning or improving in these areas. If I did I'd be right there with you.
Yeah but...
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on May 07, 2015, 02:41:56 PM
The more thought I give it, the more unimportant I think it is for the mayor to produce a yearly budget. It's not going to happen. Your guy Curry isn't going to be able to do it either, advanced math or not, when every department under you is requesting a larger budget from the previous year and the revenue is still stagnant, if not declining. Isn't he running on a 'no new taxes' mantra as well?
Which programs are you willing to see cut? Wouldn't the representatives of each district be more in tune with what's essential and what not?
I may be mistaken, but doesn't the CFO come up with the budget and the CEO only signs off? Who's the CFO for the city?
Hell, it seems this forum contains a wealth of fiduciary genius based on the sheer quantity of criticism of the budget. I'm sure the city would put up a plaque in a very prominent place, using the money you saved, if you'd quit being so secretive and just donate your wondrous plan to the city for the benefit of all of us.
Yes, there's a CFO of the city, but they report to the mayor. That goes to my point about staff and management. Outlining a yearly balanced budget is one of the responsibilities of the mayor's administration, so the buck stops with him on this issue.
Quote from: fieldafm on May 07, 2015, 04:36:08 PM
QuoteTo me an accounting background is not enough. Running a city is far different from either of the area's of experience he has.
Vote for who you feel is best. I respect that.
But its absurd to suggest that a CPA with extensive experience with auditing, financial analysis, process improvement and developing financial operational procedures for companies with larger budgets than COJ isn't the exact definition of someone that is qualified to handle municipal budget issues.
When your business is not making enough money and all of the department heads are already crying because they already feel they're short-staffed and already over-budget, which department do you bulk up first, Sales or Accounting?
He said he wouldn't raise taxes.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 04:42:18 PM
... so the buck stops with him on this issue.
If the buck stopped with him on the issue, then there would be no need for the council to approve it in the first place.
I've said it before; I'll say it again - stop focusing on the single issues and try to look at the entire debacle comprehensively. It's not going to end until someone with the backbone to stand up and say enough is enough and force each department to do better with what they already have. Brown isn't that guy and I have ZERO inclination that Curry is either.
Sometimes getting out of the way of things is the best option.
But LEADERSHIP???? I hear you, but leadership in the wrong direction is what?
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2xabXQCf1L8/U1fcdNWUNmI/AAAAAAAAOzA/qqvlKO5Cbbo/s1600/marchingband_zpsb8f193d8.gif)
Quote from: fieldafm on May 07, 2015, 04:36:08 PM
QuoteTo me an accounting background is not enough. Running a city is far different from either of the area's of experience he has.
Vote for who you feel is best. I respect that.
But its absurd to suggest that a CPA with extensive experience with auditing, financial analysis, process improvement and developing financial operational procedures for companies with larger budgets than COJ isn't the exact definition of someone that is qualified to handle municipal budget issues.
I did not say he was unqualified to handle municipal budgets. Let's be clear about that. I said that his background does not include any experience dealing with city government or it's functions. The position of the mayor is not that of accountant, it is much broader and includes the ability to understand the workings of all the departments along with the ability to embrace the entire community as a whole, it's needs, wants and desires and serve them all in an equitable fashion. All of the chest pounding about being conservative and only voting republican along with the negative connotations about our President, has defined a worrisome narrow mindset on the part of a potential leader for what is supposed to be a non-partisan position. I don't see any way that Curry will effectively be able to reach out to much less understand the many people in our struggling neighborhoods or find balance with the more liberal thinkers who drive much of what is good in Jacksonville. In order to do that he would have to be willing to look at the city through their eyes and not the eyes of a GOP conservative hardliner. He is too polarized in his beliefs and statements. Again, my opinion.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 03:55:46 PM
To me, the two things Curry brings to the table are his strengths in accounting and management of staff. He does have 20 years of experience in that area and this is something everyone who has worked with him will tell you. They're also two of the key strengths a mayor will need to get us out of the current mess. Brown has been in office for four years, and he's got a lot of other positive qualities, but I'm sorry, I just don't see any evidence that's he's learning or improving in these areas. If I did I'd be right there with you.
an accounting background is a requirement for the budget officer...in Brown's case, that would be Ronnie Belton
Quote from: fieldafm on May 07, 2015, 04:36:08 PM
QuoteTo me an accounting background is not enough. Running a city is far different from either of the area's of experience he has.
Vote for who you feel is best. I respect that.
But its absurd to suggest that a CPA with extensive experience with auditing, financial analysis, process improvement and developing financial operational procedures for companies with larger budgets than COJ isn't the exact definition of someone that is qualified to handle municipal budget issues.
except that running a company and running a local government are hardly similar.
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 06, 2015, 09:58:51 PM
Quote from: mtraininjax on May 06, 2015, 07:46:09 PM
"We're all working together, Republicans and Democrats. "
Mayor Brown discussing Jacksonville North Carolina, cause that sure ain't FL.
actually it has been pretty clear for the past 4 years that Mayor Brown is not that partisan. Many of his policies and positions have been in complete opposition to general Democratic Party positions.
Also, Mayor Brown has crossover support from Republican elected officials....I'm still waiting for a Democratic official to endorse Curry.
Here you go:
http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,24278.0.html
Curry has been backed by Johnny Gaffney, who also seemed to confirm that Brown pressured him into flipping his vote and defeating the Human Rights Ordinance in 2012.
Red,
Curry however was much worse on the subject and pretended that he didn't know the gay people were discriminated against despite being involved with several statewide groups whose mission is to discriminate against LGBT people
Will you censure this or are you talking out of your ass again?
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 07, 2015, 09:01:47 PM
Quote from: fieldafm on May 07, 2015, 04:36:08 PM
QuoteTo me an accounting background is not enough. Running a city is far different from either of the area's of experience he has.
Vote for who you feel is best. I respect that.
But its absurd to suggest that a CPA with extensive experience with auditing, financial analysis, process improvement and developing financial operational procedures for companies with larger budgets than COJ isn't the exact definition of someone that is qualified to handle municipal budget issues.
except that running a company and running a local government are hardly similar.
Another absurd statement. Again, vote for who you want to... but good managers are good managers. If you don't like someone's stance on an issue, then so be it. But to suggest that someone's skillset is not relevant because of your political leanings is exactly the kind of partisan BS that tuns off so many well qualified people to run for office.
^ I am hardly being partisan here. I voted for more Republicans by far in the primary than Democrats. As for stances on issues, I'm still waiting to hear some from Curry. Saying he doesn't believe there is discrimination in Jax. isn't much of a stance (and yes I'm very aware that saying I don't believe in discrimination in any form isn't much better).
That said, facts are facts. Just because Rick Scott may have known how to run a hospital company (debatable) did not in any way make him ready for running the state of Florida. he continues to have a hard time dealing with the Legislature, media, etc. and does not seem top understand what the word compromise even means.
The same could very well be said about Brown...and I am afraid based on some of the tough tactics used so far on folks who don't fall in line, Curry could be worse.
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 08, 2015, 08:11:10 AM
^ I am hardly being partisan here. I voted for more Republicans by far in the primary than Democrats. As for stances on issues, I'm still waiting to hear some from Curry. Saying he doesn't believe there is discrimination in Jax. isn't much of a stance (and yes I'm very aware that saying I don't believe in discrimination in any form isn't much better).
That said, facts are facts. Just because Rick Scott may have known how to run a hospital company (debatable) did not in any way make him ready for running the state of Florida. he continues to have a hard time dealing with the Legislature, media, etc. and does not seem top understand what the word compromise even means.
The same could very well be said about Brown...and I am afraid based on some of the tough tactics used so far on folks who don't fall in line, Curry could be worse.
Quote from: tufsu1 on May 08, 2015, 08:11:10 AM
^ I am hardly being partisan here. I voted for more Republicans by far in the primary than Democrats. As for stances on issues, I'm still waiting to hear some from Curry. Saying he doesn't believe there is discrimination in Jax. isn't much of a stance (and yes I'm very aware that saying I don't believe in discrimination in any form isn't much better).
That said, facts are facts. Just because Rick Scott may have known how to run a hospital company (debatable) did not in any way make him ready for running the state of Florida. he continues to have a hard time dealing with the Legislature, media, etc. and does not seem top understand what the word compromise even means.
The same could very well be said about Brown...and I am afraid based on some of the tough tactics used so far on folks who don't fall in line, Curry could be worse.
All good points. Running a business and running something public and political like a major city are VERY,VERY different. See John Peyton. Peyton acted like the City Council didn't even exist in his first term. He was use to having his way and running a government will never be that way. CEO types are not use to sharing power or building support for his initiatives outside of a few yes men in there boardrooms. Running a political party is based on creating disagreement, not building bridges and seeking compromise.
Some business types do quite well in politics and just as many do not.
Which brings me to a series of questions regarding Curry's business experience. How large is his company? Did he grow it from scratch or some other scenario? How many employees does it have and what are it's annual revenues? The COJ is a billion dollar a year operation, and this is his only relevant experience for the job, so the answers are very important.
^No matter how you slice it, Curry's experience is going to come out looking better than Brown's. Not only did he have even less experience than Curry, he's effectively proven over the last four years that he's not up to the job.
Quote from: Tacachale on May 08, 2015, 09:42:09 AM
^No matter how you slice it, Curry's experience is going to come out looking better than Brown's. Not only did he have even less experience than Curry, he's effectively proven over the last four years that he's not up to the job.
No matter how you slice it, Lenny Curry is a Republican politician which will take priority before any other 'business'. Lenny Curry is a young white male, who has been groomed by the Republican party to take Jacksonville, FL. Candidates don't receive endorsement from Rick Perry for being a good accountant. Gov. Scott's endorsement would be for Micky Mouse if Mickey was the only Republican in the race. Lenny Curry will only be part from the Republican stance if elected for 4 years. Mayor Alvin Brown will work w/ others and I do admire the strong leadership he has taken On a FEW things.
Any Gaffney endorsement lacks credibility. Period. I haven't read the article, but if Gaffney endorse Curry because he said 'he was pressured by Brown to change his vote on HRO" shows a person with a spine made out of paper. A spine made out of money he expects from others when they do their dirty work. Again, I have personal experiences w/ both Gaffney's (actual 3) so I'm stating from experiences on how Gaffney rolls.
^Ok, but none of that changes the way the two candidates' respective experience shapes up. Curry has 20 years experience in accounting and management from running a business, apparently successfully. Brown had several years unsuccessfully running a college football game and charity, and now four years unsuccessfully running a city.
Quote from: Jax native on May 08, 2015, 09:53:52 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 08, 2015, 09:42:09 AM
^No matter how you slice it, Curry's experience is going to come out looking better than Brown's. Not only did he have even less experience than Curry, he's effectively proven over the last four years that he's not up to the job.
No matter how you slice it, Lenny Curry is a Republican politician which will take priority before any other 'business'. Lenny Curry is a young white male, who has been groomed by the Republican party to take Jacksonville, FL. Candidates don't receive endorsement from Rick Perry for being a good accountant. Gov. Scott's endorsement would be for Micky Mouse if Mickey was the only Republican in the race. Lenny Curry will not part from the Republican stance if elected for 4 years. Mayor Alvin Brown will work w/ others and I do admire the strong leadership he has taken On a FEW things.
Any Gaffney endorsement lacks credibility. Period. I haven't read the article, but if Gaffney endorse Curry because he said 'he was pressured by Brown to change his vote on HRO" shows a person with a spine made out of paper. A spine made out of money he expects from others when they do their dirty work. Again, I have personal experiences w/ both Gaffney's (actual 3) so I'm stating from experiences on how Gaffney rolls.
I agree with much of this but can't think of a thing of importance that Brown has actually led on. He is weak in leadership. In my decision I had to balance that against the far right GOP associations of Curry in politics and money and found those to be deal breakers along with who he surrounded himself with during the campaign. Curry is a repeat of Peyton in many ways.
Quote from: Non-RedNeck Westsider on May 07, 2015, 04:52:51 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 07, 2015, 04:42:18 PM
... so the buck stops with him on this issue.
If the buck stopped with him on the issue, then there would be no need for the council to approve it in the first place.
I've said it before; I'll say it again - stop focusing on the single issues and try to look at the entire debacle comprehensively. It's not going to end until someone with the backbone to stand up and say enough is enough and force each department to do better with what they already have. Brown isn't that guy and I have ZERO inclination that Curry is either.
Sometimes getting out of the way of things is the best option.
But LEADERSHIP???? I hear you, but leadership in the wrong direction is what?
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2xabXQCf1L8/U1fcdNWUNmI/AAAAAAAAOzA/qqvlKO5Cbbo/s1600/marchingband_zpsb8f193d8.gif)
If there was anyone way to star this comment w/ the gif, I'll give you 1,000 stars. Loved it.
Quote from: stephendare on May 08, 2015, 11:18:16 AM
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on May 08, 2015, 11:03:02 AM
Quote from: Jax native on May 08, 2015, 09:53:52 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 08, 2015, 09:42:09 AM
^No matter how you slice it, Curry's experience is going to come out looking better than Brown's. Not only did he have even less experience than Curry, he's effectively proven over the last four years that he's not up to the job.
No matter how you slice it, Lenny Curry is a Republican politician which will take priority before any other 'business'. Lenny Curry is a young white male, who has been groomed by the Republican party to take Jacksonville, FL. Candidates don't receive endorsement from Rick Perry for being a good accountant. Gov. Scott's endorsement would be for Micky Mouse if Mickey was the only Republican in the race. Lenny Curry will not part from the Republican stance if elected for 4 years. Mayor Alvin Brown will work w/ others and I do admire the strong leadership he has taken On a FEW things.
Any Gaffney endorsement lacks credibility. Period. I haven't read the article, but if Gaffney endorse Curry because he said 'he was pressured by Brown to change his vote on HRO" shows a person with a spine made out of paper. A spine made out of money he expects from others when they do their dirty work. Again, I have personal experiences w/ both Gaffney's (actual 3) so I'm stating from experiences on how Gaffney rolls.
I agree with much of this but can't think of a thing of importance that Brown has actually led on. He is weak in leadership. In my decision I had to balance that against the far right GOP associations of Curry in politics and money and found those to be deal breakers along with who he surrounded himself with during the campaign. Curry is a repeat of Peyton in many ways.
I can think of a couple that the Mayor has led on.
1. Sports Development and emphasizing that it be downtown.
2. Downtown itself. There has been a hell of a lot more direct action downtown that leads to actual people coming there than the past 15 years.
3. Finally asserting the tool of foreclosing on historic buildings that are being demolished through neglect as in the case of the Bostwick Building.
4. Making literally the first effort from the city hall side of things to understand and improve public education by appointing a person to do that.
5. Having the largest outreach to the hispanic community, the african american chamber of commerce and the Asian community in the history of Jville. The mayor has built each of these communities into the process of government, and for the first time in a long time the decision making process involving community organizations looks a lot more like the city than any other administration of the past 30 years. I know a lot of the white people on these forums know little or nothing about how many residents these organizations represent, but its substantial.
In prior years, the 'diversity' effort has mostly been a bunch of white people occasionally meeting with a few fundamentalist preachers with big african american (voting) congregations to talk about 'poverty' and crime, but nothing else of much importance to the daily lives of businesses and negotiating your way through the various institutional layers of the city.
Brown has quietly and effectively included a much larger group of citizens in this community, and not just along black and white lines. I was actually surprised how much communication goes on with the Asian and Latino communities.
But since we appear to be mostly considering the opinions of white republicans, Im not surprised that this hasn't been seen as 'leadership'.
We could have a long drawn out discussion about the things you mentioned. :) For me leadership is about stepping up and taking a stand on difficult issues that impact the everyday lives of average citizens across the county in all of Duval. I am not saying your points are without merit but we differ on the degree of their importance and that is okay.
Quote from: stephendare on May 11, 2015, 04:58:06 PM
From our partners at channel four:
http://www.news4jax.com/news/expert-shift-in-early-voting-trend-could-signal-surprise/32946876
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -
With just over a week until Jacksonville elects its next sheriff and mayor, voters have one week left to vote early, and it looks like a voting trend has changed.
Only the party a voter belongs to is released, not who they voted for, because those votes are not announced until the polls close Election Day. But it appears more Democrats are heading out to vote than Republicans.
News4Jax political analyst Jennifer Carroll said the shift means Republicans need to worry.
"What we may see as a surprise, particularly from the Republican side, is that Lenny Curry may not come out of this," Carroll said. "Because so far the Republican base assumes that Lenny Curry has it in the bag, that he should be the victor."
Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said the push is on. He is still calling for a 40 to 41 percent voter turnout by Tuesday. There were no record numbers of early voters this weekend, but that's likely to change this week
A real nail biter. Neither side should be too sure of a victory.
Quote from: stephendare on May 11, 2015, 05:57:54 PM
exactly. and to be honest, this is a pretty typical kind of statement from Jennifer Carroll. Its part of the Get Out the Vote operation.
Let people know that the candidate you most want to win is in danger of losing to make sure they go vote. Isn't there usually a democratic advantage in early voting but a republican advantage in absentee voting?
Nail on head Stephen. :)
^^yes, on the early voting comment. Following is a story from Jac.com on the early voter and mail in votes from the first round:
Democrats had an impressive weekend in early voting: they will head into Tuesday's election with about a 5 percent turnout advantage over Republicans.
The quick partisan breakdown of early and mail-in ballots: Democrats cast 40,979 votes, Republicans cast 36,432, and voters belonging to "other" parties cast 9,805.
Lenny straight up asking "Do you think I'm a racist?"
whoa
Good lawd. This debate.....
(http://www.myscienceproject.org/nail/Jello_06_9straws_after.jpg)
Quote from: stephendare on May 08, 2015, 11:18:16 AM
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on May 08, 2015, 11:03:02 AM
Quote from: Jax native on May 08, 2015, 09:53:52 AM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 08, 2015, 09:42:09 AM
^No matter how you slice it, Curry's experience is going to come out looking better than Brown's. Not only did he have even less experience than Curry, he's effectively proven over the last four years that he's not up to the job.
No matter how you slice it, Lenny Curry is a Republican politician which will take priority before any other 'business'. Lenny Curry is a young white male, who has been groomed by the Republican party to take Jacksonville, FL. Candidates don't receive endorsement from Rick Perry for being a good accountant. Gov. Scott's endorsement would be for Micky Mouse if Mickey was the only Republican in the race. Lenny Curry will not part from the Republican stance if elected for 4 years. Mayor Alvin Brown will work w/ others and I do admire the strong leadership he has taken On a FEW things.
Any Gaffney endorsement lacks credibility. Period. I haven't read the article, but if Gaffney endorse Curry because he said 'he was pressured by Brown to change his vote on HRO" shows a person with a spine made out of paper. A spine made out of money he expects from others when they do their dirty work. Again, I have personal experiences w/ both Gaffney's (actual 3) so I'm stating from experiences on how Gaffney rolls.
I agree with much of this but can't think of a thing of importance that Brown has actually led on. He is weak in leadership. In my decision I had to balance that against the far right GOP associations of Curry in politics and money and found those to be deal breakers along with who he surrounded himself with during the campaign. Curry is a repeat of Peyton in many ways.
I can think of a couple that the Mayor has led on.
1. Sports Development and emphasizing that it be downtown.
Giving Khan anything he wants? Great example
2. Downtown itself. There has been a hell of a lot more direct action downtown that leads to actual people coming there than the past 15 years.
Giving Slieman anything he wants? see above
3. Finally asserting the tool of foreclosing on historic buildings that are being demolished through neglect as in the case of the Bostwick Building.
One rich person with more money than sense? congrats
4. Making literally the first effort from the city hall side of things to understand and improve public education by appointing a person to do that.
5. Having the largest outreach to the hispanic community, the african american chamber of commerce and the Asian community in the history of Jville. The mayor has built each of these communities into the process of government, and for the first time in a long time the decision making process involving community organizations looks a lot more like the city than any other administration of the past 30 years. I know a lot of the white people on these forums know little or nothing about how many residents these organizations represent, but its substantial.
So the worst 4 years of crime and murder in Duvals history is considered "outreach"
In prior years, the 'diversity' effort has mostly been a bunch of white people occasionally meeting with a few fundamentalist preachers with big african american (voting) congregations to talk about 'poverty' and crime, but nothing else of much importance to the daily lives of businesses and negotiating your way through the various institutional layers of the city.
Brown has quietly and effectively included a much larger group of citizens in this community, and not just along black and white lines. I was actually surprised how much communication goes on with the Asian and Latino communities.
But since we appear to be mostly considering the opinions of white republicans, Im not surprised that this hasn't been seen as 'leadership'.
How has Alvin led on the HRO? Would it have been 19-0 without his leadership?
Quote from: thelakelander on May 11, 2015, 07:51:24 PM
Good lawd. This debate.....
(http://www.myscienceproject.org/nail/Jello_06_9straws_after.jpg)
^ Yes, this.
I was in the room with the rest of the #jaxpol tweeters. Groans were heard as both candidates artfully (and not so artfully on the HRO) dodged.
It was brutal. 8 days.
Quote from: Jimmy on May 11, 2015, 11:18:43 PM
Quote from: thelakelander on May 11, 2015, 07:51:24 PM
Good lawd. This debate.....
(http://www.myscienceproject.org/nail/Jello_06_9straws_after.jpg)
^ Yes, this.
I was in the room with the rest of the #jaxpol tweeters. Groans were heard as both candidates artfully (and not so artfully on the HRO) dodged.
So why support such a clown?
It was brutal. 8 days.
Quote from: bill on May 11, 2015, 11:17:03 PM
Quote from: stephendare on May 08, 2015, 11:18:16 AM
I can think of a couple that the Mayor has led on.
1. Sports Development and emphasizing that it be downtown.
Giving Khan anything he wants? Great example
2. Downtown itself. There has been a hell of a lot more direct action downtown that leads to actual people coming there than the past 15 years.
Giving Slieman anything he wants? see above
3. Finally asserting the tool of foreclosing on historic buildings that are being demolished through neglect as in the case of the Bostwick Building.
One rich person with more money than sense? congrats
How has Alvin led on the HRO? Would it have been 19-0 without his leadership?
What has he given Sleiman? Have you seen a different landing in the past 4 years than I have? Look, I don't think downtown is far enough along compared to other cities, but it seems like there is at least a direction here.
And as far as sports, the only thing that Khan has received was the 2/3 of the costs of the scoreboards and pools (and look, what Pro Sports owner doesn't get 40 million for a city-owned facility every few years so Jax is hardly unique in this).
We've had a quite a good run of sports events for a mid-sized city (USMNT Send-Off Game, NCAA Regional Tournament, Curling in 2016, etc.). Some of these are pretty random (e.g. Curling even though I like it) but at least he's carving out his thing and going after it.
And as far as historic preservation, when was the last time that a historic building downtown that is marked for demolition DIDN'T come down? I honestly can't remember. I actually think that's a pretty good win. Did Brown do it himself? Certainly not. However, if you're going to blame the CEO when something goes bad, give the man credit when something goes well.
Look, vote for who you want (voting for Curry because of Brown's fiscal policies or his woeful performance on HRO can hardly be argued), but if you're decision is based on Khan and Sleiman being in his pocket, then you clearly are disconnected from the current going's on.
Besides, you're going to vote for the former chair of the Florida Republican party because you don't like people having their hand in the pockets of politicians? I'm a Republican and that makes no sense.
Its not what he has given Sleiman or Khan, its what they have given him, financial and public support......with the hope down the road that he will do the same. You'd have to have "come down with the last drop of rain" to not realize that a Brown Administration is going to be an easier road for Sleiman (and his Landing Projects) and Khan (and his shipyard projects) than a new Curry Administration. I'm a Republican and even I see that one.
I find more fault with Brown over his inept leadership when it comes to things like the Budget, the HRO issue, Laurie Boyer finding 50 million in funds to help pay for basic city services. Besides Brown showing up for every camera opportunity, and the cameras do love him, I think he should be getting more help or new help on the city's finances. If his pension plan was such a good one, why didn't the City Council buy in? He shot himself in the foot with them in the beginning and now he has created an adversarial approach with them, one that will continue another 4 years. No matter what happens around him and in this city, I don't see him as a leader of our great city, he's only a caretaker.
Quote from: Steve on May 12, 2015, 08:48:04 AM
Quote from: bill on May 11, 2015, 11:17:03 PM
Quote from: stephendare on May 08, 2015, 11:18:16 AM
I can think of a couple that the Mayor has led on.
1. Sports Development and emphasizing that it be downtown.
Giving Khan anything he wants? Great example
2. Downtown itself. There has been a hell of a lot more direct action downtown that leads to actual people coming there than the past 15 years.
Giving Slieman anything he wants? see above
3. Finally asserting the tool of foreclosing on historic buildings that are being demolished through neglect as in the case of the Bostwick Building.
One rich person with more money than sense? congrats
How has Alvin led on the HRO? Would it have been 19-0 without his leadership?
What has he given Sleiman? Have you seen a different landing in the past 4 years than I have? Look, I don't think downtown is far enough along compared to other cities, but it seems like there is at least a direction here.
And as far as sports, the only thing that Khan has received was the 2/3 of the costs of the scoreboards and pools (and look, what Pro Sports owner doesn't get 40 million for a city-owned facility every few years so Jax is hardly unique in this).
We've had a quite a good run of sports events for a mid-sized city (USMNT Send-Off Game, NCAA Regional Tournament, Curling in 2016, etc.). Some of these are pretty random (e.g. Curling even though I like it) but at least he's carving out his thing and going after it.
And as far as historic preservation, when was the last time that a historic building downtown that is marked for demolition DIDN'T come down? I honestly can't remember. I actually think that's a pretty good win. Did Brown do it himself? Certainly not. However, if you're going to blame the CEO when something goes bad, give the man credit when something goes well.
Look, vote for who you want (voting for Curry because of Brown's fiscal policies or his woeful performance on HRO can hardly be argued), but if you're decision is based on Khan and Sleiman being in his pocket, then you clearly are disconnected from the current going's on.
Besides, you're going to vote for the former chair of the Florida Republican party because you don't like people having their hand in the pockets of politicians? I'm a Republican and that makes no sense.
Well Sleiman did get a crapload of credits to build his roads for his project out at Hodges and Atlantic.
QuoteWhat has he given Sleiman?
$11 million in Mobility Fee credits... which can also be sold (for cash) to other developers.
The FY2014/2015 budget proposed by the Mayor also included $11.8million to be given to the Jacksonville Landing for redevelopment purposes (all of which taxpayers would have had to borrow), which was subsequently denied by City Council.
No opinion stated, just facts.
You do realize that Rummell currently derives income from AvalonBay which produces these 'sprawlsters' like:
Little Tokyo (LA)
(http://i.oodleimg.com/item/3639298051u_3x424x360f_apartments_for_rent_in_los_angeles_ca/?1421752390)
Back Bay (Boston)
(http://www.rentlingo.com/rentals/ava-back-bay-boston)
University District (Seattle)
(http://www.apartmentsearch.com/apartments/washington/seattle/ava-university-district-apartments#)
Who's also the chief financier of this small Jacksonville-based shin dig called 'One Spark'
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8763/16874445797_67694726fb.jpg)
And who is about to embark on this 'sprawling' downtown development project called Healthy Town
(http://www.metrojacksonville.com/assets/thumbs/image.3795.feature.jpg)
But, good call trying to compare that to millions of dollars in taxpayer handouts for this:
(http://photos.metrojacksonville.com/photos/3712813168_jvp6Zxw-M.jpg)
Alvin Brown=Toney Sleiman
Lenny Curry=Peter Rummell
Thanks for making that distinction clear. Seems like a pretty no-brainer if you are a pro-downtown person (see above examples).
LOL. Field is probably the single fairest person on these forums when it comes to talking about Toney Sleiman. Especially compared to comments like these:
Quote from: stephendare on March 09, 2015, 02:46:41 PM
The Council has oversight over all government functions, obvsly. But this is one of those examples where a firm round of competent leadership under a mayor not partially captured by political clown cars like Sleiman's tea party would have already put an end to something this egregiously self serving.
Quote from: stephendare on February 12, 2014, 11:48:21 AM
Still cant get over all the people who werent stupid enough to fall for your candidate, Mike Hogan eh?
...
Seriously, can you even imagine a town run by the Tea Party and Toney Sleiman? That was where we were headed.
Plus this from 2011?
Quote from: stephendare on May 16, 2011, 08:43:46 AM
Brown will have the support of community stalwarts such as Peter Rummell, Hugh Greene, John Baker, Marty Lanahan, Bill Scheu, Pete Carpenter, Jim Rinaman and Walt Bussells.
Hogan will be listening to people like Toney Sleiman and Billie Tucker.
Brown is the best choice.
Anyway, the fact that Peter Rummell and Toney Sleiman are very different is clear. Just look at their projects. Hell, just look at the projects they're trying to pull off
downtown. There's no comparing Sleiman's Landing project to Rummell's Healthy Town.
Quotemr no spending
Wait, are we talking about Lenny Curry... or Alvin Brown? Because Brown submitted three budgets that were so bad that City Council had to do all of his dirty work for him. If it wasn't for City Council, Brown wouldn't have given the city enough money to do simple things like mow lawns and fix potholes.
Quotehe still doesn't believe that Jax has any examples of anti gay discrimination.
Are we talking about tax incentives, or about the HRO?
If you are talking about tax incentives, then yes I believe they should go to areas that have had systematic disinvestment for decades (downtown, In Town neighborhoods, etc) in order to spur redevelopment opportunities... not to strip malls on the Southside.
If you are talking about the HRO you'll have to forgive me then if I am not impressed by a man who did nothing for the HRO for four years, saw a bunch of poll numbers that indicated that he was going to have a tough time getting his base of voters to turn out mainly due to inaction on such broken promises as the HRO and then sent a memo to an attorney to 'study' the issue... an attorney who just so happens to be on leave until well after the election will be over with.
I fail to see where Brown has led with distinction on either of those issues.
I find this to be a very odd comment:
Quote from: stephendare on May 12, 2015, 02:32:20 PM
And that bizarre ideologue attitude is exactly what got us in the position of facing a Shands' closure. He would rather be ideologically pure than actually help the city.
He elected a governor that boxed himself into this pretty awful position as a result of multiple lies he told about how he would handle medicare. You know....to get elected. And his bizarre belief that as governor he should be against the ACA has brought us here. Curry showed last night that he is literally cut from the same cloth.
We've got to fight Obamacare? Really? Even if we go without a major hospital that serves the poorest among us.
It was just very very bizarre. And I wasn't sure what he was running for.
So *Curry* is to blame for the UF Health issue? Brown hasn't done boo for UF Health at any point in his term. He never even acknowledged it was a problem until the last few weeks. And even that has been a political ploy, like his all new faintly-positive HRO stance: his campaign knows they were losing base Democratic voters and had to try something to make it look like he was on their side.
Blast Curry on this issue if you want, but Brown deserves every bit as much blasting.
Quote from: stephendare on May 12, 2015, 02:36:44 PM
sorry. i used the word simian in the post above. Its correct, but ophidian is more apt.
Classy.
He won't and can't do anything about Obamacare as Mayor of Jacksonville, Florida. It's a non-issue in a mayoral race. What does matter for Jacksonville is what the mayor does to keep UF Health afloat. Or what he doesn't do.
This is an area where you can criticize Curry for saying silly things, but one should be equally critical of Brown for *doing* silly things, which don't mesh with what he says.
It's just campaign rhetoric catering to the base. I'm sure you've seen it before. In fact, I know you have: it's the same thing Brown did by taking a sudden left turn on the HRO, Obamacare, and the minimum wage (!) after four years of carrying conservative anti-tax water.
Quote from: stephendare on May 12, 2015, 03:54:32 PM
Quote from: Tacachale on May 12, 2015, 03:50:12 PM
It's just campaign rhetoric catering to the base. I'm sure you've seen it before. In fact, I know you have: it's the same thing Brown did by taking a sudden left turn on the HRO, Obamacare, and the minimum wage (!) after four years of carrying conservative anti-tax water.
He probably wasn't very busy, trying to figure out how to run a city in the aftermath of a global economic collapse and a governor that was busy cutting state funding to the city, turning down infrastructure projects and in general lessening the available tools to work with.
Apparently, he was too busy for most things.
This is actually one of my major issues with Brown. Everything that goes wrong is somebody else's fault, though he's happy to take credit for anything that goes right, regardless of whether he had anything to do with it.
Quote from: stephendare on May 12, 2015, 03:54:32 PM
A governor it bears reminding, who Lenny Curry took credit for getting elected during his speech last night. In fact it was the preamble to his declaration of war on ObamaCare.
Yeah, yeah. So what are Alvin's plans for saving UF Health, then?
Say what? I don't follow.
As of today at this time there have been 73,435 votes cast in this election cycle.
Democrats 32,784 votes
Republicans 32,191
Other 8,460
Mail in votes 41,118
Early voting 32,272
Provisional 45
There have been 70,583 absentee ballots requested to date. There are currently 29,465 that have yet to be returned.
Quote from: stephendare on May 12, 2015, 04:48:38 PM
Quote from: Cheshire Cat on May 12, 2015, 04:41:27 PM
As of today at this time there have been 73,435 votes cast in this election cycle.
Democrats 32,784 votes
Republicans 32,191
Other 8,460
Mail in votes 41,118
Early voting 32,272
Provisional 45
There have been 70,583 absentee ballots requested to date. There are currently 29,465 that have yet to be returned.
'other' has been a codeword for disaffected libertarians in recent years. They tend to be socially liberal.
If the main voter appeal has been taxes, then it looks skewed to Lenny. But if the main issue has been the HRO then Alvin has more reason to feel optimistic.
This race will be hard to read right up until the totals are in. I don't see anything big recently, including last nights debate that will actually change voters opinions. At this point many people are still unsure of what to do and another debate won't clear it up either. Both Brown and Curry simply do not answer the hard questions directly and revert to their well worn sound bites. It was amazing and distressing to listen to them both talk around or ignore the questions put to them and go off on an unrelated tangents down to a whiney he is picking on me refrain. lol Makes my head hurt really. Until the voters open their eyes to politics as usual in Jacksonville we will continue to see weak platforms, big promises and lots of hype during campaigns and very little in the way of real information. That aspect of the campaign ended when Bill Bishop was no longer in the race. That is not at all surprising and is painful to think about but I understand that in this city the real important changes in political depth and understanding will continue to come in small increments over time. Funny really, we want to rush to greatness yet fail to demand greatness in those who represent us.