With this years election cycle we are also met with another reality which may be rather good news to many citizens in Jacksonville. It is no secret that there have been individuals on the current council who have been of concern to the citizens of Jacksonville for one reason or another. Whether it be from incompetence our religious zeal there are some folks who have made the business of Jacksonville a pain in the backside. Of course it is no easy task holding a seat on council and some have done a good job representing the people but others, not so much. Over the last eight years we have heard folks call for the resignation or removal of some members of council. Others who have declared that we will vote them out, others demanding some folks be recalled and some who have simply given up on our city council and how it is governed altogether, which helps no one. Here is one of those times and places when the dynamics of the council change and some of those that have created the most concern will "not" be able to keep their seats on the council. Those individuals are being "termed out" which means they may not run again for those seats or another on council for four years. So who is this council losing? Lets begin with the current council president who is also the councilperson for District 1, Clay Yarborough. Clay took a seat on the council 7 1/2 years ago as a single fellow in his twenties who was and is an ultra conservative. For a long time he was dubbed "Mr. No" in that he was often a single no vote on legislation, the whys behind his "no's" were various and often hard to grasp. He was not exactly a team player but he was determined often using his own time and money to get to documents he needed to support his view. During his tenure he was married, fathered twins and stopped voting no so much but still managed to be stiff and un-movable in many cases and downright resistant to other legislation like the Human Rights Ordinance to protect the civil rights of the GLBT community. In July, Clay, his beliefs and legislative power will be gone from the council which may well be a relief to some folks in Jacksonville and likely those on the hard right of reason and conservatism will be downright devastated at his departure. In any case I wish him well on his life journey with the personal hope that he stays out of politics.
Next on the list of those termed out of his seat is for District 2 held by Bill Bishop. Bill is like the other term limited individuals and will be losing his seat in July but he will quite possibly not be leaving the political scene anytime soon as he is running for mayor. Should he win that seat we will see him for another four years, which I personally hope is the case. Bill is what I consider to be a moderate minded individual who had no problem stepping out of a hard conservative roll to speak or vote his mind in fairness. He is an engaged and competent representative of the people of Jacksonville. Certainly there are some who would not find favor with all of his positions but such is politics.
The next individual being termed out is District 3 rep Richard Clark. Ah Richard, I gave him some difficult times in his early days on council. I was not thrilled with his immediate attempts to abuse his office and funnel funding more than 100k to an area outside his district for his kids little league field. Then I caught him meeting up discussing city business with a few other council members at Ruth Chris steak house with Lobbyist Paul Harden. Oops! Richard was all over the place for this first term. At first in step with local republicans and later much more in step with his new forever BFF Toney Sleiman of the Landing. He is a fellow whose time in office was not without it's scandals.
Next up District 4 Councilman Don Redman. Who does not know this councilman in Jacksonville and likely beyond? He sure managed to make negative news and cause more than a few of our citizens great embarrassment. His outright insults to a local Muslim of stature Dr. Ahmed and his demand that he "pray" to his God for all to see during a council meeting will not soon be forgotten. Don was a friend to downtown, to First Baptist church and to those who love to ride bikes. In the beginning of his term he bungled and fumbled with the process. He seemed not to get it and was always pushing his "in Jesus name" at pre-council opening prayers which offended many and made others squirm with joy. Certainly his time in office has been colorful and something to behold.
Then we come to District 7 and Johnny Gaffney one of the weakest members to ever sit on council and a man who while taking office was put there inspite of being known to have committed Medicaid fraud for over 100K. But hey, what's the big deal? Apparently that was the view of those who put and kept him in office. There is plenty to say about him but I think one of his last actions in office will be most remembered and that is when he broke his word to the LGBT community on the alleged orders of Alvin Brown and voted down the HRO legislation he had promised to support until the very day the vote was taken. He was even publicly challenged in this action by another councilman Warren Jones. Because of his betrayal, the HRO bill did not pass. My guess is only the folks he did "biddness" with will miss him much. But don't think he is leaving politics anytime soon. It is his meal ticked. He recently lost his bid to take a seat in the State House. But he will be back like the proverbial bad penny.
Next Warren Jones of District 9. Warren is another mainstay in local politics also finishing his second 8 years on council for a total of 16 in office at that level. He is liked by some and not by others. He is a man I personally had some serious go rounds with over LaVilla and several structures in that district including the Brewster hospital over his deal making for the hospital and other buildings that would end up in the hands of a fraternity he was tied to. I will not mention the specifics here. In the end I think he is a man who means well but also a man who knew an opportunity when he saw it which was sometimes good thing and at other times not so good.
Then comes Denise Lee of District 8. A true career politician she is being termed out of her second run and seat on council. She has been at it for almost 16 years on council with a short break between holding office. Denise will be remembered as a stubborn individual, a fighter and a woman who spoke her peace loud and long. She was well liked by her constituents but she was not all fuzzy love. She was known to allegedly meet and plan in "private" with other council members, was considered a tad racially intolerant by some and apparently a woman who sees some unfortunate people as "human blight". Love her or not. She is being termed out. Has she lost her taste for politics? Only time will tell but she sure lost her taste for the Duval Democrat party a long time ago according to some who know her well and claim she has said as much repeatedly.
Another person being termed out is Ray Holt of district 11. Here is fellow who came to the council as a young man who spoke painfully slow while making a point. During one of his first public statements on council he spoke out to other council members when a vote did not come out as he though it would. He basically said, "But this is not what we agreed upon". lol Oops. Some of the other members on council changed the subject and a bewildered Holt sat back down. Holt was never a power player, was true to his conservative and religious beliefs and in the end I do believe was liked by his constituents. I am guessing he has no further plans to hold public office but don't quote me on that. I think he is putting more focus on family.
At large group 3 seat holder Steven Joost is finishing his term in office. Stephen proved himself to be a pretty solid representative to the people of Jacksonville and a guy who would not back down from a good discussion or battle. All in all he served the city well. I do not know of his future political plans, if he has any.
Finally is Robin Lumb who has the at large group 5 seat. He will not be on the ballot this time around. He is a fellow who some loved in the beginning of his term in office only to have that support for him become something closer to disdain. He is a man who understood the issues and to my view did what he thought was right but in the end failed utterly in his interactions with those in the GLBT community who were fighting for their civil rights. There is lots more that can be said about him including that he wanted to run for the SOE office but backed out when Mike Hogan entered the race. Will he look for more time in political office? My guess is he will.
In the end, I wish them all well and thank them for any and all good they did for our city.
So now citizens and voters who had opinions one way or another about these public servants, it is time to choose someone to replace them. The best way to do that and hopefully not be faced with the debacles, embarrassments and fall prey to further back room dealings is to know your candidates and their records both in public and in the private sector. It's important because whomever you choose will be calling the shots for independent districts and county wide very soon and they will be with us for the next four years.
So, is Yarborough going to divinity school or taking any art history courses?
Excellent summary, Cheshire Cat, thank you very much! I learned more reading this than I have over the entire last year studying our political scene. Well done.
Thanks Irv. :) Wm. Art history classes for Clay are a definite no. lol