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QuoteBill Bishop deserves to be Jacksonville's next mayor
By Times-Union Editorial Fri, Mar 6, 2015 @ 6:37 pm
To fulfill Jacksonville's great potential, someone of true vision and substance must lead the city.
Of the four mayoral candidates on the March 24 ballot, there is one who offers the best hope of providing the unifying, forward-looking leadership Jacksonville needs.
That candidate is Bill Bishop.
Our endorsement of Bishop was reached after rounds of careful discussion and deliberation involving the Times-Union editorial board — a painstaking effort that included bringing all four candidates together for a wide-ranging forum that lasted two hours.
BILL BISHOP
An architect, two-term city councilman and past council president, Bishop has run a principled and thoughtful campaign about the challenges we face in Jacksonville.
He has offered substantive ideas.
Regarding the Jacksonville Police and Fire Pension Fund. Bishop favors wide-ranging reforms that will spread the sacrifice of reducing the pension debt, level the relationship between the city and unions and free money to raise the salaries of officers and firefighters.
He sensibly realizes that for Jacksonville to thrive, all areas must prosper. He plans to craft an economic development plan that extends opportunities to all corners.
Bishop backs the idea of deepening the port so JaxPort can remain competitive in the global shipping industry, but he's also realistic and objective enough to demand that dredging meet three common-sense tests:
■ Can adequate funding be found for it?
■ Does it make economic sense?
■ Can it be done in a way that won't harm the river?
A Republican, Bishop supports expanding the city's Human Rights Ordinance to formally protect the local lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Jacksonville needs to make a statement that it is a safe and welcoming city for everyone. Bishop understands that.
Bill Bishop will be a unifier. He will be a fiscal conservative. He will be a visionary, albeit an understated one. And he will be capable of providing steady, experienced leadership on Day One of his administration.
http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2015-03-06/story/bill-bishop-deserves-be-jacksonvilles-next-mayor
Anybody but Curry!
^ It really is as simple as A-B-C
Yeah, the Times Union.....nice.