From Jax Biz Journal
http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2010/08/09/daily13.html (http://jacksonville.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/stories/2010/08/09/daily13.html)
QuoteGov. Charlie Crist has appointed University of North Florida president and former Jacksonville mayor John Delaney to the state’s passenger rail commission.
Delaney will serve on the nine-member Florida Statewide Passenger Rail Commission â€" tasked with monitoring passenger rail development â€" until Aug. 9, 2014.
The commission was created in 2009 after the Florida Department of Transportation received $1.25 billion in federal stimulus funding to build high-speed rail service between Orlando and Tampa.
Read more: Delaney named to state rail commission - Jacksonville Business Journal
I presume that Delaney has accepted the appointment...
Sure he will, got to get those hands back on the public faucet again! He stank as a Mayor, Better Jacksonville Plan was his doing.....shoved through in an off election year, we still pay for that one and he will stink on the state rail commission since he has never voiced an opinion but will have the foot in the door once more! Any takers on when he will run for another office?
Actually, the BJP was the only visionary thing to come out of Jax in a couple of decades and Delaney had the highest approval ratings of virtually any politican in FL at the time.
BTW, does this mean he is leaving UNF or is it just a 'moonlighting' position?
Quote from: vicupstate on August 11, 2010, 01:26:02 PM
Actually, the BJP was the only visionary thing to come out of Jax in a couple of decades and Delaney had the highest approval ratings of virtually any politican in FL at the time.
BTW, does this mean he is leaving UNF or is it just a 'moonlighting' position?
Agreed. I particularly enjoy the main library, baseball park and arena.
I would doubt that he is stepping down from his post at UNF. Its pretty hard to walk away from a $300k salary.
Quote from: CS Foltz on August 11, 2010, 01:12:25 PM
Sure he will, got to get those hands back on the public faucet again! He stank as a Mayor, Better Jacksonville Plan was his doing.....shoved through in an off election year, we still pay for that one and he will stink on the state rail commission since he has never voiced an opinion but will have the foot in the door once more! Any takers on when he will run for another office?
are there any local elected or appointed officials that you like?
btw....these commissions are usually unpaid appointments....just like the JTA Board, university boards of trustees, and the FL Board of Governors....so I'm sure he's not leaving UNF for it
At least NE Florida will have a voice on the board and Delaney is no dummy.
University presidencies are traditional parking places for politicians waiting for another shot at an elected position or trying to make their years for full state retirement.
Quote from: Dog Walker on August 11, 2010, 01:42:12 PM
University presidencies are traditional parking places for politicians waiting for another shot at an elected position
really...can you provide some examples from Florida like that?
Adam Herbert, Betty Castor....T.K. Wetherall.(FSU!, but you knew that).....Woodrow Wilson was in New York so doesn't count. John Delaney of course. That enough?
There has long been a revolving door between public office and university presidencies.
Quote from: Dog Walker on August 11, 2010, 02:04:37 PM
Adam Herbert, Betty Castor....T.K. Wetherall.(FSU!, but you knew that).....Woodrow Wilson was in New York so doesn't count. John Delaney of course. That enough?
There has long been a revolving door between public office and university presidencies.
Wetherall went to FSU(via TCC) after he got out of politics.
Herbert went from UNF to Indiana.
Not really sure where you are going with this?
QuoteSure he will, got to get those hands back on the public faucet again! He stank as a Mayor, Better Jacksonville Plan was his doing.....shoved through in an off election year, we still pay for that one and he will stink on the state rail commission since he has never voiced an opinion but will have the foot in the door once more! Any takers on when he will run for another office?
I thought Delaney was a good mayor.
Do you just dislike everything?
Frank Brogan went to FAU after getting out of politics
John Delaney went to UNF after politics
Donna Shalala went to UM after politics
None of these folks has even tried to go back into politics...I'm not sure if D'Alamberte (FSU) was ever in politics...and UF hasn't seen a politician as President in at least 2 decades
(http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/facts/reports/places/Sites/8DU00156A_terminal.gif)
That said, I am concerned that Delaney may be more of a (ALL) Floridian then a Jaxson... He is after all the man that said "Rail is at least another generation away from Jacksonville." If he really backs that up, self fulfilling his own prophetic words, we're in deep trouble. Then again, he may be the most open minded booster the city has ever had, if that is fact, we could be wowed.
Jacksonville holds the position as the railroad hub for all of Florida and no amount of track laying or new super railroads is going to change that, fact is, if you are going south you WILL go through Jacksonville. Commuter Rail, Streetcar, Light Rail, Monorail, BRT, Bus and Trolley Bus all working in harmony (even if the overall system is rather small) will go a long, long way toward convincing Florida that for HSR to survive, they better deal in the BIG DOG!
If Jacksonville Terminal is indeed "Valhalla," then the resolute Valkyries of MJ will carry the message! OCKLAWAHA
Friend of Odin!
TU, if you think they are out of politics when they are university presidents me thinks you are being just a bit naive.
TK knows if he gets back into politics (and he would love to) a grand jury will be assembled. Not one of the good guys.
Quote from: CS Foltz on August 11, 2010, 01:12:25 PM
Sure he will, got to get those hands back on the public faucet again! He stank as a Mayor, Better Jacksonville Plan was his doing.....shoved through in an off election year, we still pay for that one and he will stink on the state rail commission since he has never voiced an opinion but will have the foot in the door once more! Any takers on when he will run for another office?
Delaney was a great mayor. Did a lot of great things for Jax.
Better Jax Plan is still continuing.............where are the benefits at the taxpayer level? That particular plan was slanted towards correcting the road issues we had then and still have now! Courthouse replacement was touted at $190 Million Dollars and that was voter approved. What is it costing us now......last I saw $350 Million and counting right? Mr Delaney's chief of staff was..............Rick Mullaney! When Delaney left, guess who became Chief General Consul and is to this day! He is waiting to leave so that he may collect the $160K a year in retirement he is eligible for. Mr Mullaney also oversaw Ship Yards and that fiasco,Trail Ridge which is going to cost us more than the first time around......Jaxport and a channel that can not handle deep draft vessels which kinda defeats the purpose of having a port of that type! Now Mr Mullaney wishes to become the Mayor and has all of the answers at his finger tips. I think not IMHO..........I will not vote for the continuance of Mr Delaney or Mr Payten and the people before them..........it is time for a change for the better! Honest government, cost effective and visionary leadership and Mr Mullaney does not have those attributes! These are some of the issues that need to be addressed at the City Hall level, not the taxpayers who get to pay for their mistakes!
Quote from: CS Foltz on August 11, 2010, 06:10:38 PM
Better Jax Plan is still continuing.............where are the benefits at the taxpayer level?
Like the Baseball stadium
Arena
Small Ballpark
Kernan Overpass
Beach OverpassI don't even know what else, but that's good enough for me. QuoteThat particular plan was slanted towards correcting the road issues we had then and still have now!
No amount of construction will EVER solve the highway congestion, highways are the poster children of "The Peter Principle."QuoteCourthouse replacement was touted at $190 Million Dollars and that was voter approved. What is it costing us now......last I saw $350 Million and counting right?
Not Delaney's fault that Peyton couldn't make a decision without daddy's help. QuoteMr Delaney's chief of staff was..............Rick Mullaney! When Delaney left, guess who became Chief General Consul and is to this day! He is waiting to leave so that he may collect the $160K a year in retirement he is eligible for. Mr Mullaney also oversaw Ship Yards and that fiasco,Trail Ridge which is going to cost us more than the first time around......
Didn't know he was a Delaneyite. QuoteJaxport and a channel that can not handle deep draft vessels which kinda defeats the purpose of having a port of that type!
Channel dredging Phase One is complete, headed to 50 feet at Mayport and another round of deepening to Blount Island and Talleyrand. QuoteNow Mr Mullaney wishes to become the Mayor and has all of the answers at his finger tips. I think not IMHO..........
He is also one of two candidates speaking about rail transit.QuoteI will not vote for the continuance of Mr Delaney or Mr Payten and the people before them..........it is time for a change for the better! Honest government, cost effective and visionary leadership and Mr Mullaney does not have those attributes! These are some of the issues that need to be addressed at the City Hall level, not the taxpayers who get to pay for their mistakes!
THINK RAIL! ...and I'd vote for the devil himself!OCKLAWAHA
Ock ....I gotta disagree with you on that one! I would not hop in bed with the devil for anything! IMHO! Mullaney is part of the problem and I don't believe he has the solution............but thats just me! Got lots of time yet, sooner or later all of the candidates are going to have to say something and that when we will find just who is going to do what and how and pay for it!
so the new downtown library and branch libaries aren't good projects?
My favorite part of the Delaney BJP was the Preservation Project. The city bought over 50,000 acres of environmentally sensitive lands to preserve them for the future.
Some of these became parks which we would never have without the plan like Camp Milton, Castaway Island, Tiger Point Preserve. Some were bought with partners like the national parks, the state parks and division of forestry and some bought with the assistance of private groups Nature Conservancy and Trust for Public Lands.
Anyway, it has made Jacksonville one of the nation's largest urban park areas. It also set a high standard for local, state, national and private and governmental cooperation.
tufsu..........what good are library's if they are not open and manned? I also noticed that the ones being shut down are on the north and west side? Those are the ones that should be opened for services to the local populace in their vicinity! Jumpinjack.....you have a point! Now if we could just maybe afford to keep them clean and maintained then all of us might be able to use them......if we could! Maybe that is why we are $58 Million Dollars in the hole? Infact, I tend to think that most of the past administrations carried things over so the incoming administration could deal withit! Kinda like musical chairs............well it has caught up us now hasn't it?
I agree that the Preservation Project was Delaney's biggest achievement. One of many.
CS, I'm guess ing you have yet to reach legal drinking age. Would I be right? If you had, you would know that Sh*t happens. Things like double digit increases in steel and concrete which blow what had been a legitimate courthouse budget out the window. The courthouse would be completed now and cost about $50mm less than it will if Peyton had pressed forward with the original plan. I'm not sure how that is Delaney's fault.
Without the BJP, Jax would be a joke frankly. In addition to the inadequate and inferior Convention Center, we could add the Library, the Coliseum, the courthouse and the Ballpark to that list. Traffic would be far worst and the large swath of preservation land would be subject to sprawl.
There would NEVER have been a Super Bowl without the BJP, same for the ACC Baseball Championship games.
You complain about EVERYTHING. What was done, what has not been done. You complian about existing conditions and then complain when someone offers a solution. You can't have it both ways.
Do you think Jax is the only city to cut library hours? Can you name one city that isn't tightening it's belt? Eventually the hours will return to normal.
I guess you won't be voting for Audrey Moran either, since she was a Delaneyite too. That leaves Kevin Hyde, Glorious Johnson, Jim Bailey and Mike Hogan.
vicupstate.......I am older than dirt! Know all about increases in steel and concrete.....they have not doubled in the short time Johnny has had the helm! Jacksonville should not be a joke but when you look at the lost tax revenue from a ghost of downtown, Companies leaving because of parking issue's, Ship Yards and all of that money gone forever, Trail Ridge and that escapade which is going to cost the taxpayer even more now then when it first came up............I could go on and on but won't! This is not funny to me by a long shot! I am tired of funding half butted idea's that are not fully thought out with options to select from! I want cost effective efficient government and we are not even close to getting that........taxpayers got hit with 7% property increase last year.....now Johnny is pushing for 9% this time around............that makes it 16% more for less services & library hours! Then factor in less police & fire responce and you think we are moving forward? Something is wrong with this picture and unless we correct this........it will not change! So I am open to suggestions...........what do you have? By the way, ck and see which Library's hours were reduced.....you will find north and west, east and south were not!
Quote from: CS Foltz on August 12, 2010, 09:02:16 PM
Know all about increases in steel and concrete.....they have not doubled in the short time Johnny has had the helm!
actually they pretty much did...costs doubled from 2002-2007...and then started coming back down
as for your tax increase comment, I highly doubt your bill is higher....that's because the 16% millage rate increase only offsets an equivalent loss in property values, along with a doubling of the homestead exemption....and I'm sure you weren't complaining when the tax rate was reduced for 18 straight years,
Quote from: vicupstate on August 12, 2010, 08:32:36 PM
I agree that the Preservation Project was Delaney's biggest achievement. One of many.
CS, I'm guess ing you have yet to reach legal drinking age. Would I be right? If you had, you would know that Sh*t happens. Things like double digit increases in steel and concrete which blow what had been a legitimate courthouse budget out the window. The courthouse would be completed now and cost about $50mm less than it will if Peyton had pressed forward with the original plan. I'm not sure how that is Delaney's fault.
Without the BJP, Jax would be a joke frankly. In addition to the inadequate and inferior Convention Center, we could add the Library, the Coliseum, the courthouse and the Ballpark to that list. Traffic would be far worst and the large swath of preservation land would be subject to sprawl.
There would NEVER have been a Super Bowl without the BJP, same for the ACC Baseball Championship games.
You complain about EVERYTHING. What was done, what has not been done. You complian about existing conditions and then complain when someone offers a solution. You can't have it both ways.
Do you think Jax is the only city to cut library hours? Can you name one city that isn't tightening it's belt? Eventually the hours will return to normal.
I guess you won't be voting for Audrey Moran either, since she was a Delaneyite too. That leaves Kevin Hyde, Glorious Johnson, Jim Bailey and Mike Hogan.
[4/quote]
Atlanta-Fulton libraries close at 6pm. Delaney I dont see how people could hate all the stuff he did, he actually raised the value of Jax. I dont see the beef?