Will MAYOR Mike Hogan ever debate anyone? The people can't be ignored.

[CS Foltz]

Free advertising should be on any candidates plate! I am surprised,only Mr Bailey took it upon himself to participate in a Q & A, courtesy of MetroJax! Unless I missed something,he was the only one to take an active part.......come to think of it, Ms Audrey did also, but have seen no one else?

[stjr]

LOL.  Hogan doesn't want something he wasn't going to get anyway.  Political grandstanding at its best.  And he isn't a typical politician?  And, add another forum he is choosing to skip even after it was apparently rescheduled for his convenience.  Has he no manners?

Hogan: I don't want T-U endorsement

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/mike-marino/2011-03-07/hogan-i-dont-want-t-u-endorsement
Submitted by Mike Marino on March 7, 2011 - 10:16am PolitiJax

Saying he does not share the beliefs of The Times-Union's editorial page, mayoral candidate Mike Hogan e-mailed Monday that he would not appear at a T-U candidates forum on Tuesday and would not seek the newspaper's endorsement.

"In recent years the Times Union Opinion Page has increasingly voiced support for raising taxes, increased government spending and a larger government role in the lives of everyday Jacksonville taxpayers. Simply put, I do not share these beliefs," Hogan wrote.

The forum was initially scheduled earlier, but Hogan could not appear. It was rescheduled for Tuesday, but an e-mail to editorial page editor Mike Clark at 9:41 this morning from Hogan said he would not attend.

Early voting for the March 22 election began today at 10 a.m.

Hogan is scheduled to appear at a debate with the other five major candidates tonight at WJCT at 8 p.m. It will be streamed live on Jacksonville.com and reporter David Hunt will blog live.

[Jimmy]

This is the sort of thing Hogan's supporters have been beating up Mr. Mullaney over.  And here Hogan himself is doing it.  I'm not sure Mr. Hogan really wants to be Mayor.  He won't debate, won't talk to the press, and won't engage the voters.  Enough already.

[Jimmy]

Mike Hogan's tweeter just told me he'd be at the debate tonight.

[jcjohnpaint]

Yeah Mike Hogan's no responsibility policy is exactly what this city will get if he becomes mayor. 

[Coolyfett]

The guy is a TOOL,........poor Jax there most be better people for this mayor job.

[tufsu1]

so I guess he finally debated the others....I am out of town so could not watch...how did it go?

[Jimmy]

Now we know why Hogan ducks debates. 

[Charles Hunter]

But he dropped the bombshell that racial relations aren't as bad now as they were when he was a child!  Isn't that worth something?

[konstantconsumer]

Wow.  Pretty clear that having Hogan skip every event was the right move.  Watching him tonight was rough!

[Steve]

Luckily Mike Hogan came across as the third portion of jello butterscotch pudding thats just been spooned out by your grandma in a totally manufactured 'who can eat the most pudding after dinner' contest.

Priceless

[Steve]

So - here is my concern.  Audrey and Rick didn't distinguish themselves in the right way.  My guess is most of the undecided will end up voting for one of the two, but neither really did a great job of convincing you that they were better.

Alvin Brown sounded good, and that's a concern, because it could be a repeat of 2003.  Brown plays Glover, Hogan plays Peyton, and Mullaney and Moran play Weinstein and Carlucci.

The only thing that may prevent a repeat of 2003 - Brown is coming on too little too late, and Hogan was kind of a disaster.  Peyton was a much better speaker in a debate.

[Jimmy]

Steve, that's what's keeping Audrey's campaign staff up at night, I'm sure.  I think the race looks a little different this year than 2003.  First and foremost, Alvin Brown doesn't have the name recognition or built-in base of support that Sheriff Glover did.  Secondly, Audrey has done a heck of a job luring good Democrats like me into her fold with her talk about opportunity and moving Jacksonville forward.

I also think that Mullaney and Hogan are in a steeper competition than some believe.  They're both hawking their aw shucks Westsider common man angle and playing for groups like the tea party.  They're competing on the right and so Audrey sort of has the middle to herself.  If she picks up enough support on the left, she could absolutely emerge in a strong (enough) second place finish on March 22.  I think she wins hands down in May against Hogan.

[RiversideLoki]

Hogan's deal seems to be "name drop Rick Scott" as many times as possible. I actually felt bad for the guy, he was embarrassing to watch. Mullaney still looked slimy. Though I don't think I recall him saying "get our financial house in order" this time. I could be wrong though, I came in about 10 minutes into the "Shannon Ogden's cushy conservative love-in"... err.. debate.

[Steve]

^Totally, which made no sense.  Why drop the name of a governor in reference to how good they are, when the reviews of Rick Scott at this point are mixed at best, in a unitary election race?  That sort of thing might work in a republican primary, but there is no republican primary.