Thoughts on the Race for Mayor

[copperfiend]

I voted for Hogan, and will do so again probably.  I am not really impressed with any Mayor's candidate.  Mr. Brown is intriguing and I will study his message and his actions over the next few months.

What was it about his non-existant platform that so intrigued you?

I appreciate Hogan's campaign for smaller gov'ment. It's so refreshing and original. It's not as if he is trying to ride the coat tails of other politicians. He has fresh ideas.

[uptowngirl]

The only positive (and this is a stretch) is that if Hogan is elected, he will give Tony Sleiman whatever he wants to develop the Landing.  After all the Sleiman has done for him, Hogan owes him big time.

Metrojax needs to get an audience with Alvin Brown and educate him extensively on what Jacksonville needs from their next mayor.  I am mildly depressed this morning due to the fact that I had been waiting for yesterday for 4 years, only to have my hopes shattered. 

There is no other option but to do this ourselves, regardless of who wins the mayoral election.  Metrojacksonville needs to become an actual physical organization that champions historic preservation, environmental stewardship, urban development, and progressive government.  This could take the shape of a consulting firm, a 501C-3, a development group..... anything.  We need to organize and expand our influence.  I am 110% committed to this idea.  If you as well, contact me and we'll make it happen.

Absolutely!

[Dashing Dan]

Yesterday's election was not about ideas.  It was about feelings, and a lot of people are feeling bad these days. 

Support for the city's mainstream leadership has eroded, but there was still enough left yesterday to put one mainstream leader out in front.  Unfortunately there were two mainstream leaders in the race, and Hogan finished ahead of both of them. 

Either Moran or Mullaney might have won if they had had something better to show for past mainstream leadership initiatives, e.g. the Super Bowl.

[peestandingup]

I think if we are all realistic with ourselves and accept the fact that the failings of Jacksonville are far less about policy, and far more due to the (relatively) backwards, uneducated, socially ignorant inhabitants of this city, we'd be a lot less disappointed when things like this happen. I'm not going to shake my fist and make empty promises about leaving -- at least not while I have a good job here and enjoy Jacksonville's natural assets -- but I really do think I am done caring about the city making much progress over the coming decade. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. Jacksonville is a nice little city these days, but the damage that has been willfully done in the last five years, and the damage that continues to be done, will be felt for another 20 years. When I made the "why do you stay in Jacksonville?" thread, I learned that a lot of people on this board hold Jacksonville very dear to their heart and desperately want to see the city progress. I hate to say it, but it might be time to throw in the towel, concede defeat, and search for greener pastures. Nothing short of a massive population transplant is going to right this ship in the short to medium term. Maybe even the long term.

You only live once.

If what you want is a vibrant, culturally diverse city -- one with good mass transit, a lively downtown, a sense of identity and forward progression -- you owe it to yourself to seek that place out and make it your home.

Hate to say it, and this could just be a kneejerk reaction to this election, but if you're expecting any real progress in Jacksonville, you're betting on a loser.

Bingo.

Basically you are saying the people who live in Jacksonville are stupid. I can say that because the election result has reconfirmed, revalidated, and ensured that the people of Jacksonville (majority, clearly because low vote turnout) are stupider than rocks literally.

I am on a spree of making distasteful posts, venting my anger at the city of Jacksonville, so pardon me because I want the non-MetroJacksonville to read it and soak it in while rub the salt into their wounds.

Let us officially rename Jacksonville to Jackassville in honor of the jackasses, not Andrew Jackson.

-Josh

Well, stupid can means lots of things. I def think they're ignorant, backwards & have no clue what a real city is supposed to be like. I mean, just look around, that's pretty evident. Jax went from a pretty posh, thriving city with great public transit to a sprawled out sleepy town who literally destroyed everything they once were. Its hard to come back from that.

Like I said in another thread, I think there are some really bright people that live here who know the deal & have a good head on their shoulders when it comes to this stuff, but they're way outnumbered. Maybe someday that'll change, but its not gonna be anytime soon. That's pretty well a guarantee.

Ah, if there's one thing I've def learned from living in this town for 4 years, studying its history, watching its people & the way things work in general, it's to never get your hopes up. Things have remained the same here for decades it would seem & I don't believe its something thats gonna change anytime soon. At least nothing that I'd feel comfortable waiting around 10 or 20 years for. Not when there's plenty of other fish in the sea.

People like us are way WAY outnumbered here. And most of the community are asleep, slaves to this system we're built here for ourselves, or just bumpkins who don't know any better. Sad, but true. Not saying they're bad people, they can like what they like. And if they want a city to be this way & are fine with it, then more power to them. But like I said, life's too short to be fighting so hard & not seeing much results.

There are a ton of bright people on these boards that I feel could really excel in a town that isn't purposely trying to hold them back. Some places just simply don't mesh well with certain people. That's all.

[hillary supporter]

I voted for Hogan, and will do so again probably.  I am not really impressed with any Mayor's candidate.  Mr. Brown is intriguing and I will study his message and his actions over the next few months.

What was it about his non-existant platform that so intrigued you?

I appreciate Hogan's campaign for smaller gov'ment. It's so refreshing and original. It's not as if he is trying to ride the coat tails of other politicians. He has fresh ideas.

We are on a different wave length.

[BridgeTroll]

 

I think there are some really bright people that live here who know the deal & have a good head on their shoulders when it comes to this stuff, but they're way outnumbered.

By who?

[hillary supporter]

From today's Jacksonville.com article on the race:

Mike Hogan:  â€œWe’ve got a long ways to go, but this is an incredible feeling,” Hogan said. “To see all these folks here and know how many were with me 20 years ago, it’s an incredible feeling.”

So much of what's wrong summed up in one statement, and almost no one else seems to see or care just how wrong it is or why.  And my depression only gets deeper and deeper ...

He does have a long way to go! Dig in and support Hogans opposition . Theres much time for change to prevail. The young democrats are a great start. The campaign is one day at a time!

[RiversideLoki]

I voted for Hogan, and will do so again probably.  I am not really impressed with any Mayor's candidate.  Mr. Brown is intriguing and I will study his message and his actions over the next few months.

What was it about his non-existant platform that so intrigued you?

I appreciate Hogan's campaign for smaller gov'ment. It's so refreshing and original. It's not as if he is trying to ride the coat tails of other politicians. He has fresh ideas.

This made me audibly chuckle.

[peestandingup]

I think there are some really bright people that live here who know the deal & have a good head on their shoulders when it comes to this stuff, but they're way outnumbered.

By who?

Joe Blow.

ike I said in another thread, I think there are some really bright people that live here who know the deal & have a good head on their shoulders when it comes to this stuff, but they're way outnumbered. Maybe someday that'll change, but its not gonna be anytime soon. That's pretty well a guarantee.

I totally disagree with this.  Yesterdays election results prove the exact opposite.

http://www.metrojacksonville.com/forum/index.php/topic,11598.0.html

Yeah, but thats only a piece of the pie. Are we really gonna base this on one election night (that didn't have a high turnout)?? I'm looking at past, present & future. Proof is kind of in the pudding. The city by & large has no vision, neither do the vast majority of its people, and we all know this. If they did, we clearly wouldn't be in the spot that we're in. Complacency & mediocrity are all around us. That's not progressive by any stretch of the imagination.

We all have to remember, Jax is much bigger than what a lot of us probably see on here & in our day to day lives hanging around in the core. Those types of people we talk with on a regular basis are few & far between.

I don't think either one of these guys is a good thing anyway you slice it, but thats just me. The city's on a collision course that needed a strong leader who understood these issues to turn it around & we didn't get that.

[judy40]

[/quote]
He does have a long way to go! Dig in and support Hogans opposition . Theres much time for change to prevail. The young democrats are a great start. The campaign is one day at a time!
[/quote]

And don't forget about the moderate Republicans.  I am one and there are many, many more.

[stjr]

Here is a story I heard bandied about:

Hogan's camp knew they had more than enough votes to make the runoff so they had some "excess" Hogan supporters vote for Brown to be sure he was the opposition.  If it's true, Hogan's support was even stronger than the vote count shows ....and..... Brown's genuine support was weaker than the votes indicate and it explains the element of surprise in his totals.  It also succeeded in assuring that Hogan would not have to oppose the strongest challenger for the runoff.

[buckethead]

Is that legal?

[tufsu1]

Here is a story I heard bandied about:

Hogan's camp knew they had more than enough votes to make the runoff so they had some "excess" Hogan supporters vote for Brown to be sure he was the opposition.  If it's true, Hogan's support was even stronger than the vote count shows ....and..... Brown's genuine support was weaker than the votes indicate and it explains the element of surprise in his totals.  It also succeeded in assuring that Hogan would not have to oppose the strongest challenger for the runoff.

I highly doubt that happened...all the polls going in showed Hogan pulling 25-28% of the vote...he got 34% on election night...so it seems unlikely many of his people went to Alvin (unless they lied to pollsters all along).

Bottom line...Brown had a good ground game...I heard from someone in the Democratic Party that the ground game on Tuesday was even better than it was in 2008 for Obama

[mtraininjax]

Graham Branch Library, 2304 Myrtle Ave N,  Located on the west side of Myrtle Ave N, between 13th St W and 14th St W., 2304 Myrtle Ave Jacksonville 32209

This was the site of voting place Number 8, which drew only single digits of residents to vote. One of the only in the Times Union today with single digit representatives, and where was it? 32209, downtown.

Voter apathy or Voter ignorance?

[tufsu1]

32209 is not downtown