Robert Montgomery: Bill Bishop the Unlikely Liberal

[Jax native]

So will you vote for the gay hating nut job Kim Daniels over Anna Brosche just because Anna has a (R) behind her name?

That's the best question of the day.  Ideologically, there's not much that separates "Democrat" Kim Daniels from "Democrat" Alvin Brown and "Republican" Don Redman.  They're all religious fundamentalists who are socially conservative.  Party labels are absolutely meaningless in our city elections because we don't have a party primary.  Kim Daniels nor Alvin Brown could ever win a Democratic primary; when Alvin ran in a Democratic primary once he was trounced.

And if you get the paper, check out Page 2 of today's Metro section.  A preview: https://www.facebook.com/jimmy.midyette/posts/10155345684910230?pnref=story

Jimmy, I will tell you I was blown away after seeing that ad in the TU today.  I'm keeping it as kind of a "this happened in 2015" sort of oddity. I still have little words to express how I felt.  Angry? Sad? Hopeless? Humored? Disbelief?  I can't place the feelings but I just know it is disgusting and wished the TU would have refused to run it.

[JeffreyS]

I didn't take the comment that someone who wouldn't vote for a republican to mean they support every democrat.

And nobody said they do. The question to him is he supporting this democrat just because the opponent is a R.

Sounds like a "have you stopped beating your wife ?" question to me.  He mentioned he was gay so I doubt he will be supporting Kimberly Daniels even if he is not supporting the Republican candidate.

[edjax]

I didn't take the comment that someone who wouldn't vote for a republican to mean they support every democrat.

And nobody said they do. The question to him is he supporting this democrat just because the opponent is a R.

Sounds like a "have you stopped beating your wife ?" question to me.  He mentioned he was gay so I doubt he will be supporting Kimberly Daniels even if he is not supporting the Republican candidate.

Well we don't really know that do we Jeffrey. If someone refuses to vote for anyone just because of an R after their name (espcially in a local rac) they are probably capable of a lot of voting traits that would be considered odd for whatever reasons.

[theduvalprogressive]

edjax... I believe low voter turnout has a lot to do with the fact that the candidates really aren't very inspirational. I liked Bill Bishop much better after the debate, but I really wasn't sold. Why is that? Mainly the one reason is because he has been in City Hall since 2007, and much of the changes he talked about going after, he could have engineered on some level. I initially thought about voting for Brown again, but his performance in the debate ruined that completely.

I understand you "really wasn't sold' on Bill Bishop after the debates, by why would you NOT vote for anyone on the ballot?  Write in?  Or not vote at all?  Interesting you speak of low turn out is a problem, why would you join this?  Sincerely am confused.  Thanks for any answers.

I don't believe the unitary process offer a write in as an option.

[Dog Walker]

Bill Bishop is an intelligent, pragmatist, not an ideologue.  That puts him head and shoulders above the other candidates.  There are actually a few members of the City Council that would make a good mayor, but Bishop is the one that is running.

[Cheshire Cat]

Bill Bishop is an intelligent, pragmatist, not an ideologue.  That puts him head and shoulders above the other candidates.  There are actually a few members of the City Council that would make a good mayor, but Bishop is the one that is running.

+1  No one supporting Bishop sees him as a political savior, they simply see him as the most qualified and competent candidate on the ballot.  Nothing more, nothing less.

[Dog Walker]

Does anybody know anything about Curry's business?  His campaign seems careful not to describe it.  Some sort of staffing service?

[Jax native]

Still shaking my head in disbelief when Toni Crawford said 'Curry has more (government) experience than John Delancy.... Curry hasn't a toe nail worth of experience to be considered the same as John Delaney when he first ran for Mayor. 

[Jax native]

Marilyn Young over at the Daily Record did her usual thorough job in vetting Curry.

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/showstory.php?Story_id=543092

Seeking initial support

Among Curry's first confidants was insurance executive Tom Petway, who can not only bring in a lot of money for a candidate but a lot of credibility, as well.

Curry said Petway had always been a supporter and the two had worked together on political issues before. Petway was supportive of his potential candidacy from the start of a series of discussions, Curry said. (Petway is in China and was unavailable to be interviewed for this story.)

Another early discussion came with Toni Crawford, a stalwart in the Republican Party, who had been Duval County chair for four years.

Crawford said Curry brought the idea up at a lunch where they were meeting about something else.

She said she was caught off guard when Curry asked her thoughts on him being a candidate for mayor. She had seen Curry grow and mature over the years. But her reaction wasn't an immediate yes.

"I said, 'Let me think about it,'" Crawford recalled.

She talked with other people and thought about who else might be out there as a viable candidate. Crawford then offered her support to Curry.

"Pretty much since then, I haven't changed my thoughts about it," she said.

She bats away the criticism that Curry doesn't have government experience, pointing out how closely party chairs work with governing bodies. In fact, she says, Curry has more government experience at this point in the campaign than John Delaney did when he ran for a first term.

Most of her advice to Curry was about the mechanics of running a campaign: get a strong finance chairman, a good campaign manager and a "very strong grassroots advocate."

Crawford said she also told Curry to stay focused on the issues. "This does not need to be a slam Alvin campaign," she said. " ... All that does is cause dissension in the community. We don't need that."


Serious discussions with heavy hitters

There's no question that a serious candidate for mayor feels he or she must talk with Delaney, now the president at the University of North Florida.

Curry said Delaney reiterated advice he had given him previously — the importance of turning things off and being present in the lives of his children. Sometimes that's as simple as just being in the same room with them when they're watching a movie.

He said the former mayor also stressed the importance of being serious about the issues and not just being a campaigner. Talk to people who have been there, learn about the independent authorities, brush up on interlocal agreements, know the sources of revenue.

Since then, Curry said he has spent hours being educated by former senior level employees in previous administrations.

Curry's meetings with Rummell obviously brought an avid supporter, but that came after a series of conversations. After their first meeting, Curry recalled that much like his father did in his retail business, he was trying to close the deal for Rummell's support.

When he asked Rummell if he would support him, the answer wasn't yes. It was, Curry said, "Something to the effect that, 'This was a positive meeting.'"

After a series of meetings, Rummell decided Curry was the candidate he would support in 2015. In an interview in late April, Rummell said he thinks Curry will "lead by example and I think he will be brave."

He said he wants to help Curry's campaign in whatever capacity he's needed. "I have no need for any official role or title or anything," he said.

"If I can help, I'm a resource that's there," Rummell added.

Another resource for Curry is Gary Chartrand, a Jacksonville philanthropist and education advocate who has known Curry for years and was happy to hear his plans to run for mayor.

He liked that Curry had been a businessman first before becoming a candidate. "I have sort of this pet peeve for lifetime politicians," he said.

To prepare for the campaign, Curry is stepping away from ICX Group, the firm he built with Todd Froats, a former colleague at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Not to be picky, but this article is from June 2014.  I actually thought you were referring to a recent article the way you threw it in here. Confused?

[Jax native]

I am not opposed to Bishop in any real sense. I don't see him as the "messiah" from the cronyistic system of politics we have in Jacksonville. Would I vote for him? Probably not, nor any other candidate in the race. That said however, I find it interesting, as always, what we as people are willing to overlook as humans when we believe we have a connection to something, or someone, as opposed to when we don't(ie - discriminatory stances, issues of condoning sexual harassment on some level, etc)...

Sincerely Robert, I'm not trying to continue down on the dead horse but since you are a brilliant writer, I'm asking a question.
Can you explain to me in simpler terms ( because I truly don't understand the logic) of your decision NOT to vote for "anyone on the ballot" after you wrote such an insightful article on the local Mayor race.  Pretend like I'm the just turned 18 year old who finally old enough to register to vote for first time.  Curious to know the thought process.  Thanks so much in advance.

[theduvalprogressive]

Thank you for your compliment. My disagreements with all three candidates are all because they are so similar on the issues I am not in favor of.

I am not an advocate of the river dredging. The costs could hand the city a rather huge financial commitment of $400 million unless we can find a corporate benefactor to incur some of those costs. The benefits in return for that payout in local employment is, at best, sketchy. There have been estimates of up to 2300 jobs over 30 years -- a figure that cannot be quantified by any real numbers. Even the 47 feet that they're shooting for isn't even near what competing ports are at, so this can only mean that there will be another expensive dredging in the future. None of this tells me this is worth harming the river's eco-system -- even if we can bugger Putnam County into breeching the Rodman Dam -- and perhaps should look into competing for other maritime trade that we can realistically accommodate.

Pension Reform: I do not support any of the agreements I've seen come out of City Hall. I am not against unions but I do not see a possible $2 billion dollar commitment to a two-tiered system as an answer. I don't see where we can afford it without draconian tax schemes and a less than stellar local economy. Also on principle I am opposed to John Keane getting three pensions prepaid into the system totaling a little over $6 million dollars. This is theft in my view and grounds for his removal from the discussion. I believe there needs to be an audit and those results be made transparent to the public.

Also I believe fair attention needs to be paid to all communities in terms of improved service. I believe City Hall over the next ten years is going to have to take an active hand in addressing issues of income inequality, poverty, and unemployment on a real level on a neighborhood by neighborhood basis. None of the explanations, in terms of policy, I've heard from the candidates are apt prescriptions to meet these need. In short, I believe we have to do more than regentrify the urban core to properly address these issues.

None of the candidates mirror my views on these issues, so I don't see a need to support them with my vote although, to be honest, Bill Bishop has a slight edge if I were to be inclined to.

[theduvalprogressive]

I would include that Stephen published some great material from local thinkers on both subjects -- one being Dr Jaffee from UNF on the Mile Point Project. I'll post those on this thread if you like.

[Jax native]

Thank you sincerely for addressing my questions.  i'm not just sucking up to you but you are a brilliant thinker & writer whom i truly enjoy reading.  These concerns remind me of the 1990's.  During that time, Jacksonville had a strong "Peace & Justice Coalition" w/ a strong FL coalition. (It was also when I first met MyVyme Betsch) In 96 when Ralph Nader ran for president the split between people voting for Nader and Clinton was huge and brought on many disagreements within the community.  The people voting for Dems were upset that Nader was taking votes.....and each year nader ran for president, this all came up again and again.  I was in the camp as loving the idea Nader being the President of USA, but didn't feel realistically he would ever be.  So, with probably about 50/50 split among us, I voted for the Dems candidate at election.

My point being; one of these 3 people will be elected Mayor of Jacksonville, FL.  Boycotting an election for personal ideas, I completely understand, but still in the camp, I want my vote to count. 

I'm against dredging the river and I wouldn't be surprised if my views on local issues are identical to yours.  But, someone will be elected.  Someone.  If your thoughts are closer to Bishop, why would you not vote for him beside your personal belief won't allow you to.  I am old but still hopeful.  I believe we need to vote to make a difference even if I don't see it in my generation. 

I do appreciate you sharing your personal thoughts very much!

[theduvalprogressive]

I am not entirely averse to Bill Bishop but I'm just not sold.

[JeffreyS]

That's about where I am TDP