Times-Union endorses Lenny Curry

[Tacachale]

The Florida Times-Union editorial board endorsed Lenny Curry. They endorsed Bill Bishop in the runoff.

Times-Union Editorial Board endorsement: Lenny Curry should be Jacksonville's next mayor
By Times-Union Editorial Tue, May 5, 2015 @ 4:04 pm | updated Tue, May 5, 2015 @ 7:51 pm

Lenny Curry has the financial and management background to lead Jacksonville out of its fiscal morass. 

Four years ago, the Times-Union endorsed Alvin Brown for mayor.
He wasn't our first choice; Audrey Moran was.

But in the runoff, Mike Hogan conducted such a poor campaign that we could not endorse him. This time we endorsed Bill Bishop in the first election, but he did not make the runoff. That's where the similarity ends.

Brown is not the same candidate he was four years ago. He has a record, and that record is not strong enough.

The mayor got off to a bad start with this newspaper. The Times-Union was forced to sue in order to obtain public records under state law. And Editor Frank Denton sued over private meetings for pension negotiations that invalidated an agreement made behind closed doors.

Brown says he has learned his lesson and will operate in the open from now on. Nevertheless, it appears he either accepted bad advice or has a closed mind. Those are not good characteristics for a CEO.

On the plus side, Brown has been a willing cheerleader for the city, a ready speaker at public meetings and a seemingly tireless campaigner during his administration.

Public-private partnerships have been built under Brown.

Brown responded to editorial page projects on blight in Jacksonville by willingly engaging his administration. And he found a nonprofit to lead redevelopment of Hogans Creek.

LEADERSHIP ISSUES

But look back at two of the major issues involving the city — police and fire pensions and dredging the port — and Brown has turned over much of the work to task forces.

Now he is ready to have a study of discrimination under the city's Human Rights Ordinance. This issue isn't that complicated. Just place LGBT people under the city's current Human Rights Ordinance and, bingo, Jacksonville would no longer be one of the few major cities without these protections.

A leadership deficit has been a constant refrain during the Brown administration. It is no accident that City Council has never been so powerful.

Under Brown, city finances have been chaotic and erratic.

Recent budgets have been so poorly crafted that City Council has been forced to do the heavy lifting.

One Brown budget with a crude 14 percent across-the-board cut required a property tax increase from City Council rather than laying off police officers and closing libraries. Another Brown budget erred in the opposite extreme with spending increases funded with debt on a debt-loaded city.

On a related issue, City Council had to set up a special committee to untangle capital improvement plan funds.

Careful selection of key aides is a CEO's first duty, but Brown put together a staff that has underperformed for both him and the city.

Brown admitted in a meeting with the Times-Union editorial board that he would make major changes in his staff in a second term. He also said a major mistake was accepting bad legal advice from former General Counsel Cindy Laquidara involving private meetings to negotiate pension benefits.

FINANCE, STAFFING ARE KEYS

Both of these Brown weaknesses — finances and staffing — are Lenny Curry's strengths. He built a company based on those skills.

Especially in this era of budgetary stress, Curry's financial acumen would be timely and useful.

Curry has no experience running a government, which would be a weakness if Brown's first four years were considered a strength.

We simply cannot trust that the next four years of a Brown administration would be much better than the first four.

Clearly, the editorial board has some misgivings about Curry or we would have endorsed him the first time. Voters who know him only through his occasional tabloid advertisements have received a false impression.

Frankly, his second interview with the editorial board went much better than his first one. Curry seemed more open-minded about most issues and more engaged. He did not seem as scripted this time.

For instance, when asked if he has changed his mind on a major public policy issue, he said several days later that he now believes that prevention and intervention are more important in fighting crime than he did 10 years ago.

That means that early in his tenure, he would have to organize public and private resources to attack the urban pathologies that are metastasizing in our poorer neighborhoods and feeding our epidemic of crime and violence. He says he would revive the Jacksonville Journey, and that's an important start. We know what works, and we have to find ways to take such initiatives to scale.

Curry has led a sheltered life as far as LGBT discrimination is concerned, and he should make passing a Human Rights Ordinance a top priority of a new administration. If he has not met LGBT people who have been discriminated against in Jacksonville, we can introduce him to some who have.

And he would need to build a diverse and inclusive staff to underscore the fact that he would not be a partisan leader of the city. In short, Curry needs to show his heart as well as his brains.

STRONG MAYOR GOVERNMENT

In the final analysis, an incumbent mayor in a strong mayor form of government has huge advantages. Brown has not taken advantage of them.

For instance, when asked for his emergency plan if UF Health Jacksonville is forced to close, Brown listed a few initiatives but no real plan.

The editorial board and Times-Union leadership had several in-depth discussions about this endorsement. Clearly, it was not an easy decision.

But when there are so many misgivings about the incumbent, then it is time for a change.

Curry has the financial and management background to lead Jacksonville out of its fiscal morass.

He should be Jacksonville's next mayor.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/editorials/2015-05-05/story/times-union-editorial-board-endorsement-lenny-curry-should-be

[tufsu1]

I'd like some information on the makeup of the Editorial Board....male/female, race, age, political affiliation, etc.

Seems to me the T-U was the only large newspaper in Florida that endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000.

[Tacachale]

LOL. On a more relevant note, they endorsed Brown in 2011. And now...

[strider]

Seems like they looked at the record and saw too few positives in the current Mayoral Administration and so are simply advocating for change.

[tufsu1]

Seems like they looked at the record and saw too few positives in the current Mayoral Administration and so are simply advocating for change.

perhaps so....I'm just still waiting to hear some of Lenny Curry's actual ideas...and how he plans to implement them

[Tacachale]

For me, the two ideas that matter the most will be sorting out the budget and hiring a more capable staff. My understanding is that he plans to implement those ideas by sorting out the budget and hiring a more capable staff.

[fieldafm]

I'd like some information on the makeup of the Editorial Board....male/female, race, age, political affiliation, etc.

Seems to me the T-U was the only large newspaper in Florida that endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000.

I had the privilege to serve on the Times Union Editorial Board during the 2011 election. To suggest that there is some bias or agenda in the makeup of the board is simply not true. I've seen A LOT of the surveys candidates are ask to answer from various groups.

The TU unequivocably asks candidates the most relevant, researched and thought-provoking questions.

[Tacachale]

^And the same board also endorsed Alvin in 2011.

[fieldafm]

Seems like they looked at the record and saw too few positives in the current Mayoral Administration and so are simply advocating for change.

Brown has dissapointed in 4 years. Even moderate supporters of Brown recognize this. If you think that will somehow get better in the next 2 years, unfortunately his track record gives no evidence to suggest that change is eminent.

For people that are on the fence about Brown, I'll say this:  Remember a dissapointing relationship that you once had. There were times when you really wanted to believe that person would turn the corner. They never did. Now, think about how happier you would have been if you had cut ties with that individual sooner rather than later. Life is much too short to accept mediocre results. Jacksonville is much too important to not be the very best it can be.

For me, the two ideas that matter the most will be sorting out the budget and hiring a more capable staff. My understanding is that he plans to implement those ideas by sorting out the budget and hiring a more capable staff.

One on one, I've never walked away with a good impression of Alvin Brown. Not suprisingly, his (in)actions on many issues and staffing decisions reflected real-life personifications of these impressions. I want him to succeed because that means Jacksonville will succeed. That success hasn't been realized.   

I've had a handful of interactions with Lenny Curry over the last few months, and my unwavering impression of him is one of a very capable person that will demand and achieve results. I'm tired of getting press releases instead of results.

[vicupstate]

I'd like some information on the makeup of the Editorial Board....male/female, race, age, political affiliation, etc.

Seems to me the T-U was the only large newspaper in Florida that endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000.

I had the privilege to serve on the Times Union Editorial Board during the 2011 election. To suggest that there is some bias or agenda in the makeup of the board is simply not true. I've seen A LOT of the surveys candidates are ask to answer from various groups.

The TU unequivocably asks candidates the most relevant, researched and thought-provoking questions.

Their survey may be excellent, the best one out there, etc., but the Editorial Board is very conservative.

[vicupstate]

Life is much too short to accept mediocre results.

Better four years of mediocrity than eight. 

[Tacachale]

^And the same board also endorsed Alvin in 2011.

Actually it isn't.  Different people different dynamics.  And its a hold your nose endorsement at best, lol.

If so, it matters even less who they endorsed for president 15 years ago.

[fieldafm]

your single sit down encounter with Brown

I've had many encounters personally with Mayor Brown, going back to JU events before the 2011 election. To suggest otherwise is 100% false.

I would just concentrate on the fact that the most important branch of government (special events) has a person who you don't like working with. 

There are several people on staff that I don't find particularly helpful nor effective. No reason to paint that picture any differently.

'
Attacking me because of my poor experiences with many levels of this administration is a pretty pathetic retort, quite frankly.

[TheCat]

I'd like some information on the makeup of the Editorial Board....male/female, race, age, political affiliation, etc.

Seems to me the T-U was the only large newspaper in Florida that endorsed Bush over Gore in 2000.

I had the privilege to serve on the Times Union Editorial Board during the 2011 election. To suggest that there is some bias or agenda in the makeup of the board is simply not true. I've seen A LOT of the surveys candidates are ask to answer from various groups.

The TU unequivocably asks candidates the most relevant, researched and thought-provoking questions.

Are you saying that the editorial board doesn't editorialize? Editorial boards exist for the sake of their bias.

That bias and how it is articulated is what makes or takes away the credibility of an editorial board... for me anyway. 

[camarocane]

Life is much too short to accept mediocre results.

Better four years of mediocrity than eight.

BINGO!