A.G. Gancarski
In what has to be considered something of a surprise to those on the outside, The Florida Times-Union editorial board on Friday endorsed maverick Republican Bill Bishop over the Republican and Democratic nominees, Lenny Curry and incumbent Alvin Brown in this month’s Jacksonville mayoral election. In doing so the paper broke with the endorsements of the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce and most business community organizations of Curry, the official Republican nominee.
The editorial board predicated its endorsement on Bishop’s “substantive ideas” and “principled and thoughtful campaign about the challenges we face in Jacksonville.”
“Bill Bishop will be a unifier. He will be a fiscal conservative. He will be a visionary, albeit an understated one. And he will be capable of providing steady, experienced leadership on Day One of his administration,” concluded the endorsement section.
The Jacksonville daily offered mixed reviews of the other two major candidates.
Of Alvin Brown, the editorial board said, in an otherwise positive piece, that his “shortcomings are serious” and that he has become a “master of playing political games with the city’s annual budget.”
Of Lenny Curry, the paper said “there is much to like” but that Curry has made a “dreadful mistake” with “crude and negative campaign tactics.”
In a mild surprise, the paper mentioned that Omega Allen — who infamously said “homosexuality is a choice” on public radio a few weeks back — “said the city’s Human Rights Ordinance needs to be revisited in order to protect same-sex residents from discrimination in employment and housing.”
Bishop’s official campaign account tweeted out that he was “thankful” for the endorsement. Meanwhile, local political pundit Matthew Corrigan tweeted that the endorsement may sway undecided voters.
