A.G. Gancarski
The second Jacksonville mayoral debate involved the three major candidates — Bill Bishop, Lenny Curry, and Mayor Alvin Brown — along with the fourth candidate, NPA mayoral hopeful Omega Allen. At this point in the campaign, the positions have been established, as have the major topics: public safety, dredging the St. Johns River, and the Police and Fire Pension Fund resolution. The hierarchy of the candidates, as in their likelihood to advance to the runoff, also seems pretty solidified.
Could anything Wednsday night change that? From what I saw, no.
The big questions going into the debate, at least for this reporter, were as follows:
• Would Brown be taken off message by any of the candidates participating?
• Would Curry be able to establish himself as on par with the Mayor before the election on Tuesday?
• Would Bishop be able, somehow, to close the gap with the two better funded candidates ahead of him in the polls?
• Would Allen be able to prove conclusively that she should have been included in the first debate?
Bishop had the opening statement. “We have a very important decision to make here in Jacksonville,” he started, citing his background as an architect and a city councilman before he was interrupted abruptly by a call for time.
Allen, as is her wont, led off with a stream of cliches. Then, Curry went into a “personal story” about his parents, who “taught me the importance of integrity, honesty, and hard work.”
Then, the mayor. “I wouldn’t be standing here if it wasn’t for JU,” said Brown, who has two degrees from Jacksonville University. He cited, again, his Learn2Earn program before his intro closed.
The first question went to Allen, about crime. The moderator asked when the last time was she visited a crime-ridden neighborhood, such as Northwest Jax. “I will walk with the sheriff to be there, not just during the campaign, but during the administration.”
The last time she was in NW Jax: Monday.
Bishop addressed the question also, indicating that jobs and economic development are essential to fighting crime.
Then, Brown, who was “in this area last week, introducing Community Empowerment Days,” in addition to other programs designed to improve safety.
Curry, by contrast, cited a “ridealong” with JSO that he has mentioned before, before launching into his tropes about restoring cops and Jacksonville Journey programs cut by the current mayor.
The next topic: downtown. Bishop got the first question, and it was about the efficacy of the Shipyards proposal. Can the city afford the proposal?
“Keep in mind that proposal … is just the first ask. It’s a standard development tool to ask for everything,” he said, adding that it’s “premature” to examine the proposal as if it’s finished. He again indicated his support for a thriving downtown.
Brown was next, and he cited the Times-Union lauding downtown, as well as economic development throughout the area and his starting of the Downtown Investment Authority. “There’s a lot going on downtown, and I’m excited about it.” The Shipyards, he contends, should be done as part of a “public private partnership.”
Curry took the discussion a different way, discussing the financial mismanagement of the city. He again mentioned that he would have a “scorecard” so that constituents could see how money is spent.
Allen: “Do I think it’s affordable? That remains to be seen.” She wants to ensure that “Jacksonville does not get left holding the bag as it relates to our investments” and “gets a good return on our investments.”
The proposed forensic investigation of the PFPF was next, and Brown was first to discuss the audit.
“I inherited the pension challenge, and I took it on head on,” he said, reminding voters that there was a plan on the table with bipartisan support. “The problem is that Council President Clay Yarborough” is holding it up by “playing politics. … Council should vote it up and down, that is the issue.”
Curry countered by admonishing Brown for not implementing the Peyton plan, and said that his current position is “election year politics.” If elected, Curry would use the Peyton plan as a starting point for negotiation.
“Men and women were promised benefits by politicians in years gone by,” he said. We are to keep those promises.
Bishop, meanwhile, contended that the “forensic audit is absolutely necessary,” before saying to Curry that the Peyton plan wouldn’t have gotten through Council, and the Mayor’s plan is “designed to fail” for lack of funding.
This spurred a response from Brown.
“The Peyton plan did not deal with the unfunded liability, would only save $700M. [Lenny] keeps talking about this $10M; the $10M is already in the budget,” he said, adding that the “Council auditor audits the budget every year.”
The next topic: JAXPORT. Curry was first to field the question regarding how to fund the dredging.
Curry sidestepped the question, talking about the unsustainability of the pension plan — getting an actual reaction from the mayor and the crowd. Then, the port. He supports dredging.
Allen: “Dredging … does not come without consequences,” she said, mentioning environmental concerns. “If it’s contaminated, the cost goes up exponentially. We need to find out and answer for ourselves whether economic development supercedes” other concerns.
Bishop contended, meanwhile, that whether the city can afford to dredge or not is an open question, and whether we can do it without damaging the environment likewise is an open question.
Brown is “excited about our port.” He sees it as necessary for us to “compete in the global economy” and points to his advocacy of the port on a state and national level, citing Gov. Rick Scott‘s commitment to the port, as well as everyone from the Riverkeeper to the business community being on board.
That ended the first half of the questions.
The discussion then turned to the city’s financial position, and the three challengers attacked the mayor. Curry hit Brown for inconsistent budgeting. Bishop made the case for revenue enhancement. Allen, meanwhile, hit the mayor hard on not giving resources back to Northwest Jax.
The subject then changed to the Mayor cutting his own pay when elected — a very important trope in re-election messaging.
“I think integrity is important as a candidate,” Brown said, adding, “I just want to be clear. I would never deceive or say anything false about a candidate and his pay.”
Allen responded that his pay cut actually went to the “economic development individual,” while Curry mentioned that Brown signed up for the pension.
Brown then launched into a defense of the pension deal, before realizing suddenly the discussion was about the PFPF deal, and then saying that he had a state pension.
It didn’t immediately get better for the incumbent. Brown was then asked about his fractious relationship with Sheriff John Rutherford, a subject for which he didn’t have an especially memorable answer. But never mind the past. “I look forward to sitting down with the new sheriff” and discussing “a shared vision for the city,” he said, adding that “prevention and intervention” are “the key.”
Bishop responded that he’s “very excited” about working with “the candidates [running for Sheriff] this time,” all of whom have proposed reforms.
Curry vowed, meanwhile, to have regular meetings with the new sheriff, as part of his commitment to public safety.
“Last night, when I was eating dinner, a machine gun” sprayed 15 shots in a park in Northwest Jax, the Republican elected. Curry vows to ensure that such episodes of wanton violence will not happen if he is mayor.
Then, Curry on education.
“I’m for school choice. I want every child to have access to what my children have,” Curry said, repeating previous commitments to STEM education, which have been central to his messaging in recent weeks.
Bishop, meanwhile, proposed increased accountability and his position that “libraries need to be fully funded.”
For Brown, meanwhile, the commitment is personal, as he is the first child in his family to go to college. Brown would continue his programs that “close the opportunity gap” by teaching kids to “have a vision for themselves … education is the great equalizer in America.”
Then, the topic turned to Mayor Brown’s attack ad against Curry’s support for Georgia Pacific. The memorable part of the exchange was when Bishop reminded voters, meanwhile, that “I don’t do negative ads, so I have nothing to say about it.”
The next topic: the Curry ad criticizing Brown’s crime record.
“I stand by it. We’re talking about facts and numbers here,” Curry said, before going into an anecdote about a football coach in Grand Park “whose own son was shot down while he was visiting his grandmother. This is real stuff that we have to address.”
Bishop again followed up with an applause line, saying that “people are tired of hearing what we’re against, they want to hear what we are for.”
The closing statements followed.
Allen proclaimed herself the “agent of change.” Bishop reminded voters that he’s “not in the pockets of special interests” and “clearly the most experienced candidate in the race.” Brown, meanwhile, reminded voters that he had opportunity, and that he wants the children of Jacksonville to have the same opportunity — and that he kept his promises and worked well with Gov. Scott. Curry, meanwhile, got the luxury of the final closing statement.
“I’m asking for your vote tonight. Jacksonville has tremendous opportunity. The problem is tonight that you’ve got two men on the stage who have spent too long living off the taxpayer dollar and are out of touch with your lives,” he said. “We can do better. We can do better.”
A little bit more heat in this debate than the previous one, for sure. Brown and Curry have only just begun their sparring match. Assuming that Bishop doesn’t pull off a miracle, Jacksonville voters will see them through the May runoff election.
