A.G. Gancarski
On a Monday morning with storm clouds building behind them over the St. Johns River, Republican Jacksonville City Councilmen Stephen Joost and Ray Holt broke ranks with the Republican Party of Duval County to endorse Alvin Brown for re-election. They cited a strong working relationship and the mayor’s pension plan as driving factors.
Holt spoke first, contending a “lot of good things have come from the Brown administration that didn’t come from previous administrations” including “service” for Oceanway and other neighborhoods he said have been historically under-served.
Speaking next, former council president Joost said “the No. 1 issue facing the city of Jacksonville is the unfunded pension liability.” Cuts to basic services, he said, are “all just symptoms of … an ever-growing pension problem” that prevents “growing the city, adding services, adding firemen.”
“To me, the central question is who has a vetted pension plan, negotiated in the sunshine,” Joost said. “The only man who has a plan is the man standing behind me: Mayor Alvin Brown.”
Joost turned his fire on fellow Republican, Brown opponent Lenny Curry, who last week released a pension plan of his own, without mentioning Curry by name.
“His opponent touts a prior plan by (former Mayor John) Peyton. Was that negotiated in the sunshine? I doubt it,” Joost said.
Brown spoke next. “I’m honored to receive support from former council president Joost and Councilman Holt,” he said, adding that he’s “proud to work” with them.
“Because of the leadership we have in our Council,” he said “the momentum is on our side, the future is great, because we’re all working together.”
The mayor mentioned “putting aside partisan politics,” and Joost affirmed the his comments, saying “that’s right” twice as he stood behind Brown.
The question-andanswer period afterward was brief. One question asked whether the city finances are in “disarray.”
Saying they are “not in disarray,” Brown said, “I think our city financials are strong. These council members would not be here” if they weren’t.
Holt echoed that statement. “The council auditor has done a fabulous job. For someone to come in and say that we need a 90-day audit, that’s naive,” Holt said. “I don’t know what” Curry thinks is hidden.
Joost brought the narrative back to the unfunded pension liability. If that weren’t an issue, he stressed, “we wouldn’t have these discussions.”
Brown, Joost said, is the “only man with a comprehensive plan.” Then he issued a pointed message to council colleagues, saying the plan rejected this past month was the “third plan in four years voted down. When is it going to be good enough?”
The mayor denied allegations during the press conference that the campaign was in “disarray.” Spokesman Fabien Levy has departed and chief fundraiser Greg Goddard reassigned in the past week, while the campaign seems to have come under more direct control of the Florida Democratic Party and Obama for America alumni in recent weeks.
“The campaign’s doing fine,” Brown said, vowing to campaign “around the whole city.”
“The mayor’s going to campaign like never before, taking it to the voters,” he vowed.
After the defection of two Republican councilmen to the Brown column, I spoke to Robin Lumb, councilman and chairman of the Duval County Republican Party. He mentioned this past month’s court decision striking down Jacksonville’s 30 year pension plan in response to Holt and Joost sayinging the Mayor’s pension was a deciding factor in their cross-party endorsement, which Lumb seemed to have no problem with.
“What individual city council members do is up to them,” Lumb said.
Is this evidence of Republicans moving away from their candidate to the Democratic incumbent? Lumb doesn’t think so.
“On May 19, the mayor will be swamped (by Republican support of Curry), because of his failure to lead.”
