A.G. Gancarski
On a sunny Tuesday afternoon in a reserved room at the Jacksonville Zoo, the Northside Business Leaders hosted a candidate forum at its regular meeting, which involving the two runoff candidates to replace Bill Bishop in District 2 (Republican Al Ferraro and Democrat Lisa King), Reggie Gaffney, running in District 7, and the two Sheriff’s candidates, Mike Williams and Ken Jefferson.
The event was as southern as southern gets, starting off with an invocation and the pledge of allegiance, before launching into club business, then political business. Which is where we come in.
The District 2 candidates are a study in contrasts. Ferraro is a strapping man with hands calloused from his day job running a lawn service, who told me he very much prefers face to face meetings with voters (he estimates that he’s knocked on 4000 doors already) to forums and debates… much to the chagrin of his opponent. Lisa King is the ultimate insider, who has a wealth of community involvement, including three years on the Planning Commission, where she became well acquainted with the land use and zoning issues relevant to the Northside. [King tells us, also, that her operation has knocked on 3950 doors and has been back out in the field for the last 11 days].
On the mike, the candidates had styles as divergent as their experience. Ferraro, surprisingly soft-spoken, talked about how for him the personal is political. A local business owner for thirty years, a husband for twenty five, and a father for 19, what drives Ferraro to run is being “worried about his daughter’s future,” as well as that of the nation, state, and the city.
Many of the Republicans in this cycle voice such concerns about the future of Jacksonville. Ferraro is an advocate of “limited government” and “balancing budgets” and a foe of “government overreach.” Worried that “something like Ferguson” can happen in the Bold New City of the South, Ferraro would prioritize paying Jacksonville’s first responders.
King, who folksily billed herself as “your neighbor on the Northside,” is one of the bright hopes for progressive Democrats in this cycle, and she carries valuable endorsements from the fire and police unions. As ever, she spoke eloquently and specifically about the challenges facing her district, including a tangible, impassioned advocacy of the Mayport Ferry as a driver of tourism dollars.
The other Council candidate appearing, Reggie Gaffney, wearing Gator colors, reminded those in attendance of his history in the District. “I started a nonprofit 21 years ago, and I’ve been serving people since then,” he said, before emphasizing his main goals: to decrease crime and to be a job creator.
I caught up with the affable Gaffney after the forum, interested in his take on the campaign so far.
“What I’ve learned over the last four months is the people’s agenda. As I canvass, each community in District 7 has different problems and different needs. Now I’ve begun to address those needs,” he said, which range from crime problems to drainage dilemmas.
One recurrent question among those following the District 7 race: does he miss the patronage of Corrine Brown? One of his current allies, Reverend Ken Adkins, told us of how close Gaffney and Brown once were.
“Corrine and Reggie have been extremely close,” he said, adding that Gaffney was “extremely hurt” by Brown’s endorsement of his opponent.
“They were very good friends. He saw Corrine Brown as a mother figure. Drove her around, did whatever was needed,” Adkins said. “They were friends forever.”
Gaffney was receiving money from Friends of Corrine Brown as recently as 2014. Yet she endorsed Spencer, despite more than one source telling us that Gaffney went “above and beyond” for the Congresswoman. Has her seeming rejection motivated him?
“It has motivated me,” Gaffney said. “Spencer has money and the Congresswoman’s Quick Pick. What I have is tremendous community support built over the last 21 years. I’ve delivered. Created jobs. Taken care of the least among us. I’m a problem solver and District 7 recognizes it.”
“I respect the Congresswoman,” Gaffney continued. “She’s still the leader of the Democratic Party. She has her races; I focus on District 7.”
Our conversation was truncated by what seemed to be an anxious staff member.
With three Councilmembers on the agenda, the Sheriff’s forum was necessarily truncated. Jefferson, in his introductory remarks, itemized his resume`, which seemed to be a response to critiques from Duval Republicans that his resume` is too light for him to be Sheriff.
Meanwhile, in his introductory remarks, Williams used a bit more of the traditional Oceanway/Northside twang, underscoring his roots in the area. As he has throughout the campaign, he extolled Rutherford as a great sheriff, while stressing that “the campaign is about the next things to do, next things to focus on.”
What will those things be? Williams wants the department to be “lean and transparent” and to “build on transparency.” Jefferson, meanwhile, was most interesting when he was most emphatic; specifically, when he talked about the Sheriff not showing up at Cleveland Arms after the recent police involved shooting that spawned days of protests in its wake.
“The sheriff didn’t show up,” Jefferson said with his voice rising. “A homicide sergeant showed up.”
There was no one from the Cleveland Arms community at the Northside Business Leaders meeting, so perhaps those remarks were at the wrong venue.
The two men disagreed about the JSO being top-heavy also.
Williams pointed out that staff levels have effectively been stable for the last 19 years, despite ebbs and flows in the amount of officers on the street. Cutting staff for the sake of simulated efficiency would remove necessary oversight.
Jefferson, meanwhile, spoke specifically and passionately about his belief that the organization has too much executive leadership, saying that the Sheriff does not need a “$100,000 Special Assistant,” that civil servants could replace uniformed brass who cost more, and that “chiefs with direct reports of 2 people,” a current situation in the department, are “not prudent” or good business.
With many more forums and debates between the two Sheriff’s candidates, they will have plenty of time to amplify and refine these and related arguments.
