A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville voters are now receiving a political postcard from Together for a Greater Jacksonville that makes some hard-hitting claims against Alvin Brown, who has “the wrong priorities for Jacksonville.”
The postcard points to the increase in incidence rates of murder, rape, and assault, asaying “and yet, Alvin Brown: fired 147 police officers; cut our sheriff’s budget by $6.7M; and slashed funding from the Jacksonville Journey public safety program.”
The mailer makes use of multiple quotes from the Times-Union endorsement of Lenny Curry, citing “so many misgivings about the incumbent” and not being able to “trust that the next four years of a Brown administration would be much better than the first four.” The postcard makes mostly familiar claims about Brown’s cuts to “public safety while crime skyrocketed” and the “financial ‘disaster’ in Jacksonville.”
Some attacks in the mailer are new and give potential insight into points Curry will make in the next debate, including assertions that Brown “held a secret meeting on a rich campaign donor’s yacht to discuss city policy … on taxpayer dime,” “parroted national party-line issues that he has no control over and can’t do anything about,” and “ignored and avoided talking about the issues that Jacksonville residents want and need to hear about.”
Of course, that’s not the only attack mailer in Jacksonville mailboxes right now. The Florida Democratic Party has one of its “iron fist in a velvet glove” postcards out as well.
The front of the mailer features an Urban Core hipster couple (the gentleman, wearing a rumpled gray button down shirt, has a “dad bod” and a beard, and is the spitting image of Sebastian Cabot circa 1972; the lady has long brown hair, an affectionate gaze into the camera, a prominent wedding ring, and a teal scarf over a short-sleeve blouse) with the quote: “We care about Jacksonville. We care about safety, schools, and jobs. And that’s why we vote.”
The back side of the mailer: “You care about Jacksonville. That’s why you vote,” it says, allowing the reader to feel a real connection with the happy couple on the other side of the flier and their aspirations, leading into the delightful formulation: “Public records show you’re a reliable voter. By casting your vote for safer neighborhoods, more jobs, and better schools, you can help take Jacksonville to the Next Level.”
Recipients also are treated to now-familiar claims about “Republican Party Boss Lenny Curry,” with a requisite variation: “divisive and wrong for Jacksonville.”
It appears that the Democrats are trying to appeal to aspirational white liberals with this mailer, while the Curry PAC is messaging to the base and independents who are less than sold on the past four years.
