A.G. Gancarski
Republican Scott Wilson was elected to Jacksonville City Council just last week, but District 4 voters already knew him very well.
He has been outgoing Councilman Don Redman‘s assistant for the past two terms.
Redman, whose social conservatism has sometimes been controversial with the downtown set, was nonetheless popular in his district for making the rounds of neighborhood association meetings of all types. Wilson follows in that tradition. Yet, even though he cruised to a 26-point victory over Ramon Day, he never took anything for granted.
“I didn’t know what the outcome would be,” Wilson said during a Thursday morning telephone interview. “I felt good about my chances. I met people, tried to win every vote I could. I walked door to door for five months, and talked to every voter I could. Thirty-eight percent of voters in the district are Republicans, 36 percent Democrats; for me to get 63 percent of the vote means that I got support from all parties.”
“But there was no polling that I know of. And I didn’t want to spend money on it.”
I asked Wilson whether he heard from his opponent after the race was over.
“Day didn’t reach out. He went a little negative toward the end of the race,” Wilson said, referring to a Concerned Taxpayers of Duval County mailer. It called him a career city employee and stated that he supports a sales tax increase to defray the city’s public pension obligation.
Those who expect Wilson to be a carbon copy of Redman might be surprised.
“As I told the Times-Union, I’m going to be my own man. I’ll work hard with the community,” Wilson said, going to meetings of neighborhood associations, CPAC, and ShAdCo.
He described himself as “a little more moderate” than Redman, including on issues related to an anti-discrimination ordinance applicable to LGBT citizens, for which he makes a utilitarian case.
“Everyone needs a job and a place to live,” Wilson said, adding that he’s “stayed in the middle” of the debate, believing that the pitched rhetoric from both sides got in the way of real communication.
“I don’t want anyone discriminated against; everyone has the same rights,” Wilson said. “I appreciate what Lenny Curry said early on in the campaign, [regarding] a community discussion” on this issue.
The Human Rights Ordinance, or the Jax Chamber’s anti-discrimination ordinance, were not real issues among voters in his district. “The HRO was the least of people’s concerns in the district. I heard about it at forums where people were interested in the issue one way or the other.”
Instead, they were motivated by more local concerns, such as the problems related to older neighborhoods, including drainage, infrastructure, and traffic concerns. However, Wilson relates, resolving the pension crisis and balancing the budget are prerequisites to those problems being resolved.
Wilson believes that the new council and executive branch leadership are equipped to handle such issues.
“I’m excited about the new council, new leadership in general, including Mike Williams and Lenny Curry,” he said, while making it clear that the departing old guard brought a lot to the table.
“I support Clay [Yarborough] and Don [Redman]; they’re great leaders, even though I don’t agree with everything they do. I’m not a single issue person. Clay’s done a lot of good stuff. Don’s worked tirelessly for his community. He stays very active in school advisory committees and neighborhood groups.”
