Reggie Gaffney talks faith and Eureka Gardens

Reggie Gaffney and supporters, including Katrina Brown, at his swearing in.

The newest District 7 Jacksonville city councilman has a familiar name: Reggie Gaffney. His brother Johnny held the seat almost two full terms, before resigning to run against incumbent Reggie Fullwood in an unsuccessful bid for his state House seat.

Reggie Gaffney started on the council during Tuesday’s meeting, a prospect he found “frightening.” He got through it, though, reading bill summaries and getting an understanding of the issues.

As a new councilman, there certainly will be a learning curve for Gaffney. But some topics were all too familiar to him, such as the Section 8 apartment complex Eureka Gardens. It came up in public comment as a resolution to ask the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to cut funding until the complex addressed its myriad security failings was discussed.

“I had lots of compassion when [Mona Lisa Arnold] came up” to talk about what living in Eureka Gardens was like.

“We feel threatened for our life with bullets flying through the air,” Arnold said Tuesday about conditions in the complex.

Arnold said, “I feel like I need a Purple Heart” for living in Eureka Gardens, and said she feels like she has PTSD. “At this project in the heart of the ghetto, no one came to my aid.”

Gaffney said, “I felt her pain. Her voice was heard. You know my message all along [has been about] the reduction of crime. We need to begin the process on best practices of how to reduce crime and create jobs.”

According to Gaffney, the plight of the residents at Eureka Gardens drove his decision to run.

“What made me run was when, about eight months ago, I went out to Eureka Gardens after they had a killing. My nonprofit went out there the following week and counseled 100 women,” Gaffney said.

Afterward, Gaffney spoke with a group of 25 teenagers, and asked them, “Why are we killing each other?”

Gaffney said there was a common thread. They didn’t finish high school. Some dropped out; others were kicked out. They couldn’t find a job. And one of them told him words that touched his heart.

Mr. Gaffney, we don’t have hope.

“It stunned me,” Gaffney related. “I didn’t know what to say. Finally, I told them that ‘I now feel your pain.’”

That them losing hope was like him losing faith in God. Inconceivable.

“I walked away, and my life was changed. I heard my Father tell me to ‘think on a bigger scale.’”

For Gaffney, that bigger scale involves working toward crime prevention and job creation. And he sees the incoming class of council members and Mayor-elect Lenny Curry as central to that task.

“I’m so excited about our class. They all love Jacksonville, want to see various different programs, and focus on crime reduction.”

Despite their districts, they all “care about the whole community.”

Gaffney, whose brother was the most high-profile Democratic endorser of Curry, had nothing but praise for the Republican.

“We do have a good relationship. I’ve known him for about 10 years. In Lenny, you will see a person who is concerned about the whole city. He’ll cross the aisle to say how we can work together for Jacksonville, for everyone.”

“He’s demonstrated his walk of faith, and his love for his community,” Gaffney said.

Gaffney confirmed the widely held expectation that Councilman Greg Anderson would be the next council president, and was fulsome in his praise.

“I believe in Greg’s vision and heart. He will do an excellent job, working closely with Lenny Curry. Two guys who love Jacksonville, working together.”