A.G. Gancarski
Democrat Mincy Pollock finished third in the First Election against fellow Democrat Tommy Hazouri and Republican Geoff Youngblood. A Democrat in good standing, he was expected by those who have expectations in such matters to endorse Hazouri. But it doesn’t look imminent.
“Election Night, I got a call from both campaigns, valuing what we accomplished,” Pollock said. “When the Hazouri campaign called, I told them that I’d probably stay out of the runoff, but I’d get back with you later.”
As we reported, Pollock ran an energetic campaign against Hazouri, hitting him on issues such as his age and his refusal in 2008, as a member of the Duval County School Board, to support renaming Nathan Bedford Forrest High School.
The Hazouri camp continued to press to meet him, Pollock said, eventually setting up a meeting on Tuesday, then cancelling the same day. Pollock said he called Hazouri’s campaign manager, Jenny Busby, confused about the switcheroo.
“What I hear: You don’t see value in meeting or me being a consultant,” he said about the conversation. Pollock saw himself as a “Bill Bishop” figure after his third-place finish, able to deliver the young vote and the black vote.
Pollock will not “volunteer” for any campaign but that of the mayor. The impression he got was that Team Hazouri wanted him to volunteer, but that’s not happening. He sees the Hazouri team’s cavalier attitude toward him as indicative of a larger complacency toward the black vote.
“They assume they have the vote. Our votes need to be earned. Our voters make intelligent decisions,” Pollock said. “Tommy needs to be careful. There’s more than Forrest on him. I could have pointed him in the direction of some people that could help.”
Meanwhile, Pollock doesn’t completely discount Youngblood. “He’s still young. Pointed in the right direction,” he could make inroads, but “black churches aren’t going to have him. Methodist churches, though,” that have outreach into the black community might be receptive, Pollock mused.
“I’m not interested in a payday,” said Pollock, who is both a longshoreman and an insurance salesman. “Never asked him for money. I’m not going to pimp and prostitute my ideas. I have a job.”
Pollock, who sees himself as a “trailblazer, like Jesse Jackson for Obama,” contends the Hazouri campaign wanted him to take their candidate to churches and endorse him. “Going to churches and endorsing. That’s work, hitting four or five churches on a Sunday.”
As well, “there were people he sent to get me out of the race.”
Team Hazouri, meanwhile, has substantial material disagreements with Pollock’s account.
“We wanted an endorsement,” Jenny Busby told Florida Politics. “He wanted to meet. Then he wanted a press conference. He wanted consulting fees and they were way too high. He wants to be a general consultant for Tommy. Tommy’s not going to pay Mincy consulting charges.”
“This is all about him,” Busby said. “A press conference for him. Leak it to the press for him.”
“I have to protect Tommy,” Busby said. “I’m not sure what Mincy would do or say.”
“He wants to stay relevant. I don’t like that he’s doing it at our expense. This drama is intentional. It’s not becoming,” Busby said.
More on this as it develops.
