A.G. Gancarski
Outgoing District 8 Councilwoman E. Denise Lee has finally ended the long wait for her endorsement in the race between Katrina Brown and Pat Lockett-Felder.
Saying that “this District’s been pimped and sold (by outside endorsers), and that’s not right,” Lee is going with experience.
“I can’t think of a time when I have been as concerned for representation for the district that I am leaving,” Lee told Florida Politics Thursday morning during an interview at Bold Bean Coffee Roasters in Riverside. “I have decided to support Pat Lockett-Felder.”
Lee’s decision accords with that of other black political veterans in the area, such as Betty Holzendorf and Betty Burney, who also back Lockett-Felder over her opponent. Additionally, Reggie Fullwood and former Mayors Jake Godbold and John Peyton, back Lockett-Felder.
Lee has been a fixture in her District for many terms. During this election cycle, she has bristled against Corrine Brown and her “Quick Pick” of Katrina Brown, who according to Lee, doesn’t live in the district but uses her parents’ address to establish residency. Thursday’s interview was no exception.
“When I saw how people were misled, based on that slip of paper, when the endorser is never at city council meetings, community meetings, blight committee meetings, I’m concerned about that,” Lee said
“I didn’t know who would be in the runoff, but I decided to support someone,” the councilwoman said, emphasizing that there were a lot of candidates in that crowded field who she felt good about. Katrina Brown was not among them.
Part of the reason, she said, is that unlike Lockett-Felder, who is ready to “hit the ground running,” Brown lacks experience in government.
“I know the critical nature of what’s going on,” she said. “Ten people are leaving council. It takes 10 to get anything done.”
Pointing out the coverage of the obelisk that bears Lockett-Felder’s likeness, Lee said that Lockett-Felder’s accomplishments “way outweigh one negative thing that a politician did not think through.”
She also emphasized her unique qualifications to endorse a candidate.
“Does experience matter? Yes. Is Denise Lee eligible to comment on District 8 candidates? Yes. Who is the most qualified person to read and comprehend legislation, look for money for the district, and build an instant relationship with the council auditor? There’s only one candidate who can do that: Pat Lockett-Felder,” Lee said.
“Am I a cheerleader for Pat Felder? Absolutely not. I’m a cheerleader for removing blight. Pat Lockett-Felder has come to District 8 and adjacent areas to fight blight. She has been in the game. She will be ‘all-in’ from Day One,” Lee said.
One of Lee’s problems with Katrina Brown is her statement that the district needs “new blood.” Another issue: the candidate’s apparent statement that, if elected, remediation of blight would not be a priority. Lee has agitated against infrastructural blight, as well as “human blight,” and the has been controversial.
“People in Northwest Jacksonville complain that there are no jobs, but if neighborhoods aren’t safe, companies won’t move there and jobs won’t happen,” she said.
Another problem Lee has with Brown is that “in 2015, people act like all you’ve got to do is give people a barbecue sandwich and tell them how to vote,” a reference to Katrina’s family business, Jerome Brown BBQ.
Lee also contends that the dissemination of Quick Picks itself is questionable, wondering why it’s restricted to black enclaves. “Why hasn’t it been disseminated in the whole District if it’s so good? If it’s good enough for the black community, it should be good enough for the whole community.”
“I resent the way African-Americans have been handled in this election,” Lee continued, pointing out that at least one elected official called people up and pressured them not to “touch Denise Lee” under threat of lost political patronage.
“Nobody should be threatened. Anybody who garners that kind of support, I am concerned,” Lee said.
Lee did not rule out running for office in the future.
