A.G. Gancarski
The first day of September was a bad day on Wall Street. Yet September began with good news for Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry, and Metal Container, which makes among other things 1.5 million aluminum bottles a day for the beer barons at Anheuser-Busch.
Metal Container brought Scott and Curry together with a group of political luminaries, including City Council President Greg Anderson, Councilman Reggie Brown, State Rep. Mia Jones, and state Sen. Aaron Bean. The $170 million plant expansion will bring 75 advanced manufacturing jobs to Jacksonville.
Though it is tempting to argue that all job creation press conferences are the same, this one had two meaningful subtexts.
One was the expansion of upper middle class jobs to the Northwest Quadrant. And the other was an assertion, made repeatedly, that unless Enterprise Florida gets an infusion of capital to add to the $9 million in its closing fund, job announcements like this won’t happen with frequency.
Flanked by men in baseball caps and the occasional hard hat, the politicians kept the messaging positive, except for the Enterprise Florida leit motif.
Scott talked about this latest jobs announcement as the fulfillment of his “jobs platform” and as what happens when Florida invests in persuading companies to buy into the Sunshine State.
Florida, which has added jobs for almost every month of Scott’s tenure, is “becoming a global destination for jobs,” claimed the governor, who touted numbers: 917,000 jobs created, and 16,000 private sector jobs last month, and unemployment at a tidy 5.4 percent.
Then Scott made the pitch.
“It’s very important to continue to fund Enterprise Florida,” which is “down to its last $9 million for its fiscal year.”
Scott touted the 75 new jobs created, which he equated to 75 families getting a chance to live their dream.
Curry, for his part, touted the importance of this event.
“All jobs matter,” Curry said, “particularly manufacturing jobs.”
“These things don’t happen by accident,” Curry added, citing the “concerted effort” that led to jobs and job creation.
Repeating a homily he had used during a job creation event at Citibank last month, Curry affirmed that just as Florida is open for business, Jacksonville too is open for business.
Anderson spoke next, and his remarks focused on direct benefits, such as the $67.5 million payroll through the end of the agreement that council approved in June, which would create “greater opportunity for jobs in northwest Jacksonville” and result in $13.6 million for the local public schools.
Then, Bean spoke, pledging to “lead the way” to ensure that Enterprise Florida was funded. He was followed by Jones, who brought home the importance of job creation events such as that one.
“I was born and raised in northwest Jacksonville,” Jones said, noting that in the northwest quadrant, “many people you know are unemployed.”
Such initiatives reverse that course, she said.
“You don’t have to go to the southside of Jacksonville to make things happen,” Jones said.
Florida Politics spoke with Curry and Scott after the prepared remarks were delivered.
A logical question for Curry, in light of Representative Jones’ comments: what happens next for northwest Jacksonville’s economic growth?
Curry said that his team is taking a “real hard strategic look” at where to go next, as part of a “strategic plan” that gives “attention to all neighborhoods” with “incentives that make sense” and deliver return on investment.
Scott, meanwhile, addressed a question regarding Enterprise Florida. Describing his posture as “very hopeful,” the governor seemed to follow up on the call to action issued to board members at last month’s conclave in Ponte Vedra, observing that “a lot of individuals have reached out to their state senators and representatives” to promote EFI’s interest via the “legislative process.”
Can Florida compete with other states without meaningful resources in the closing fund? This project, JAXUSA President Jerry Mallot told reporters, was “not a slam dunk.” As the larger economy appears to slow down, economic expansion takes on an increasing sense of urgency for the business community and policy makers. This is an important win for Jacksonville. Yet there is a new game to be played every day.
