A.G. Gancarski
It’s a familiar sight in Jacksonville. Governor Rick Scott comes to town and says a few words. Mayor Lenny Curry is by his side, along with a few Council members.
On Thursday morning, it happened again.
Scott came to town to give a Young Entrepreneur Award to Dane Grey, the 29 year old owner of Elite Parking Services, whose monitoring center has 60 jobs, with plans to add 150 more.
Grey recounted having gone to a Rick Scott campaign event in 2009 with Mayor Curry, where he was intrigued by the Governor’s “direction in policy” and commitment to “cutting bureaucracy.”
He was, in fact, so impressed that he quit his current job and went 100% into the company.
Scott discussed working together with Curry, the former state GOP chair, for the last 5+ years. The Governor reiterated his commitment to making Florida a “global destination for jobs,” while noting Curry’s commitment to doing the same for Jacksonville.
Curry has “hit the ground running,” Scott said, aggressively lobbying companies to come to Jacksonville.
Curry, unsurprisingly, found a thematic symbiosis with the governor.
“Florida is open for business,” Mayor Curry said, and “Jacksonville now wants to leverage” that business-friendly climate and own the space.
Curry and Scott both made note of Grey’s office being the mayor’s former business office years back. Curry noted that Elite Parking Services has doubled the space of Curry’s operation.
And, perhaps as a message to those on Council who disagree with board moves and other prerogatives of the executive branch, Curry noted that the mayor’s office and City Council are “aligned on anything good for business and growth.”
