A.G. Gancarski
Much of the noise made about Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry‘s board moves has come from the left. But with less than an hour before the City Council agenda meeting, support for these moves comes from the right, courtesy of Jon McGowan, who wrote a letter to Council President Greg Anderson distilling the case for the mayor’s right to make his moves.
“I am writing to ask you to vote in support of Mayor Lenny Curry’s nominations for city boards. Mayor Curry has operated under the slogan of One City, One Jacksonville and based off who he is appointing to these various boards, I believe you’ll find he’s doing exactly that. If you look at the appointments it is clear that it isn’t about political affiliation, rather about shared vision. Mayor Curry has nominated both Republicans and Democrats, gay and straight, male and female, and of all races who all share a common goal of moving our city in a new direction,” McGowan writes.
“Partisan opponents have been trying to cry foul because the Mayor is removing existing people in order to place his own in these positions. These appointments are not about any one individual or about partisanship, it is about moving our city towards a common goal,” McGowan asserts.
“For Mayor Curry to move our city in the direction he wants, it is important that the people who are in decision making positions share his vision. Just as the City Council can choose who represents you on the boards that represent the city council,” McGowan adds, alluding to a bit of weirdness on the Tourist Development Council board in which appointed board members overruled Council members on a question, “it is important that you support the Mayor by allowing him to craft his boards to work towards that goal. I encourage you to be diligent in reviewing the nominees, to review and question them on behalf of the citizens of Jacksonville, but don’t dismiss them outright because of partisan games.
McGowan, who has been a political radio show host in the past, is now devoted to launching the Shooting and Outdoors Convention, a trade show for that industry that will have its inaugural event in 2016.
