A.G. Gancarski
On Friday, 4th District State Attorney Angela Corey followed up on her Fraternal Order of Police endorsement with one from the Jacksonville Association of Firefighters.
A statement from her campaign: “Our re-election campaign is honored to announce we have received the endorsement of the Jacksonville Association of Fire Fighters, I.A.F.F. Local 122! We are so grateful to our first responders for their continued support of Angela and her leadership as State Attorney. It is especially rewarding coming on the heels of the endorsement of the Fraternal Order of Police 5-30 that was announced last week. We look forward to continuing our excellent relationship with the first responders who work so diligently to keep our community safe.”
The endorsement from Randy Wyse, the Union Chief who has been in the news himself in recent days for whipping City Council votes on Monday night, surprises no one. And it, along with a fundraising advantage over her opponent, Wes White, allows her to keep her campaign messaging positive and above the fray.
Of course, there are those who say that she has to do that. One of them being Wes White, who has told a number of people that he has a poll showing him within striking distance of Corey, who is weighed down by negatives galore.
Corey’s had a number of high-profile cases, ranging from Marissa Alexander and Michael Dunn to George Zimmerman, and has gotten negative national coverage along the way. As well, her relationship with the Florida Times-Union has not been without its complications.
Despite all of this, she is the establishment choice. As with Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell, who stopped courthouse wedding ceremonies this year so that his staff didn’t have to officiate gay marriages, there are relationships and comfort levels in general that supersede heartburn on a given issue.
Last week, at a forum in NW Jacksonville, Corey and White exchanged some very pointed words.
The thing about it was that Corey gave back as good as she got. She took debate, with White and others in attendance, personally. But she doesn’t shrink from the theater of combat.
If I were advising Corey, I’d tell her to avoid those forums and exchanges with White. Rely on name recognition and endorsements and ride out, win eventually by ten points, be gracious in victory, and call it a day.
There are veteran Corey-watchers, however, who don’t expect her to do that. They predict that she will do more joint appearances with White, as much undermining his prosecutorial case as making her own.
