A.G. Gancarski
One of the interesting developments of Lenny Curry as mayor is how easily the mainstream media has been sold.
Part of the reason: He’s done a great job reaching out to media on its own terms. From the sports people at First Coast News, who prepared a feature on his coaching his son’s youth football team, to the reporters at WJXT: THE Local Station, who likewise have done nice features on his family, Curry has found the sweet spot when it comes to targeted cross-sectional marketing.
Some might have thought one of the tougher sells would be the editorial board at Morris Communications’ Florida Times-Union; however, no worries there. His first 100 days got rave reviews from that corner also.
“Mayor Lenny Curry put on a bravura performance in a meeting with the Times-Union editorial board,” claimed a piece posted on its website Monday. “The sense was of a cool, confident leader who is willing and able to use all the tools available to him in a strong mayor form of government.”
The use of the “strong mayor” phrase is no accident, as critics of his predecessor contended that he had abdicated that function on issues such as municipal budgets.
And then there was this:
The word that came to mind for Curry is from the Latin, “gravitas” which the Urban Dictionary defines as “strength of character, self-esteem, confidence.”
Not sure why they used the Urban Dictionary there, but I’m sure the mayor will take it.
While the editorial board quibbles with his handling of board and commission replacements (“But we disagree with his requests for the resignations of Nancy Soderberg on the port authority board and Lisa King on the Planning Commission.”), the reviews were mostly rave, and the article broke a bit of news.
Curry will launch Jacksonville Journey 2.0 at a community meeting next month.
Beyond his outreach to various media outlets, Curry has built strong relationships with Council President Greg Anderson and the Jax Chamber, which will be demonstrated during this week’s London trip as local leaders embark to sell Jacksonville in the United Kingdom while the Jaguars play the Buffalo Bills.
The relative merits of Jaguars football aside, those familiar with previous trips by the former mayor said that he underperformed when representing Jacksonville across the sea.
Undoubtedly, the current mayor will be treated to more glowing reviews by comparison.
