A.G. Gancarski
The board moves made by Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry have been controversial and heavily politicized by local Democratic and Republican partisans, as seen in Tuesday’s Rules Committee meeting when Republican Executive Committee members showed up to back the play that Councilman Tommy Hazouri and other Democrats called “unprecedented” and “clearly partisan.”
That narrative is out there; however, a counter narrative has emerged, as comments from former State Senate candidate and Jacksonville attorney Wyman Duggan spotlight, which contends that Curry’s moves are completely in sync with consolidated government.
“With respect to those who feel that the Mayor’s mid-term board replacements are contrary to Consolidation, I wanted to make the observation that the Local Government Study Commission’s 1966 Blueprint for Improvement, which is literally the blueprint for Consolidation, stated that the ‘major premise’ underlying the Consolidation effort is ‘the ability of the electorate to pinpoint responsibility’,” Duggan wrote in an email Wednesday.
When Duggan withdrew from the “uber-competitive SD 4 race” in 2012, he endorsed a familiar face at City Hall for the seat that went, eventually, to Senator Aaron Bean.
“”I am honored and humbled by the favorable response I have received from the citizens of Northeast Florida. They care deeply about this community and its future and that is why I support Mike Weinstein. His commitment to the community and his history of job creation make him the best candidate for State Senate. I am asking everyone who supported me to throw your support behind Mike Weinstein,” said Duggan.
Weinstein currently serves as Curry’s Chief Financial Officer.
Duggan, a land use attorney with Rogers Towers, was chair of the most recent Charter Review commission.
“Any mayor’s desire to remove board members whose appointments he is not responsible for and replace them with members whose appointment he is responsible for is entirely consistent with that premise,” Duggan continued.
