A.G. Gancarski
As of Sunday night, Rules Chairman Matt Schellenberg had three meetings scheduled Monday to engage support for his Jax City Council VP bid. Anna Brosche was his first.
Schellenberg, a second term Republican representing Mandarin and Beauclerc, had introduced at-large candidate Brosche to voters in his Mandarin district last year during the campaign, as he did Sam Newby, his only signatory going into Monday.
That loyalty was enough to sell Newby. But Brosche, who had already said that she wanted meetings with all candidates before making a decision, wasn’t going to be sold Monday.
Schellenberg led off the meeting, noting that previous VP races “didn’t happen like this.” The process didn’t require these public notice meetings until this current race.
Now, under the benevolent luminescence of the Sunshine Law, such meetings are a matter of public record, as are the pitches.
Schellenberg, though he likes all of the other candidates, opined that he just has a “different perspective about what is good for the city and the Council” than his opponents, Doyle Carter, Aaron Bowman, and John Crescimbeni, the front runner in terms of signed pledges.
Schellenberg did not expand upon that provocative thesis.
He did note that experience matters when it comes to Council leadership in general, noting that Warren Jones was singular in having served two consecutive terms as council president.
For Schellenberg, that would be ideal. At least, he added, he wishes the term was a year and a half. A year, Schellenberg says, just allows enough time to “barely get… feet wet.”
Schellenberg then pivoted to the personal appeal, telling Brosche “you are a leader” and “will be no matter who gets elected.”
Schellenberg then remarked on one of his unique value adds: “I show a certain amount of collegiality,” he said regarding his relationships on Council.
Perhaps with Council President Greg Anderson hinting to Crescimbeni that he might like to be Finance chair when it’s Crescimbeni’s time to make such decisions in mind, Schellenberg dangled what could be construed as a parallel offer, saying “if you’re interested in Finance, in doing something,” but not completing the statement.
Then Schellenberg lamented the lack of continuity in the position of Council liaison to the Jacksonville Port Authority, noting that he was replaced by Ray Holt.
“He only went to one meeting,” Schellenberg lamented, before making his closing pitch: that he’s “running for continuing good work” and “putting good people in place… where they feel most comfortable.”
“It’s very difficult with the Sunshine Law to get to know people,” Schellenberg lamented.
Those interpersonal dynamics are key to the job, Schellenberg said.
The Council President, he added, has to be the “voice of Council,” working with the mayor and having the unique ability to talk “behind the scenes.”
“I’m a people person,” Schellenberg added.
Brosche did not commit.
After the meeting, FloridaPolitics.com talked with Schellenberg about the state of the race; specifically, regarding some provocative comments he made in the Financial News and Daily Record about the candidacy of new Councilman Aaron Bowman.
Schellenberg called Bowman’s run “unprecedented” and, as the report summed up, “Schellenberg believes Bowman’s early run is being fueled by his employer, the JAX Chamber, as a way to push its agenda. And it could get that through the 11 new members, many of whom the chamber supported.”
For those who follow Jacksonville politics and the palpable distance between “Chamber Republicans,” of which Bowman is Exhibit A, and the more “Christian conservative” set (recall that Schellenberg has employed anti-HRO activist Raymond Johnson for help with campaigns), Schellenberg casting shade on Bowman is interesting in its subtext.
“Whenever Daniel Davis is supporting a candidate,” Schellenberg said, that candidate has the “tacit approval of the Chamber.”
Otherwise, Schellenberg said, that candidate “wouldn’t have time” for such a “demanding job.”
“I want the independence of everybody,” Schellenberg said.
The clear implication that some will draw from his comments today and in the aforementioned piece: Bowman, the chair of JAX USA and former Commanding Officer of the Mayport Naval Station, isn’t sufficiently “independent.”
Both Schellenberg and Bowman have meetings with potential supporters scheduled for Monday afternoon. Although both of Schellenberg’s are with Council members who have pledged already, he says the meetings are still on.
Bowman, meanwhile, meets with Reggie Gaffney.
