A.G. Gancarski
Ten Council members, going into Tuesday, had made pledges in the Jacksonville City Council VP race: six for John Crescimbeni, and four for Doyle Carter.
This left nine pledges to be fought over by the veteran Councilmen.
After Tuesday, there were eight left. And Crescimbeni is closer to victory than he was at the beginning of the day.
Tuesday’s potential pledge, Joyce Morgan, met with both men; Carter in the morning and Crescimbeni in the afternoon, before signing on with her fellow Arlington Democrat
Morgan, a freshman Councilwoman, said in the morning that while she thought Carter was a “wonderful Councilman” and that she feels strongly for him, the VP choice was “very difficult for her.”
Now the choice has been made.
Crescimbeni, who had campaigned for Morgan in 2015, made his pitch to her in the linear way he approaches most cases he makes, laying out his strengths, his weaknesses, and what he intended to do in a leadership role. Then he made a hard call to action, producing a pledge letter and a pen.
And the play worked.
After the meeting with Morgan, FloridaPolitics.com asked Carter about pledges and their timetable for decision.
They could, said Carter, be one of two ways. They could get in at the beginning, and benefit by being early.
“Or they can be tenth and be the topper,” Carter added.
Right now, Crescimbeni is closer to having a topper than Carter.
Crescimbeni, who came into Tuesday needing four pledges to have a simple majority, got a lot of early support before hitting a wall.
People had been thinking it over, such as Katrina Brown and Tommy Hazouri.
But getting signatures on paper has presented a challenge. However, that may change now that the score is 7 to 4
Morgan signing on with Crescimbeni could change the trajectory of the pledge race ahead of the May 24 vote.
At the very least, it gives Doyle Carter a steeper climb than he had at the beginning of the day.
