A.G. Gancarski
On Wednesday afternoon, Jax Council vice presidential candidate John Crescimbeni solicited the support of fellow Democrat Garrett Dennis in a tight race against Republican Doyle Carter.
Dennis had been expected to meet with Carter before Crescimbeni, but the meeting was cancelled as Carter was traveling. Because of that, Dennis was not prepared to sign on with Crescimbeni, he said before the meeting.
Dennis “wanted to give both a shot to share their vision,” and added that party ID does not play a role in his decision.
Dennis noted the cross-party collaboration he has had with Mayor Lenny Curry on the Eureka Garden issue, the two first-termers crossing party lines and “leading a charge on an issue that affects all of us.”
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Crescimbeni led off the meeting striking common ground with Dennis, saying he admired Dennis’ “political instincts” and “willingness to speak out … go in the other direction to do what’s right.”
Then Crescimbeni preemptively mentioned the “text message thing,” in which Crescimbeni “somehow got implicated.”
While Crescimbeni was “curious how that vote switched,” and doesn’t have a “problem talking to media,” he wasn’t the leaker, he said.
“I didn’t know anybody had questions” until recently, Crescimbeni added.
“I’d heard those rumblings about you being the source,” Dennis said, but it’s “old news to me.”
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Crescimbeni attempted to appeal to connections Dennis had, including his immediate predecessor in the District 9 seat.
“I think you and Warren [Jones] are close,” Crescimbeni said. “Ask him for a reference.”
Crescimbeni urged Dennis to reach out to Sen. Audrey Gibson as well, which led Dennis to ask if there were any Republicans he should contact for the same purpose.
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Beyond that meta-discourse drama, another interesting exchange came during discussion of committee assignments.
Crescimbeni observed, regarding the newer Council members, that “if you haven’t been on Finance and you’re new, you need to learn it.”
That appealed to Dennis, who observed that “it’s very important not to be put in a box.”
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In addition to the contemporary discussion, there was a history lesson as well.
Crescimbeni observed, in reference to Jones, that the Council hasn’t “had a Democrat president or vice president since 1992,” when he filled that role.
Dennis mentioned Suzanne Jenkins, leading to a discussion of the interesting history of leadership transitions, highlighted by Crescimbeni’s account of when Stephen Joost attempted to “bump” vice president Jack Webb from the presidency during the floor vote.
That was humiliating, observed Crescimbeni, as Webb “had his family in the front row that night.”
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The pledge count stands with Crescimbeni clinging to a one-vote lead, 7 to 6, over Carter, with six Council members in the balance.
