Lenny Curry talks first year in office, and the path forward

During his campaign for mayor in 2015, Lenny Curry‘s push from being slightly behind in the polls to winning the election coincided with concerted outreach to areas of Jacksonville for which the promise of consolidation was never fully delivered.

Curry, last spring, made forays to Grand Park and other struggling neighborhoods to meet voters who were skeptical of Republican candidates in general. In doing that, he learned about the unique challenges of those in that and other communities.

And in that context, it was no accident that to discuss his first year as mayor — both the accomplishments and the path forward — Curry went to one of those communities left behind by consolidation, doing a neighborhood walk in District 8’s Grunthal Park.

Curry noted his “fantastic working relationship” with Councilwoman Katrina Brown, who is a tireless advocate for those in her district.

Curry spoke of the “sense of urgency” he feels, as he comes out “swinging every day” for the people of Jacksonville.

Despite that, “there’s a long way to go,” and Curry was “not here to celebrate,” as he knows his work as mayor, including righting the wrongs of “underserved areas.”

As he does on more occasions than not, Curry messaged on the importance of the pension-tax referendum passing, noting that the “city is on a financial cliff” and the tax will help make the city “solvent.”

FloridaPolitics.com asked him about the mechanics of selling the pension tax, noting resistance, which manifested recently with Sen. Audrey Gibson noting at a town hall meeting that, unlike the administration reps on hand, she was not on the “selling the pension tax tour.”

That position was consistent with what she told Tia Mitchell this spring; namely, that Curry would have to “sell it.”

Beyond the less-than-universal buy-in, another wrinkle has emerged with the most recent actuarial projections, which revealed near-term benefit, with savings as high as $68 million per year until the mid-2030s, reversing and eventually hitting a high of $381 million in FY 48.

Curry noted, in response to those worries, that the key was “securing the half-penny in the out years,” adding that “as I’ve said before, it’s not a perfect plan.”

“Critics can shoot holes” in the plan, said Curry, but he and his team are “in the game trying to solve the problem.”

Regarding questions from those in Northwest Jacksonville about not deriving direct benefit from passage of the plan, Curry noted “underserved communities are our top priorities.”

Those paying attention to the Mayor’s Budget Review would note examples of redressing historic wrongs in the capital improvement plan, including Lower Eastside drainage, a $6.8 million project, being set to get $5.4 million this year and the next in the out-year.

Additionally, Council President Lori Boyer is focusing in her presidential year on fulfilling the promises of consolidation, and creating a capital improvement plan with meaningful, rather than theoretical, out-year commitments.

Curry took a question on citizen review boards, which Councilwoman Brown called a public notice meeting about this week.

As Brown looked on with a smile on her face, Curry spoke for the first time on the issue.

The mayor noted that while he has “great faith and confidence” in Sheriff Mike Williams, he is “willing to sit down and listen to concerns” of those advocating for a CRB.

When asked about recent police shootings, and if he’s concerned that one might be a tipping point for the kind of issues seen in other cities after police shootings, Curry noted that “the sheriff engaged the Department of Justice” recently, and expressed confidence people are “going to continue to see him do the right thing.”

The answer on citizen review boards sat well with Councilwoman Brown, who was happy that “he said he’ll take a look at it.”

Curry, at a couple of points in his neighborhood visit, spoke with Diallo Sekou of the Kemetic Empire, an activist group that has been outspoken on police shootings and its perception that law enforcement is neither accountable to nor representative of the community at large.

Sekou was one of the “Jax 19” defendants who shut down a Jacksonville bridge and an interstate highway in 2014 to call awareness to the egregious circumstances of the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

More recently, Sekou and his group have advocated strongly for a civilian review board and for body cameras for officers.

Curry has a delicate balancing act, leading his community as fissures become ever more undeniable. It’s no accident he commemorated his first year in office in a neighborhood that lays bare the challenges he faces for at least the next three.

And in committing to neighborhood outreach, he will be posed with, and will have to answer, the tough questions.