A.G. Gancarski
The River Club, high atop downtown Jacksonville, was the scene for FloridaPolitics.com’s interview with Donnie Horner.
Horner, a Republican running in House District 11, spoke about issues he hadn’t addressed before to this outlet.
One of them: the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis he got two years into what he had hoped would be a full career in the Navy.
“I had no idea what I’d do next,” he said.
He’d never mentioned it to this reporter before — he didn’t want it to be misconstrued, either as a bid for sympathy, or a play for votes.
Horner, who walked with a cane in his mid-20s, walks normally today, and projects positivity almost always … the hallmark of someone who survived a life-changing diagnosis and is, thus far, thriving.
And to his critics, a message: “I can do the job.”
****
Horner noted he gets different reactions while campaigning, some mentioning the health condition pejoratively, and others saying “God bless you.”
“It’s part of life. God gave me this cross to bear.”
Of course, Horner took that cross and carried it, step by step, uphill. Toward an MBA from Jacksonville University, and then an essential role in the formation of MainOcean, described as “a port solutions service provider and dry warehousing company focused on imports and exports.”
He never had an equity stake in the company. But he was there at the formation — “Employee No. 3,” he quipped.
From there, MainOcean went to have operations at ports in four states, and as a “pro bono consultant” to the company still, Horner definitely has an opinion on a topic of vital interest to his district: the dredging of JAXPORT, which is in his district.
****
Short answer: he supports dredging, believes it’s necessary, yet realizes the environmental considerations are meaningful (specifically, regarding increased salinity in the St. Johns) and the science must be considered.
“Our logistical infrastructure makes [the Jacksonville area] the perfect place to do business,” Horner said, noting the convergence of two major interstates and the headquarters of CSX, the railroad company, as unique assets for what is now a “somewhat-deep water port.”
Another consideration: being “due south of Cleveland, Ohio,” Jacksonville’s inland location is an asset that saves on ground transportation impacts.
Selling port expansion hasn’t been as effectively as it could on the state level. Horner believes a utilitarian argument is the best way forward on that.
“We need to make an argument that if we don’t get a deep water port, we’ll lose companies to Charleston and Savannah,” Horner said.
“We haven’t made a strong enough case. We need to start with a conversation with companies,” Horner said, noting companies that are elsewhere need to be asked if they will relocate if this happens, and the ones that are here need to be asked if dredging is more likely to make them stay.
But he already knows the answer: “If we don’t get deep water [dredging], we will lose customers.”
And the $47 million in the JAXPORT budget for dredging?
“A drop in the bucket.”
Horner, endorsed by immediate past chairman of the JAXPORT board John Falconetti, notes that his company, Beaver Street Fisheries, is the No. 1 cold container company at JAXPORT.
****
Another issue of relevance to Horner: the Mayport Ferry, whose operations have finally been assumed, after protracted negotiations, by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.
Horner, who attended “several St. Johns River Ferry Commission meetings early on,” vowed to “work diligently to find sustainable funding sources.”
***
The conversation shifted to social issues, which Horner described as “one of the peacocks in the room” at any gathering of politically interested people.
While he does say that “people on both sides of the aisle talk about [social issues] as a way to win votes,” he knows they are inherently important to voters.
As one who grew up with a father in the military, went to the Naval Academy, and served himself, Horner models the inclusive attitude of the military.
“When I look at a person, I see the person. I don’t see race or sexual orientation. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt; I have no stomach for racism or bigotry,” Horner said.
With that in mind, a discussion of issues like the Competitive Workplace Act on the state level and Human Rights Expansion on the local level followed.
“My hope is that local municipalities can solve the problem before the state has to,” describing the hope that state law will change under this Legislature as “unrealistic.”
Still, there’s no mistaking where he stands personally.
“It’s not fair in our country to have people dismissed or fired from their place of employment because of their sexual orientation.”
Horner supports HRO expansion locally: an “all-inclusive bill.”
“The best chance is right here at the local level,” Horner said.
And as important as these equity issues are, there is another issue that concerns Horner greatly: pension and public safety issues in Jacksonville, which he likens to an “alligator crawling in the boat.”
Fixing both of these will be the challenge of this generation of political leadership.
****
Still another topic discussed: the special Session Democrats wanted in the wake of the Pulse massacre.
Horner wouldn’t support that, billing himself as a “Second Amendment person” who believes gun ownership is a “God-given right” that accords with the Bill of Rights.
When asked about Omar Mateen, Horner said the problem was one of “radical Islamic terrorism,” and the way to combat that is to have the “best first responders” possible and to ensure “border security.”
While society “can’t sacrifice individual liberty,” Horner noted society has devolved “from the time when Kent State was an isolated incident.”
“Now, it’s a quarterly event.”
Worth noting: this interview was conducted before the murder of police in Dallas.
****
Horner, as the interview wrapped, said in terms of legislators, he was “as strong as you’re going to get in Tallahassee.”
Then, as politicians do, he worked toward an aspirational close.
“I’m proud to be a Republican. I’m proud to have community support.”
Despite having switched from the Democratic Party a few years ago, something which puts him in line with many politicians of a previous generation, Horner claimed that “I don’t think about the party switch until someone mentions it.”
Indeed, he has become the epitome of an establishment Republican.
He considers Herb Peyton a mentor and one of his best friends, noting that he and others, such as Adam Frisch, help encourage him to stay healthy by ensuring he exercises daily and recommending natural remedies, such as coconut oil.
And Horner, who moved around a lot earlier in life, sees Northeast Florida as the “first home [he’s] ever had.”
“I’m blessed to be here. Blessed to run for public office. I love it here. I love everything about Northeast Florida,” Horner said.
