A.G. Gancarski
Another weekend, another overnight stay in a high crime area by the Ken Jefferson campaign for Jacksonville Sheriff. Last week he stayed in the neighborhood of Grand Park; on Sunday night, he parked his RV on the grounds of Eureka Gardens, a crime-ridden Section 8 apartment complex on Jacksonville’s Westside, which has been the flash point for shootings and other issues in recent years, a situation not helped, say some critics, by outside ownership not doing what is necessary for more robust security on the premises.
I talked to local activist Diallo Sekou before going over there, and his response was blunt: “what the [….] is staying overnight there supposed to do?” The main point of these overnight stays, beyond whatever publicity might come from them, is the ability to dialogue with local residents, and to allow Jefferson to distinguish himself from the current Sheriff and his current opponent both by showing a commitment to community outreach.
Before Jefferson showed up, I talked to Democratic At Large City Council candidate Ju’Coby Pittman, the heavy favorite to win the race in Group 5, who was doing the walkthrough but not the overnight stay. Jefferson had invited all of the At Large Democrats running; the other two, Tommy Hazouri and Kim Daniels, apparently had other commitments.
Pittman, who grew up in Blodgett Homes, a now non-existent 20th Century Jacksonville housing project which suffered from many of the same issues Eureka Gardens has had, was emphatic in her desire to establish “better communication” with Eureka Gardens residents.
“There are a lot of good people here,” said Pittman. “The residents need to see the candidates,” she said, adding that “Eureka Gardens is better than it was a year ago, than five years ago” and that a lot of the crime comes from “people who don’t live here,” who come from adjacent neighborhoods.
An item in the news in Jacksonville over the weekend: a proposal from certain pastors that the city impose a 9:00 p.m. curfew in high crime areas. Pittman, who is best known locally for being the CEO of the Clara White Mission, was skeptical as to that proposal’s viability.
“Once you start a curfew, you have to continue it. It costs money,” she said, saying that such a measure would put “handcuffs on people” without conferring any guaranteed benefits.
Soon enough, Jefferson’s SUV pulled up, as the sun began its descent beyond the two story brick buildings on the westside of the complex. As he greeted neighborhood kids who crowded around his car’s open door, his campaign team set its plan into motion, sending volunteers to each of the 20 buildings in the complex to knock on doors and let residents know that Jefferson would be swinging by to talk to them.
Jefferson was delayed by two competing realities, he related upon arrival. One such: a fundraiser, a necessary evil on the campaign circuit. Another: visiting the home of a local teenager, Johnell Johnson, who was shot on his prom night over the weekend. In a communal prayer, he asked for intercession for Johnson’s soul, while managing to weave in campaign slogans, such as “veil of violence” and “we can do better together,” into the plea.
The strategy was a success. As night fell, many residents came outside, or at least opened their doors, to meet Jefferson. A 14 year old girl, an African American eighth grader, asked Jefferson how he would help Jacksonville.
“Stopping violent crime. That’s my main priority. I’m not just here to shake hands. I’m here to answer questions,” he said.
Addressing the young lady, he spoke to her dreams, as well: “whatever you want to be in life, we’re here to help.”
Talking to a middle aged woman, who echoed Pittman’s statement about outsiders bringing in trouble, Jefferson had this to say.
“The reason they come in from outside is because they can’t live here if they are in trouble,” he said, suggesting that a police stop station may help deal with the issues, establishing a “police presence in the community.”
As the outside lights came on outside the units, Jefferson continued making his appeal to the tenants of Eureka Gardens. Everyone he’d talked to voted for him once, including the enthusiastic officers of the Eureka Gardens Tenants Association, and intended to again. However, the mainstream media was nowhere to be found at this event, suggesting that for all of the good will something like this generated for his campaign in the immediate community, the media at large would probably do relatively little with it.
But the reality of media coverage at flashpoints of violent “drug trade” related crime is this: it tends to be event driven. When bodies hit the ground and crime tape surrounds the chalk drawings, it’s a story. The day to day existence, however, is unglamorous and not exciting viewing. It is the relentless grind of poverty, day by day, from which some will emerge and most will not.
