A.G. Gancarski
The election of President-elect Donald Trump offers a unique opportunity for the city of Jacksonville, the biggest city in the country with a GOP mayor.
In written responses to questions regarding the election, Mayor Lenny Curry expressed confidence his support of Trump as a candidate would help to position Jacksonville favorably going forward
Curry, who served as master of ceremonies for a Jacksonville Trump rally in August, was contemporaneously criticized for what was seen as a partisan move by observers in the media and by correspondents to his office.
However, with Trump elected and the GOP retaining control of both houses of Congress, Jacksonville’s Republican mayor believes the city is well-positioned in the upcoming federal food fights.
“I believe my strong support of President-elect Trump, like my relationship with Gov. Rick Scott, will be good for the City of Jacksonville as we move forward with bold new ideas,” Curry wrote.
Curry also expressed optimism for Jacksonville’s new U.S. Representatives-elect, Republican John Rutherford and Democrat Al Lawson, who will be serving in the 4th and 5th Congressional Districts.
“Sheriff Rutherford and I are great friends and he fully understands the priorities of Jacksonville. I expect that I will be able to have a great relationship with Congressman-elect Lawson and look forward to meeting with him very soon,” Curry noted.
Both Rutherford and Lawson have positioned themselves as pragmatists, looking to work with colleagues across the aisle. Though Lawson is from Tallahassee, he is well-regarded, especially among Jacksonville Republicans with experience in the state capital.
Jacksonville has some needs from the federal government. Two of the most immediate: securing federal funds for river dredging related to deepening the harbor for JAXPORT, and bolstering Jacksonville’s military presence by strengthening the position of NAS Mayport and NAS Jacksonville.
Clearly, the mayor is confident the city’s congressional delegation and the mayor’s own support of President-elect Trump will help Jacksonville plead its case on the federal level.
More holistically, Mayor Curry sees the election results as a vindication of Republican and conservative values.
“As a lifelong Republican and a former chair at the local and state level, I am proud of what my party did all over the state and the nation last night. The Republican vision of less government and more opportunity is exactly what our state and nation need right now,” Curry noted.
Worth watching: how Jacksonville fares in terms of accomplishing its priorities on the federal level during Trump’s first term.
Whereas the mayors of Tallahassee, Orlando, and Tampa were well-positioned with the current president, it seems that the changing of the guard in the White House bodes well for Jacksonville — at least for the next few years.
