Alvin Brown, Lenny Curry meet, putting election behind them

For the first time since the acrimonious election of 2015, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry and his predecessor, Alvin Brown, met in the mayor’s suite.

Curry and Brown, in a brief appearance in the lobby of the mayor’s office, smiled for the camera, with Curry saying they were “just catching up.”

Curry’s spokeswoman, Marsha Oliver, noted that “Mr. Brown requested the meeting, and the mayor was happy to [meet]. Former Mayor Brown was visiting with folks and meeting with new staff.”

Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart noted that Brown was interested in posing for the ceremonial painting that all former mayors get; currently, a photograph of Brown hangs in the mayor’s suite, in lieu of the picture.

Stewart noted that Brown “wanted to give the new mayor breathing room” before meeting Curry in the mayor’s suite.

The former mayor and the current one interacted Thursday at a groundbreaking event at Jacksonville University, from where Brown was an alumnus.

“All of the former mayors have good experience to draw from,” Stewart said, though there are no definite plans for Brown to collaborate with the Curry Administration on anything yet.

We are in the mayor’s office and will update this piece if Brown or Curry wish to offer further comment.

What is clear, though: the acrimony of the campaign is a memory, as Brown’s booming laugh was audible in the lobby of the mayor’s office, coming from behind the walls of the inner sanctum.