A.G. Gancarski
The best quote in Jacksonville politics will hold court Thursday evening on the Eastside.
Former Mayor Jake Godbold will appear at the Jacksonville Historical Society event, “An Evening with Mayor Jake,” from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. in what promises to be an unvarnished look into the glory days of post-Consolidation Jacksonville politics.
The event will be at Old St. Andrews on 317 A Philip Randolph Boulevard in Jacksonville’s historic Eastside.
Godbold served on the City Commission and then City Council as the city went through Consolidation a half-century ago, before replacing Hans Tanzler as Mayor in 1979.
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Despite his advanced age, Godbold still has a role in public life.
The former Democratic Mayor was instrumental in marketing pension reform with current Mayor Lenny Curry, and his quotes were piquant.
Regarding the cause of the city’s pension debt, Godbold was blunt.
“It’s time to forget all of that,” Godbold said to media. “That’s a bunch of shit.”
It’s that bluntness, that piquant “old Jacksonville” turn of phrase, that makes Godbold’s remarks must-see for those who want to understand how the city works, from someone who was there since the beginning of the current governance structure.
