A.G. Gancarski
While Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry was in London with the Jaguars, two members of the City Council were making news, via a Only in Jacksonville scandal one might call “Plategate.”
Jacksonville television viewers spent Friday evening watching footage of Jacksonville City Councilmembers Reggie Gaffney and Katrina Brown accusing local cops of racial profiling.
Gaffney had been pulled over for driving on a license plate he reported stolen in early 2016. Brown pulled up behind him to accuse the officers of racially profiling Gaffney.
From there, things got no better. The head of the local Fraternal Order of Police urged the Councilors to apologize to the police they had maligned, or resign.
With this story providing an interesting counterpoint to a budget night vote where the greatest controversy may involve whether or not the city hires 100 new police officers, we asked Curry whether he lined up with the police union or with two council allies who typically are reliable votes.
“I trust that the Sheriff and people over at JSO will do the right thing,” Curry said Tuesday on Jacksonville’s Northside, “and the process will work.”
The process at this point includes a complaint filed to the JSO Integrity Unit by FOP Head Steve Zona.
“The FOP is obviously disappointed in [Gaffney’s] recent behavior and we will await the outcome of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Integrity Unit investigation,” Zona said Monday.
Action News Jax reported Monday that Gaffney’s tag, in addition to mysteriously reappearing on the Councilman’s car after it was reported stolen, had in fact expired.
Neither Councilman Gaffney or Councilwoman Brown have offered comment in recent days on this matter, but it will be harder for them to shake the press at Council Tuesday night.
As we’ve reported all too frequently, Gaffney and Brown seem to face the most ethical challenges of anyone on Council.
Before his election, Gaffney was dogged by a Medicaid overbilling scandal. After his election, he was popped for double-dipping on his homestead exemption. Meanwhile, his non-profit (Community Rehabilitation Center) is being sued by a former employee who charges she was assigned to work with HIV+ patients without state mandated Ryan White training.
Brown, meanwhile, faces issues ranging from the worst attendance record on the Council to an ongoing lawsuit against her family business from the city of Jacksonville.
The city’s grievance: the two LLCs received almost $600,000 of city grants and loans to create 56 jobs for a BBQ sauce plant.
Alas, the companies fell 56 jobs short of that goal.
The city already got a default judgement of $220,000 for part of the money, and has since requested detailed records, facilitating forensic accounting to determine where the rest of the money went.
One comment
Frankie M.
September 26, 2017 at 4:33 pm
At least Curry didn’t shake his head & say stupid is as stupid does. That seems to be his new go-to.
Comments are closed.