A.G. Gancarski
Years after a former Republican Jacksonville Mayor sold locals on the “Better Jacksonville Plan,” a Jacksonville Democrat has a “Better Jacksonville” vision of her own.
Tracye Polson, a Democrat running to replace departing Republican Rep. Jay Fant in House District 15, now has the statewide Better Jacksonville committee on her behalf.
The committee has been seeded with $10,000 already, another signal to the only Republican in the race — attorney Wyman Duggan — that Polson intends to compete seriously in 2018’s general election.
With committee money factored in, Polson is essentially even with Duggan in the money race — a genuine anomaly in the often drama-free reality of potential general election contests in exquisitely-gerrymandered Jacksonville.
Republican hopeful Wyman Duggan has roughly $60,000 on hand after two months in the race.
Meanwhile, Polson brought in $51,099 to her campaign account in September (half of that self-financed), with over $47,000 of that cash on hand.
Duggan, a mainstay at Jacksonville’s City Hall, has been stacking endorsements since entering the race — something Polson has yet to do.
Republican Councilmen Danny Becton, Matt Schellenberg, Greg Anderson, Aaron Bowman, Scott Wilson, Doyle Carter, and Sam Newby are newly on board as of last week, as are former Councilmen Jim Overton and Kevin Hyde.
Duggan was previously endorsed by Rep. John Rutherford, State Sen. Aaron Bean, State Rep. Jason Fischer, Duval Clerk of Courts Ronnie Fussell, Duval Tax Collector Michael Corrigan and Councilman Jim Love.
These endorsements will be more helpful in a primary battle for Duggan, should one materialize, than in the general election derby.
