A.G. Gancarski
For those who might want to challenge Republican Rory Diamond as he runs to succeed termed-out Bill Gulliford on the Jacksonville City Council, it’s getting late.
Diamond, whose campaign is being handled by Lenny Curry‘s political adviser Tim Baker, banked another respectable month of fundraising in March, raising $8,350. He now has raised $119,000, with over $113,000 on hand.
Among the names on Diamond’s latest report: Jacksonville investor Ashton Hudson, and University of North Florida Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Chris Warren.
Diamond has already outraised Gulliford in each of his runs. Gulliford, unopposed in his 2015 re-election bid, raised $95,000.
In 2011, when Gulliford initially won the office, he raised just over $47,000 (though he defeated Danny Becton, who raised $115,000).
12 comments
Florida Good
April 9, 2018 at 7:46 pm
This is Diamond’s bio from his work website. Chief Executive Officer
As CEO of K9s For Warriors, Rory is responsible for the executive management and strategic vision of the Organization. Under his leadership, K9s For Warriors has grown into the nation’s largest provider of service dogs for disabled American veterans, and has saved hundreds of rescue dogs. Prior to leading K9s For Warriors, Rory was a litigator at two international law firms. He also served as a federal prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Homeland security.
Rory is a national advocate for American veterans and has taken the lead in pro-service dog legislation. In 2015, he partnered with Florida Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL-6) to author and introduce the Puppies Assisting Wounded Service Members (PAWS) Act, passage would require the U.S. Department of Veterans Administration to provide a service dog to qualifying military
Concerned Northeast Florida Resident
April 11, 2018 at 10:19 pm
I guess Rory left out the part about himself being a HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVIST who supports homosexual “marriage”! Rory is a RINO — Republican In Name Only! Ron DeSantis should be ashamed that he “partnered” with Rory on the PAWS Act! Rory is raking in the $$$ because he’s in bed — yeah I said that — with the corrupt RINO establishment and his wealthy “LGBT” backers who want to ensure the grossly-misnamed “Human Rights Ordinance” stays permanently in place so that faithful Christians are treated as second-class citizens! Wake-up conservatives and BEWARE OF WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING!
Concerned Northeast Florida Resident
April 11, 2018 at 10:46 pm
FOLLOW THE $$$. Rory Diamond’s campaign donor, Chris Warren (mentioned in the article above), was reportedly hired “to organize advocacy efforts to pass an expanded Human Rights Ordinance” in Jacksonville. I shutter to think what Warren, Diamond and their liked-minded ilk have planned, if Diamond buys his way onto the City Council in 2019! BEWARE OF WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING!!!
No Sale!
April 9, 2018 at 7:47 pm
Stop the sale of JEA!
JEA (Jacksonville Electric Authority), located in Jacksonville, Florida, is the eighth largest community-owned electric utility company in the United States and largest in Florida. As of 2009, JEA serves more than 417,000 electric customers, 305,000 water customers and 230,000 sewer customers. Besides Jacksonville (Duval County), JEA also has customers in Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
Jacksonville’s water and sewer systems had been operated by the city since 1880, and an electric system since 1895. The electric system grew with the city, but remained a department of city government until an independent authority was created by the consolidation of city and county governments in 1968.
According to Article 21 of the Jacksonville City Charter,
“JEA is authorized to own, manage and operate a utilities system within and outside the City of Jacksonville. JEA is created for the express purpose of acquiring, constructing, operating, financing and otherwise have plenary authority with respect to electric, water, sewer, natural gas and such other utility systems as may be under its control now or in the future.”[2]
During the 1970s, JEA’s electric rates were among the highest in the nation.[3] Royce Lyles became JEA Managing Director on September 1, 1979 and the utility began diversifying its fuel mix. Rates began to drop, eventually becoming the lowest in the state and near the bottom in the Southeast.[4]
Walt Bussells was appointed Managing Director on September 8, 1995, following Royce Lyles’ retirement.
On June 1, 1997, Jacksonville’s Department of Public Utilities, water and sewer operations merged into the Jacksonville Electric Authority.
Bussells embraced new technology and in 2002, JEA introduced online bill payment and implemented network meter reading. In 2003, the utility also began providing Chilled water for air conditioning in downtown buildings. The first two customers were the downtown library and the John Milton Bryan Simpson United States Courthouse. When the new Duval County Courthouse opens in 2012, it will use chilled water. Purchasing chilled water eliminates the need for chillers and cooling towers at each property, reducing capital outlays and eliminating ongoing maintenance costs. The space saved can also become rentable, increasing revenue.[5]
Under Bussells, Jacksonville’s electric rates had remained artificially low throughout the 1990s and into the 2000s, despite large expenditures following the water/sewer acquisition in 1997, technology improvements and construction of chilled water equipment. These projects were financed with borrowed money.
Jim Dickenson replaced Walt Bussells when Bussells retired on June 15, 2004 after nine years as CEO.[6] Soon after taking over, Dickenson implemented the first of three temporary fuel rate increases to offset rising fuel costs.
On September 7, 2012 JEA Board of Directors named Paul McElroy to fill the role of JEA Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director effective October 1, 2012.[7]
The utility’s debt was $6.0 billion, against assets of $7.5 billion. Compared to other similar sized municipal utilities, JEA had 60% more debt per customer, which could lower the utility’s bond rating and make it more expensive and difficult to borrow money.[8]
In 2007, JEA had the second-lowest electric rates in Florida before they announced a four-year base rate increase package that would raise the average bill from $112 to more than $140 in 2010.[9] The additional revenue was designed to reduce debt.
In early 2012, Dickenson announced that he would retire February 1, 2013.[10]
In October 2012, Paul McElroy signed a 3-year contract to serve as JEA’s CEO and this contract has been extended once; it currently ends in September 2018.[11]
In early 2018, Jacksonville City Council became interested in potentially selling the publicly owned JEA.[12]
No Sale!
April 9, 2018 at 7:49 pm
Shahid Khan (Urdu: شاہد خان; born July 18, 1950),[2][3] also known as Shad Khan, is a Pakistani-American billionaire and business tycoon. He is the owner of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL), the English Football League Championship team Fulham F.C., and automobile parts manufacturer Flex-N-Gate in Urbana, Illinois.
Khan was featured on the front cover of Forbes magazine in 2012, associating him as the face of the American Dream.[4] As of August 2017, Khan’s net worth is over $8.7 billion. He is ranked 70th in the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, and is overall the 158th wealthiest person in the world.[5][6] He is also the richest person of Pakistani origin.[5]
Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to a middle-class family who were involved in the construction industry.[7] His mother (now retired) was a professor of mathematics.[2] He moved to the United States in 1967 at age 16[2] to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.[8][9] When he came to the United States, he spent his first night in a $2/night room at the University Y-YMCA,[2] and his first job was washing dishes for $1.20 an hour.[2] He joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the school.[10] He graduated from the UIUC College of Engineering with a BSc in Industrial Engineering in 1971. He later was awarded the Mechanical Science and Engineering Distinguished Alumni Award in 1999.[11][12][13] Khan became a US citizen in 1991.[2] He is a Muslim.[14][2]
Khan worked at the automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate while attending the University of Illinois. When he graduated he was hired as the engineering director for the company. In 1978, he started Bumper Works, which made car bumpers for customized pickup trucks and body shop repairs.[8] The transaction involved a $50,000 loan from the Small Business Administration and $16,000 in his savings.[15]
In 1980, he bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer Charles Gleason Butzow, bringing Bumper Works into the fold. Khan grew the company so that it supplied bumpers for the Big Three automakers. In 1984, he began supplying a small number of bumpers for Toyota pickups. By 1987 it was the sole supplier for Toyota pickups and by 1989 it was the sole supplier for the entire Toyota line in the United States. Adopting The Toyota Way increased company efficiency and ability to change its manufacturing process within a few minutes.[8][16] Since then, the company has grown from $17 million in sales to an estimated $2 billion in 2010.[17]
By 2011, Flex-N-Gate had 12,450 employees and 48 manufacturing plants in the United States and several other countries, and took in $3 billion in revenue.[9]
In May 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Flex-N-Gate $57,000 for health violations at its Urbana plant.[18]
No awake!
April 9, 2018 at 8:07 pm
Khan worked at the automotive manufacturing company Flex-N-Gate while attending the University of Illinois. When he graduated he was hired as the engineering director for the company. In 1978, he started Bumper Works, which made car bumpers for customized pickup trucks and body shop repairs.[8] The transaction involved a $50,000 loan from the Small Business Administration and $16,000 in his savings.[15]
In 1980, he bought Flex-N-Gate from his former employer Charles Gleason Butzow, bringing Bumper Works into the fold. Khan grew the company so that it supplied bumpers for the Big Three automakers. In 1984, he began supplying a small number of bumpers for Toyota pickups. By 1987 it was the sole supplier for Toyota pickups and by 1989 it was the sole supplier for the entire Toyota line in the United States. Adopting The Toyota Way increased company efficiency and ability to change its manufacturing process within a few minutes.[8][16] Since then, the company has grown from $17 million in sales to an estimated $2 billion in 2010.[17]
By 2011, Flex-N-Gate had 12,450 employees and 48 manufacturing plants in the United States and several other countries, and took in $3 billion in revenue.[9]
In May 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Flex-N-Gate $57,000 for health violations at its Urbana plant.[18]
Frankie M.
April 9, 2018 at 10:27 pm
Looks like another Lenny Curry clone.
Concerned Northeast Florida Resident
April 11, 2018 at 10:07 pm
Exactly right! Except that Rory Diamond is also a nasty homosexual activist who is beholden to special interests like “Equality Florida.” I wonder what Rory is promising his donors for all that $$$? Christians need to be awakened to the danger that is Rory Diamond on the Jacksonville City Council! BEWARE OF WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING!!!
Donna Sella
April 9, 2018 at 10:33 pm
Don’t sell JEA!
JEA (Jacksonville Electric Authority), located in Jacksonville, Florida, is the eighth largest community-owned electric utility company in the United States and largest in Florida. As of 2009, JEA serves more than 417,000 electric customers, 305,000 water customers and 230,000 sewer customers. Besides Jacksonville (Duval County), JEA also has customers in Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
Donna Sella
April 9, 2018 at 10:34 pm
Don’t bother them with evidence.
That seemed to be the motto of a few City Council members regarding the potential sale of JEA.
There are legitimate concerns with any sale of this magnitude — $3 billion to $6.4 billion — and it requires diligent analysis, not instant rejection.
So here are a few of the objections and our responses following the unveiling of a consultant’s report regarding the sale of JEA.
Loss of jobs
City Council chambers were packed with JEA employees, friends and family on Wednesday. They carried signs: “JEA Not for Sale” and “JEA is Ours.”
Concern about jobs is understandable. We get it. Any sale of JEA should be contingent on current employees keeping their jobs. Let’s make it clear: It’s not negotiable.
There are other strings that could be attached to a sale.
For instance, a share of the proceeds could go to bringing water and sewer services to Northwest Jacksonville and to placing power lines underground.
Beaches Fres
April 9, 2018 at 10:36 pm
I don’t see where all this money comes from!
Who are these donors? What do they get for these donations?
I’ve been around Jacksonville a long time and I want to see the tolls come back and our beaches protected.
We have far too many townies coming to our beaches.
Donna S
April 9, 2018 at 10:40 pm
The possible sale of JEA — the city of Jacksonville’s biggest asset — has generated a rift between the City Council and Mayor Lenny Curry’s office.
On Monday, Curry lashed out at reports that he is pushing to sell the city-owned utility.
“It is disgraceful and irresponsible (that) the council president would suggest that me or my administration (would) try to push legislation without public input. It’s inconsistent with everything we’ve done in the past two and half years.”
That comment came after Council President Anna Lopez Brosche, who said that the mayor and JEA were moving too fast toward a sale without allowing information about the pros and cons to be discussed in public. She said she agrees with calls by other council members that the public should have the change to vote on something this big.
“I have asked for transparency and I’m not sure how rushing things equals transparency, Lopez Brosche said. “Rushing and transparency don’t go together for me.”
Selling JEA to a private company could bring the city an estimated $2.5 billion. Critics said selling the utility would cut an important, ongoing cash flow pipeline to city coffers.
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