A.G. Gancarski
The Jacksonville City Council currently, after the suspension of two Democrats, sees a 12-5 advantage for Republicans on the body.
Even in a city where the Republican/Democratic divide often matters less on Council than partisans would expect, that is a matter of concern for Dems.
There aren’t many opportunities for cross-party pickups on the 2019 ballot, especially with the Lenny Curry political machine driving GOP turnout again.
However, one such pickup may be in District 14, where two Democrats look to succeed termed-out Republican Jim Love.
One candidate, Jimmy Peluso, asserted via media release that he raised $27,853 in May from “varied sources, including friends and family, men and women whom Jimmy served with in the Navy, and distinguished Jacksonville community members.”
“I got into this race knowing that while raising money is an important aspect of running, listening to and meeting with the people of District 14 was what was going to set us apart. What we accomplished in May has shown that we can and will do both. We will continue to meet with large donors who care about District 14, we will continue to talk to small business owners who care about District 14 and we will continue to talk with our neighbors who care about District 14,” said Peluso.
“I am proud to have received contributions from 15 active duty service members and veterans, including Admiral Joe Sestak, those who served with me overseas and during my time in service, and most importantly, my father who was a former lieutenant and my commissioning officer,” Peluso added.
“If there is one thing I learned in my service with the Navy, it is that good things are achievable when we all work together, standing side by side. Our campaign has demonstrated that this is what we are committed to do and will continue to do until we win in 2019 to ensure the residents of District 14 have an honest representative that they know and trust,” Peluso concluded.
While Peluso’s first month numbers are the story in District 14 in May, he’s still not even the leading Democratic fundraiser in the field.
That would be Sunny Gettinger, an Ivy-educated former Chair of Riverside Avondale Preservation who is professionally a communications manager for Google Fiber.
Gettinger keeps stringing together strong months, and May was her fourth straight with over $10,000 raised, with a total haul of $13,020 off of 50 contributions (many of them from outside of Jacksonville).
Gettinger entered June with roughly $65,000 on hand.
While both Peluso and Gettinger are still significantly behind Republican Randy DeFoor, who has $107,000 on hand, what’s clear is that District 14 is one of the rare Council races this cycle where three candidates are showing strong fundraising and early organization.
