A.G. Gancarski
A common thread in uncompetitive Jacksonville City Council races: June checks from the owner of a certain local NFL franchise.
In District 2, challenger Jack Daniels has $115 on hand. The perpetual challenger is not exactly keeping pace with incumbent Republican Al Ferraro.
Ferraro, a Mayor Lenny Curry ally, brought in $5,825 in June alone, with donations from Shad Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars showing that no matter what Khan thought of Ferraro’s HRO opposition, he knows Ferraro will do business when it counts (such as whatever the city buy in will be for the next round of Sports Complex improvements).
District 5 is even more brutal.
Republican LeAnna Cumber, whose husband was the rare survivor of a JEA Board purge of Alvin Brown appointees, holds serve, with almost $186,000 raised and $178,000 of that on hand.
Running against a Democrat with less than $500 on hand, her fundraising has slowed ($5,100 in June). But she likewise got the attention of Shad Khan, the Jaguars, and the man some call “the 20th City Councilman,” the Jags’ (and everyone else’s) lobbyist Paul Harden.
In District 7, Democrat Reggie Gaffney has raised $51,600.
Gaffney, as much a Currycrat as a Democrat, only raised $3,000 in June, via three four-figure checks from the Khan/Jaguars/Harden triumverate.
However, how much more money does he need? He has six opponents, only two of whom have raised over $10,000.
Republican Rory Diamond, running without opposition in District 13, likewise got a Khan check in June. He has $113,000 or so on hand.
And Matt Carlucci, with over $263,000 raised and $240,000 on hand, got checks from Khan and the Jaguars in June. His two opponents, Harold McCart and Don Redman, have struggled to surpass $10,000 raised.
4 comments
Concerned North Florida Resident
July 12, 2018 at 9:41 am
Early life[edit]
Khan was born in Lahore, Pakistan, to a middle-class family who were involved in the construction industry.[8] His mother (now retired) was a professor of mathematics.[3] He moved to the United States in 1967 at age 16[3] to study at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.[9][10] When he went to the United States, he spent his first night in a $2/night room at the University YMCA,[3] and his first job was washing dishes for $1.20 an hour.[3] He joined the Beta Theta Pi fraternity at the school.[11] 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.[12][13][14] Khan became a US citizen in 1991.[3] He is a Muslim.[2][3]
Flex-N-Gate[edit]
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.[9] 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.[9][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.[10]
In May 2012, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined Flex-N-Gate $57,000 for health violations at its Urbana plant.[18]
Jacksonville Jaguars[edit]
Khan’s first attempt to purchase a National Football League team came on February 11, 2010, when he entered into an agreement to acquire 60% of the St. Louis Rams from Chip Rosenbloom and Lucia Rodriguez, subject to approval by other NFL owners.[17] However, Stan Kroenke, the minority shareholder of the Rams, ultimately exercised a clause in his ownership agreement to match any proposed bid.[19]
On November 29, 2011, Khan agreed to purchase the Jacksonville Jaguars from Wayne Weaver and his ownership group subject to NFL approval.[20] Weaver announced his sale of the team to Khan later that same day. The terms of the deal were not immediately disclosed, other than a verbal commitment to keep the team in Jacksonville, Florida. The sale was finalized on January 4, 2012.[21] The purchase price was estimated to have been $760 million.[22] The NFL owners unanimously approved the purchase on December 14, 2011.[23] The sale made Khan the first member of an ethnic minority to own an NFL team.[24][25]
Khan is a board member of the NFL Foundation.[26]
Fulham F.C.[edit]
In July 2013, Khan negotiated the purchase of the London soccer club Fulham of the Premier League from its previous owner, Mohamed Al Fayed. The deal was finalized on July 12, 2013, with the amount estimated between £150–200 million.[27] An official purchase price for the club was not announced with Khan stating that it was “highly confidential”.[28]
Recognition[edit]
Khan has received a number of awards from the University of Illinois, including a Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1999 from the Department of Mechanical Science and Industrial Engineering, the Alumni Award for Distinguished Service in 2006 from the College of Engineering, and (with his wife, Ann Carlson) the Distinguished Service Award in 2005 from the University of Illinois Alumni Association.[13]
Concerned North Florida Resident
July 12, 2018 at 9:44 am
Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan offers FA £800m to buy Wembley Stadium
By Sky Sports News
Last Updated: 27/04/18 12:27pm
1:51
FA, Khan in £800m Wembley sale talks
The FA has confirmed it is in talks with Shahid Khan over the sale of Wembley Stadium for a reported £800m.
The FA has confirmed it is in talks with Shahid Khan over the sale of Wembley Stadium for a reported £800m.
Fulham and Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shahid Khan has offered the FA £800m to buy Wembley Stadium.
In a move that could see England fixtures relocated, Khan says he wants to strengthen the Jaguars’ presence in London “at a time when other NFL teams are understandably becoming more interested in this great city”.
That was undoubtedly a reference to the 10-year deal signed between the NFL and Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy to host NFL games at their new 61,000-seater stadium on the site of the former White Hart Lane.
Shahid Khan is reported to have offered £800m for Wembley
The NFL have confirmed that deal will remain unaffected by Khan’s potential purchase, as will Craven Cottage’s status as the home of Championship side Fulham and their plans to develop the ground’s Riverside Stand and training centre at Motspur Park.
The FA will also remain at their Wembley Stadium headquarters rent free and keep the Club Wembley hospitality business, which combined are valued at around £300m, leaving the FA with the possibility of £500m to reintroduce into the grassroots game.
With half-a-billion pounds estimated to finance the building of 1,500 new full-size pitches across England, one Wembley source told Sky Sports News: “If we are ever to have the chance to change the face of football in this country, this offer could make that happen.”
Wembley has been hosting NFL games since 2007
It is understood the FA would still consider Wembley as the ‘home’ of the national team and it is too early to say when England will or will not be able to play there, with NFL pre-season beginning in August and regular season games starting in September.
But Khan has previously spoken about having a permanent NFL franchise in London and the league said in a statement: “We are very happy for Shad Khan and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The potential purchase of Wembley Stadium is a further powerful sign of their commitment to the UK and their vision to help us grow the sport.”
Spurs chairman Levy, who hopes to host an NFL game at Spurs’ new ground in October, also opened the door to a permanent NFL franchise eventually coming to London, and the NFL insist “having stadium options in London has always been critical to the NFL”.
Tottenham’s new stadium will have a capacity of 61,000 and host NFL games
Their statement on Thursday continued: “In tandem with our 10-year partnership with Tottenham Hotspur, this new relationship would allow for even greater flexibility in scheduling future NFL games in London.”
Meanwhile, the FA board have asked to be kept updated on negotiations they have already held discussions with the DCMS and Sport England, among others, to keep them informed of developments.
Sky Sports News understands that all existing contracts presently in place will be honoured, for example the EFL contract for play-offs and Carabao Cup, and the summer season of music concerts including Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift.
A spokesperson for London Mayor Sadiq Khan told Sky Sports News that, after the day’s developments he “would be seeking assurances that our national stadium would remain a world-class multi-sport venue that continues to be the home of England football, host the FA Cup final, other domestic cup finals and play-offs, as well as other major sporting events”.
Concerned North Florida Resident
July 12, 2018 at 9:45 am
Months back, a code enforcement issue became global news, when a city of Jacksonville employee cited a local business for flying military flags.
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry overruled his employee.
“Let them fly,” he tweeted.
And now those flags will fly, permanently, at City Hall.
“A week ago, as I sat on the south bank of the St. Johns, my family and I enjoyed the fireworks and celebrations with our downtown as a backdrop. As the fun of the evening faded and we returned home, I spent some time reflecting about our city and our nation. My grandfathers and my father came to mind as I thought of the many men, women and families who have sacrificed by serving in our military to defend our way of life,” Curry asserted.
“With these reflections in mind,” the Mayor added, “I have decided that in addition to flying the United States flag, we should add the five military branch flags in an array around the National Colors in front of City Hall.”
Curry cited Jacksonville’s military bases and tradition of service as key to the decision: “Jacksonville is a town with a long and rich history of service. We are home to military bases with active and reserve units. Thousands upon thousands of our city’s citizens have for decades agreed to put their lives on the line for our country and our freedoms.”
“To honor that long tradition,” Curry added, “I want everyone who works in or visits City Hall to be reminded of the dedication of our Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard. Therefore, today I have asked my staff to install the necessary hardware next to the National Colors in Hemming Park to let our military flags fly.”
Worth noting: discussion of proper flag order was held before Independence Day, per an email from Chief of Staff Brian Hughes to Chief Administrative Officer Sam Mousa.
“There are five branches of the United States military; the Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy. While each branch of the military dedicates their time to certain aspects of protection and service, the five military branches work together to some extent in their role of security for the country. Each branch of the military has a separate flag, represented by emblems and insignia specific to the different branches. When displaying military branch flags together, the order of precedence should be the National Colors, Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard,” Hughes wrote on July 3.
Frankie M.
July 12, 2018 at 9:52 am
Khan has the mojo in this sleepy lil southern one-horse town. That is unless mojo holds out. In that case the train will leave the station without him.
Comments are closed.