A.G. Gancarski
Republicans Don Redman and Matt Carlucci are both veterans of Jacksonville politics.
Redman and Carlucci have both had stints on the Jacksonville City Council, and have pursued other offices over the years.
In 2019, the two are vying for the same slot: the At-Large Group 4 seat on that 19-person legislative body.
Carlucci is the establishment choice. He has the lion’s share of endorsements. He raised over $290,000 and has well over $100,000 of it on hand still.
Redman is running on a shoestring. He’s raised under $16,000 and has just over $9,000 on hand. He also trails a third Republican, Harold McCart, in the money race; McCart has nearly $7,000 to spend of the over $29,000 he raised.
Time is running short for Redman. He finished out of the running in a state House primary in 2016, and he’s having to run citywide off of a tough loss.
With this in mind, he’s hitting unusual forums, such as Wednesday evening’s Jacksonville Young Democrats conclave.
Redman, when he was on City Council, took positions diametrically opposed to the emerging Democratic consensus on social issues.
Redman, a Republican who represented a Southside Jacksonville district from 2007 to 2015, has been noted for a particular brand of social conservatism.
That brand still exists.
“I’m a conservative Christian. I am what I am. I stand for Christian values,” Redman told this outlet Wednesday.
That was characteristic of Redman on Council.
As the Florida Times-Union reported, he once asked a Muslim board appointee to “pray to his God” at the podium during a Council meeting, and asked a lesbian at a different Council meeting if she considered herself male or female.
On Wednesday, he didn’t stress these tropes in remarks to attendees.
However, he wondered where Carlucci (the frontrunner in the race) was, at this and other forums.
“Carlucci’s got the money, and if he can buy the election, he’s got it made. But I’m out here working,” Redman said ahead of the event.
“I don’t see him out here. I go to a lot of events, I don’t see him at any of them. I don’t see him working,” Redman added.
“We did our Times-Union [endorsement interviews Wednesday],” Redman added, and “it sounded like he was still working from 16, 18 years ago when he was on the Council.”
Carlucci dismissed the claim.
He noted he has three forum appearances scheduled in the coming weeks when asked for comment, in addition to twelve meet and greets.
Wednesday night, he was at the Beaches Watch forum for the State of the Beaches address from the three mayors.
“I’m not buying the election. I’m working hard,” Carlucci said.
“There’s hardly a night I’m at home,” Carlucci said. “I am working as hard at this race as I have any race. That’s my work ethic.”
“As far as buying the election, I probably could have raised more money. I put a halt to my fundraising months ago, and I wish I hadn’t. TV buys are more expensive than I [expected],” Carlucci said.
Carlucci noted “lots of encouragement” to run for office, a condition denoted by his endorsements and support.
“If you can’t sell yourself, you have to check your gut on why you’re running,” Carlucci said, in a seeming allusion to his opponents’ lackluster fundraising.
