Direct mail round-up: Political committees go for the jugular in Jax Council races

Jacksonville City Councilman Garrett Dennis, 2018. [Photo: A.G. Gancarski]

With the Jacksonville mayoral race lacking the intensity some may have expected some weeks back, we are starting to see the oppo drops shift to City Council races.

This week, two adversaries of Mayor Lenny Curry‘s political machine are feeling the heat via targeted mail.

Republican Michael Boylan, running against Curry backer Rose Conry for an open seat in Southside/Mandarin, likely will be compelled to answer charges about his “liberal” ways.

The charges: Boylan donated money to the re-election campaign of Democratic Mayor Alvin Brown and “clashed” with Gov. Rick Scott.

In a deep-red district, the charges from the Transparency Matters political committee may make Boylan blue. Conry has an almost two-to-one advantage in cash on hand.

The “blinder” committee, administered by GOP money impresario Eric Robinson, has taken in $40,000, including donations from a former CSX railroad executive and from “Citizens First,” a company based in Jupiter, Florida.

Boylan isn’t the only Curry nemesis targeted, as committee mailers are being sent out in District 9, to make incumbent Democrat Garrett Dennis work a little bit ahead of his March election against fellow Democrat and campaign trail cipher Marcellus Holmes.

The charge from the obfuscatorily-named Turning Jacksonville Blue: that Dennis is a “self-serving career politician” who voted to “raise his own pay,” and who took gifts while turning down hurricane aid from the United Arab Emirates.

Unfortunately, as this is a state-level committee, financial reports aren’t due until March 10.

Dennis is dominating fundraising against Holmes. The incumbent has raised $23,760 t0 Holmes’ $6,435.

However, it’s clear Holmes will have some outside help.

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