A.G. Gancarski
Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry is beginning his second term with a different tone than the most recent previous two-term Republican chief executives.
As compared to predecessors John Delaney and John Peyton, the Mayor is striking a combative tone with critics, and much of the drama is on Twitter.
The latest iteration of such was Wednesday night when Curry got “ratioed,” which occurs when a tweet gets significantly more replies than retweets or likes. Getting ratioed usually indicates a considerable dislike for the tweet in question.
Curry engaged with a response favorable to a Florida Times-Union column critical of the second-term Republican.
https://twitter.com/lennycurry/status/1151663165677211648
Toni Woods responded:
Just commenting as a citizen of Jacksonville, my home.
— Toni Woods (@toniwwoods) July 18, 2019
The thread had soured for the Mayor, with accusations that he was threatening a private citizen by “snitch tagging” Woods’ employers.
Florida Politics reached out to Curry for a response to the Twitter fusillade, and spokeswoman Nikki Kimbleton offered a statement.
“This was not a case of bullying as some are alleging. Twitter is very often used as a method of delivering important news and Mayor Curry was simply asking if this was a representation of her employer’s opinion since she works in their media relations department, or if these were her personal views. Once she stated this was her personal opinion, he was accepting of that response and moved on,” Kimbleton asserted.
The Mayor was reelected with 57 percent of the vote in March, his well-funded campaign able to dispatch comparatively disorganized opposition.
Democrats were so convinced that he was unbeatable that it was left to two Republican dissidents and a serial independent candidate to present ballot opposition. Turnout was muted, with Curry’s domination of paid media obliterating the glancing efforts of his opposition.
Having dispatched opposition at the ballot box, the Mayor has felt increasingly emboldened to say in a public forum exactly what he feels about critics.
Consider his spotlighting of School Board Chair Lori Hershey‘s lauding of Council members who transgressed against the Suite 400 consensus.
To my colleagues on Council.👇 https://t.co/oedycYrwjy
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) July 17, 2019
Curry has also been sharply critical of coverage from the local daily newspaper, the Florida Times-Union. He asserts it is agenda-driven.
It’s a culture with them. Most Jax news organizations, journalists & those that lead them are objective & balanced. This one has an agenda. And that newsroom culture is the wild wild west . It’s a free for all of agenda driven reporting & social media. It’s why I’ve moved on.
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) July 15, 2019
Curry has been combative on Twitter since before he entered electoral politics, of course. Despite certain tweets getting “ratioed,” there is no indication that he will go quiet as of yet (even as some chief lieutenants have).
His operation’s take is that the social media whirl, performative and quotable though it may be, is meaningless when it comes to actual voters, who are not yoked to the world of blue checkmarks and 280-character limits
She Voted. And my pollster / strategic advisor told us how she would vote. And it happened. Lol. But these same twitter folks keep believing their own noise is widespread. #SheVoted.
— Lenny Curry (@lennycurry) July 16, 2019
9 comments
Frankie M.
July 18, 2019 at 1:56 pm
Either MC Lenny is illiterate or dishonest. Either way it’s not a great sign of leadership. He read that she worked for FL Blue. Did he just happen to stop there.
Maybe it’s time to change #likeaboss to #likeabully. Lenny loves this game. It’s called poor sportsmanship. Glad he took something away from team sports besides the desire to “win” at all costs. At least he will always be a legend in his own mind.
I hear there’s an HR job opening up in Iowa? Tupac Fridays can be replaced with JayZ Fridays. Lenny can dish it out but he has a problem taking it.
Eddie Bryan
July 18, 2019 at 5:27 pm
Times Union is one of the most conservative newspapers in the state of Florida. How absurd that he should paint it some liberal democrat news.
Frankie M.
July 19, 2019 at 1:48 am
The mayor is full of excuses. Excuses are just like arseholes. We all have em & they all stink!
MC Lenny knows the reporting is accurate from Nate Monroe & Emily Bloch. Luckily he’s not sweating it because he’s over it. Right?? At least he has Mike Clark & the editorial board to cya & explain it all away to the country club types. Lookin at you Civic Council. Fortunately the civic council hasn’t stifled free speech completely yet.
Pedro
July 19, 2019 at 1:54 am
Like Trump, like Lenny. They are both made of the same cloth.
Bonnie
July 19, 2019 at 7:36 am
Watch out AG, this article could result in Little Lenny turning his ire on you. He can’t stand any level of negative scrutiny. His bully tactics are well known yet he still tries to play the innocent, Christian ok only trying to do the right thing. Here’s an idea Curry, donate the cash you spend on botox and hair color to the neighborhoods you deliberately neglect. I bet they could get their drainage and sewer problems fixed.
Mark
July 19, 2019 at 9:29 am
Most all cities Jacksonville’s size elect Democratic mayors, even in very conservative places like Salt Lake City, Tampa and Orlando, once GOP strongholds. With it’s high crime rates, large low-income black population, weak schools, corrupt management, and destructive influence by powerful interests such as JEA, the city is ripe for a challenge by a populist or minority candidate. Arrogance and over-confidence by recent JAX mayors may encourage serious a challenge.
John P
July 19, 2019 at 1:34 pm
What did our previous mayor do? Loose millions of dollars? Crime up… Jobs down….
Lionel
July 19, 2019 at 3:14 pm
What percentage of registered voters actually felt inspired enough to bother to even come out to vote? Lyin’ Lenny may have gotten 57% of the meager number of voters who actually turned out and he only managed that by lying about his opposition. Blood Money for the Northside by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), anyone? Putting an incompetent poser in charge of a $2 billion essential services business (JEA)? But we know he is a lover of Trump and Rick Scott, two of the least ethical and possibly criminal men to ever bamboozle the voters, so that explains a lot.
Rebecca
July 19, 2019 at 3:51 pm
You know, he could have asked if that was her employer’s stance without tagging either account…. So yeah, bullying
Comments are closed.