A.G. Gancarski
By the time Tommy Hazouri ran for Jacksonville City Council in 2015, he’d accomplished many political goals, but made no secret of wanting to be Council President.
Nearly five years after he was elected, Hazouri, a Democrat, was chosen on Tuesday to lead the 19-person Council, a remarkable feat given the GOP supermajority.
Hazouri, a one-term Mayor and six-term state legislator among other honors, will be Council President starting in July after an anticlimactic 16-3 vote.
Hazouri’s victory illustrated the uniquely nonpartisan contours of Jacksonville city elections, coming after he forged a strong relationship with Mayor Lenny Curry, a former chair of the Republican Party of Florida.
Hazouri endorsed Curry for reelection last year, in a race where the Democrats did not run a candidate despite having a plurality of registered voters and despite the county backing Democrats like Andrew Gillum in 2018.
In turn, Curry resisted entreaties by Republicans (many of whom were no longer in his orbit) to back late-emerging challenger Danny Becton, an unpolished second-term Councilman from Jacksonville’s Southside who launched his bid and drew early support from two other Republicans, Rory Diamond and Al Ferraro.
Republican Councilman Matt Carlucci, a Jacksonville political lifer like Hazouri, vouchsafed for Hazouri ahead of the vote, saying their dynamic was like an “old married couple … we bicker sometimes … nearly always end up in the same place, but have a lot of fun getting there.”
Republicans like Carlucci backed Hazouri despite pressure from conservative activists.
Ahead of the Council vote, a former chair of the local party, Karyn Morton, condemned the Hazouri/Curry alliance in stark terms, describing the now-incoming President as a “consistently corrupt, liberal politician who stood consistently with the Mayor and Aaron Zahn in support of the JEA sale process, especially now during the ongoing council and federal investigations.”
Other activists vowed electoral consequences for Republicans who went rogue and backed Hazouri, but clearly those casting the votes weren’t worried about political fallout down the road.
4 comments
Reb
May 26, 2020 at 3:52 pm
Mr. Ganacarski, that was a unneeded and unwarranted remark you made about Mr. Becton being unpolished. Who do you think you are??? Have you served in any elected office, no. With your remarks, you are just showing how politically biased you are, which , I guess in you capacity is not unusual. You should be ashamed of yourself.
Astute Observer
May 26, 2020 at 4:06 pm
I would urge conservative Jacksonville Republicans not to be fooled by Councilman Rory Diamond’s vote today for Becton as president. Diamond, who is openly homosexual, has been previously endorsed by “Equality Florida” and is pro-abortion rights. Beware of wolves in sheep’s clothing!
Frankie M.
May 26, 2020 at 4:29 pm
And one hand washes the other.
Diamond, who is openly homosexual, has been previously endorsed by “Equality Florida” and is pro-abortion rights…why are you giving us reasons to like Rory?
Astute Observer
May 26, 2020 at 4:53 pm
Well, if you like the fact that Rory is sexually attracted to other males and that he thinks the killing of an innocent unborn child is a constitutional “right,” then maybe you won’t like this fact. Rory “earns” an absurdly high salary as the CEO of a charity – a salary that allows him to own a million-dollar oceanfront house. Rory is a charlatan, in my opinion!
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