Staff Reports
That winning season
The Jacksonville Jaguars notched a surprising victory Sunday, putting the team at 1-0.
As so often is the case, after a win, a spirit of good humor and bonhomie prevails across political divides.
It will be interesting to see if that holds in the weeks ahead, both among sports fans and those involved in politics, as the action heats up.
In this week’s edition, we see the interplay of electoral realities and political opportunities. A Republican state Representative from Jacksonville made a White House visit, as the President shores up his position as the true friend of Israel in the race. Meanwhile, a Congressional candidate is running point helping the Joe Biden campaign message.
We know Duval will be close, perhaps a tipping point when all the ballots are counted, hopefully sometime in November. While this region isn’t getting the action South Florida and the I-4 Corridor is getting; we can expect that when it is crunchtime, we very well may be seeing both campaigns counterprogramming on the same day, as was the case in 2016 when candidate Donald Trump and President Barack Obama held competing events across town from each other in the run-up to the election.
White House visit
A Northeast Florida state Representative was among the exclusive group of invitees at the White House Tuesday for the signing of the historic Abraham Accords.
“Honored to have been invited by President @realDonaldTrump to attend the signing of the Abraham Accords on Tuesday. Thanks to President Donald Trump’s leadership, the Middle East is normalizing relations w/our ally #Israel & the region is becoming more stable & secure!”
Rep. Jason Fischer, we understand, drove to D.C. for the event.
Fischer wasn’t the only Florida state Representative on the ground; Rep. Randy Fine also made the trip.
Truly historic day! So honored to have been invited by President @realDonaldTrump! #jaxpol #flapol https://t.co/99xu9t61Je
— Rep. Jason Fischer (@JasonFischerFL) September 15, 2020
Fischer, running for his third term representing Southside Jacksonville’s House District 16, a district with a Republican plurality, has a resource advantage in the homestretch.
His “Conservative Solutions for Jacksonville” political committee has just over $100,000 in it, and he has an additional $72,000 in hard money.
Democratic challenger Ben Marcus, who has been trying thus far without success to get Fischer to debate him, has roughly $6,000 on hand for the homestretch.
Deegan digs in
Even as a recent poll of the Congressional District 4 race shows Donna Deegan way behind incumbent Republican Rep. John Rutherford, the former broadcaster is still a valued surrogate for the Joe Biden campaign.
Deegan participated in an “I know Joe” roundtable call Monday, part of a tranche of events designed to lead-in to the Democrat’s visit to the state. Her remarks were the expected critiques of the sitting President for having known how harmful the virus was but “decided to, in his words, downplay it to avoid panic.”
“He could have given us the respect of saying you can know this,” Deegan, a former broadcaster in the Jacksonville market, said. “But instead, he decided to ignore it.”
Deegan described her “community” as “desperate for the leadership” that a Biden/Kamala Harris administration would provide.
“I look forward to having a president who cares about this country,” Deegan said.
Not 2018 anymore
The race in Westside Jacksonville’s House District 15 was an expensive nail biter in 2018, but in 2020, now incumbent Rep. Wyman Duggan can run up the margins.
Evidence of that came in the form of Republican Party of Florida mailers being sent to white Democratic women … the base for 2018’s nominee, Tracye Polson, who had spent over half a million dollars and came within two points of victory.
2020 nominee Tammyette Thomas is not nearly as well-capitalized, even as her Twitter feed contains a fundraising pitch every day or so.
Duggan., an attorney for Rogers Towers and a fixture in Jacksonville’s City Hall, has roughly $175,000 on hand in hard money, and an additional $28,000 in his Citizens for Building Florida’s Future political committee, according to records kept by the Division of Elections at the Florida Department of State. Thomas has roughly $10,000.
The district leans Democratic, but this is one where Republicans have the structural advantage, and it will be touted as a big win when the votes are counted.
Swip swap
Will the feds go for it?
That’s the question regarding a proposed land swap that the National Parks Service would have to greenlight.
Jacksonville’s Downtown Investment Authority wants to switch out the Metropolitan Park parcel for the Shipyards property, as part of the attempt to create a package suitable to Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan’s current preferences.
“I have been in conversations with Iguana regarding proposed development plans that they may be submitting in the very near future for the Metropolitan Park site. Even a piece of the adjacent Shipyards is included that,” DIA head Lori Boyer said, as quoted in the Jacksonville Daily Record.
“The question is unless there is a suitable replacement site for the current restriction that encumbers the Metropolitan Park site, it’s really not available for disposition from our perspective,” Boyer added.
With an election in November and potential change in the White House, timing on announcement of whatever decision comes out of Washington will be worth watching.
Power players
Florida Trend is releasing its annual “Florida 500,” with two prominent Jacksonville leaders making the list.
The Fiorentino Group President Marty Fiorentino and principal John Delaney once again made the cut for 2020.
Fiorentino, a longtime political consultant and former vice president of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs for CSX Transportation, has built the largest and most recognized government affairs and business development firms in Florida.
Former two-term Jacksonville Mayor Delaney served as president of the University of North Florida from 2003 to 2018. Soon after leaving UNF, Delaney joined The Fiorentino Group as a principal.
Capping a year of research by the editors of Florida Trend, the Florida 500 offers an engaging look at the state’s most influential business leaders across major industries.
Executives selected for the 2020 list are based on extensive contacts in regional business circles, as well as hundreds of interviews and months of research to produce a highly selective biographical guide to “the people who really run Florida.”
Congratulations to both!
Cultural Council
The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville is looking for a new executive director.
Joy Young, who was hired in late 2018 to run the organization, officially resigned on Sept. 11. She moved from Columbia, South Carolina, when she was hired to take over the duties in Jacksonville.
The departure was highlighted by Young’s resignation letter thanking the Cultural Council for the opportunity to serve as executive director. Young said she’d be seeking other career opportunities.
“We thank Joy for her service to the Cultural Council and wish her the best as she embarks on a new chapter,” said Jannet Walker-Ford, board chair for the Cultural Council. “The Cultural Council is in good shape financially and operationally.”
The council’s board has established a search committee looking for a replacement for Young, who previously served as director of administration, human resources, and operations at the South Carolina Arts Commission for 14 years.
Cultural Council officials credited Young for capturing grants from the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs.
The council’s board has already appointed an interim executive director. Diana Donovan is taking over those duties temporarily until a permanent executive director is hired.
Donavan is well-heeled in Jacksonville nonprofit and civic service. She was executive director of the office of the president and community relations at Jacksonville University, a current board member of the Women’s Center of Jacksonville, along with several other positions held at various organizations.
Trail Ridge
Another large tract of land has been added to the Trail Ridge Preserve in Clay County.
The nonprofit North Florida Land trust announced this month the organization had acquired an additional 40 acres of land near the Camp Blanding compound. That also puts the newly acquired tract in the Ocala to Osceola wildlife corridor, meaning the entire Trail Ridge Preserve will remain undeveloped.
The additional 40 acres is comprised mainly of sandhill habitats. The area is home to black bears, red-cockaded woodpeckers, indigo snakes, and gopher tortoises, among other wildlife and endangered species.
“Acquiring this final piece of property will allow us to better manage Trail Ridge Preserve using management techniques like prescribed burning,” said Jim McCarthy, president of NFLT. “The preserve is habitat for some endangered wildlife, and preserving it is crucial to their survival. This purchase will guarantee this land is free from development in perpetuity. We once again partnered with Camp Blanding to acquire these lands, which will also serve as a buffer for the military installation.”
The Land Trust did not disclose the purchase price or other terms of the acquisition. But funding for the acquisition was also shared by the U.S. Army National Guard. Areas around the acquisition will allow National Guard troops to train in areas up to the protected land.
Yacht rock
Captain Sandy Yawn, the reality TV show host making a go of an upscale restaurant on Adams Street, is making the case that Jacksonville has untapped potential for the yachting set.
“Jacksonville is just this diamond in the rough that no one’s ever really discovered on the yachting side,” she said. “Why don’t we have more marinas here, more restaurants? The city of Jacksonville is, to me, the next Miami.”
The comments were made to the Showbiz Cheatsheet website.
Yawn’s enthusiasm for yachts is matched by Mayor Lenny Curry’s, interestingly, who noted during the run-up for the ultimately failed Republican National Convention bid that since the dredging of the St. Johns River, the city could handle “superyachts.”
Help the zoo
Meanwhile, as we wait to discover the future of Cowford’s yachting set, the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens could use your help.
Specifically, $250,000.
COVID-19 forced the zoo to shut down and starved the operation of revenue, notes Executive Director Tony Vecchio.
“Many people are surprised to learn how expensive it is to maintain our day-to-day operations, even after we closed to the public on March 14. We still had to feed and care for our animals daily, as well as employ the dedicated staff who worked through our closure. We were closed during our busiest season, and we’re still feeling the effects, even after reopening, because our attendance has averaged less than half of what we usually see,” Vecchio said.
Want to help out? TextZOO to (904) 560-5600 or donate online at JacksonvilleZoo.org/ZOO-A-THON. Every donation will go directly to operating costs.
And there’s some incentive for maxing out, notes the zoo’s comms team. “The donor who contributes the most will receive naming rights to the mandrill infant born on Aug. 1 and will be announced Sunday during the one-hour finale on WJXT Channel 4 at 6:30 p.m.”
A promising start
It may be a bit early to declare Minshew Mania, but for the moment, the proof is in the NFL standings. The Jacksonville Jaguars are undefeated after one week.
On a day when the G.O.A.T. — Tom Brady, Greatest OF All Time — threw two interceptions, including a pick-six, in his losing debut for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jags quarterback Gardner Minshew was the bomb.
He completed 19 of 20 passes and threw three touchdowns as the Jags upset Indianapolis 27-20 at TIAA Bank Field.
For the time being, it may force the NFL observers to take the young Jaguars more seriously. It is widely assumed that Jacksonville is tanking this season to obtain the top draft pick and take Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
Performances like this are not how a tanking team plays.
“When they are playing with confidence, you love a young team that plays with confidence,” Minshew said of his teammates on the team’s website. “They have the energy. They got that swag about them.”
It gets tougher this week, though.
On Sunday, Jacksonville is on the road at Tennessee to face the Titans, who fell one game short of making the Super Bowl last season.
The Jags have not won in that cursed venue since 2013, including a 42-20 loss last year. To give you an idea of how long ago 2013 was, Minshew was 17 years old, Gus Bradley was the coach, and Chad Henne was the quarterback.
Oh, and the Jags went into the game on an eight-game losing streak.
Hope springs eternal, though.
“I just know at least we’re going up there, and it’s not going to be cold,” head coach Doug Marrone said Wednesday at his news conference.
