Phil Ammann
Former Jacksonville City General Counsel Jim Rinaman is supporting Bill Bishop in this spring’s mayoral race.
Rinaman sat on the commission that proposed the elimination of a separate county executive or legislature, announced his endorsement of Bishop – an underdog in the race — in a letter last week.
Initially, the prominent attorney threw his support behind GOP front-runner Lenny Curry.
“I thought [Curry] was the best choice to beat [Alvin] Brown, especially after he was able to accumulate so much money for his campaign,” said the letter, first reported by Rhema Thompson of the Florida Times–Union.
However, after a closer look, Rinaman endorsed Bill Bishop, who he has known for “at least 20 years in various civic projects.” The attorney decided the city needs “less partisanship in local government and more knowledge and experience than Brown or Curry bring to the table.”
As the former chair of the Republican Party of Florida, Curry has amassed a majority of support from the city’s GOP and business leaders.
Rinaman’s endorsement represents a small, but growing, list of recognizable names endorsing Bishop, Thompson writes, including former City Councilman George Banks and state Rep. Jim Tullis.
Also backing Bishop is Change4Jax, the local grassroots political organization.
“[Rinaman]’s influence reaches a lot of people,” Bishop responded in a statement. “He’s well-respected within his profession and in the community at-large, and I certainly do hope that that resonates with people and that we start to see some more folks making the same type of statements publicly.”
Bishop faces Curry and Democratic incumbent Mayor Alvin Brown in the general election on March 24. If no candidate gets a majority of votes, the top two candidates will face off in a runoff May 19.
