Angie Nixon to stay in House, passing on run for Jacksonville City Council

Rep. Angie Nixon. Image via A.G. Gancarski.

Rep. Angie Nixon will not run for the Jacksonville City Council, deciding to remain in the Florida Legislature.

The second-term Democrat representing House District 13 had considered a run in District 10 on the local redistricting map approved last month by federal Judge Marcia Morales Howard. Ultimately, however, she opted to remain in Tallahassee and pass up what would have been a competitive race against two sitting Jacksonville City Council members, assuming the approved map remains intact after judicial appeal.

“I made a promise to the residents of FL HD 13 to serve and continue to fight for them in Tallahassee. Though my party isn’t in control of the Legislature, I’ve still been able to help constituents improve their quality of life by connecting them to resources and opportunities that are beneficial to them. I plan on finishing the job I’ve started, including enacting the over 10 points on my Flourish Plan,” Nixon told Florida Politics on Sunday.

The Democrat’s now-deflated December trial balloon came a day after a federal judge spiked the City Council’s second attempt at a redistricting map, installing instead a map from the plaintiff coalition of civil rights organizations and voters. Nixon had said people were frustrated by a lack of action on the Council.

“I constantly get calls from constituents frustrated about what’s going on with Council, the lack of response from their City Council people,” she said in comments that could be interpreted as a shot across the bow of the two current incumbents, Ju’Coby Pittman and Brenda Priestly Jackson, who have been drawn into District 10 on this new map. 

Judge Marcia Morales Howard made note of the plaintiffs’ map forcing competition between Pittman, who represents the current District 8, and Priestly Jackson, who represents the current District 10.

“The Court acknowledges that this Plan pairs Council members Ju’Coby Pittman and Brenda Priestly Jackson, who live within two miles of each other, in District 10. … But notably, in the prior redistricting cycle … (Priestly Jackson) had expressed an intention not to run for reelection in their districts (although Priestly Jackson subsequently filed to run in District 10 again).”

The new District 10 is 87% Black and 87% Democratic, by far the most Black and the most Democratic-performing district in the city, according to an analysis from The Tributary.