Special delivery: Letter carriers union backs Donna Deegan for Jacksonville Mayor

Donna Deegan.

Democrat Donna Deegan‘s endorsement from the North Florida Letter Carriers union was delivered on time.

The Deegan campaign is rolling out the official backing from the Jacksonville-based branch of the National Association of Letter Carriers to start off the week, its latest in a series of meaningful endorsements ahead of the March 21 “First Election” for Jacksonville Mayor. 

“Donna is the leader we need who will unify Jacksonville, deliver change for good, and create a city that works for all of us, including working people,” said Joseph Maceo George, former President of the local.

“For too long, working families have been shut out of City Hall where it seems every decision only benefits a select few well-connected people. That wall comes down when Donna becomes Jacksonville’s next mayor,” George predicted.

“We are pleased to endorse Donna Deegan in the Mayoral Race in Jacksonville. We wish her the best of luck in the election and look forward to her leadership in the Mayor’s Office,” said North Florida Letter Carriers Branch 53 President Jim Thigpenn.

The union represents roughly 1,200 letter carriers regionally, and the backing ahead of the first election, which sees all qualified candidates on one ballot, could be seen as indicating a real preference between Deegan and the other Democrat on the ballot, former state Sen. Audrey Gibson. Four Republicans, a No Party Affiliation candidate, and a write-in are also on the ballot.

Deegan has dominated early polling of the race, a function of name recognition the Jacksonville native and Bishop Kenny alumna got as a local newscaster who left television news to begin the Donna Foundation, a non-profit that fights breast cancer (a disease Deegan has had battled with herself).

Deegan is the best fundraiser of the two Democrats. Deegan closed January with roughly $300,000 in hard money, while her Donna for Duval political committee had about $335,000 on hand as of the end of last month. Gibson closed January with roughly $180,000 left between her campaign account and her A Rising Tide political committee.

However, Republicans have dominated fundraising and spending. Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce CEO Daniel Davis and City Council member LeAnna Gutierrez Cumber combined to spend more than $2 million last month, and between them they still had roughly $5 million to spend, as of finance reports through Jan. 31.