Melissa Ross
A spokesman for the Alvin Brown campaign refused to confirm a “Playbook” report from POLITICO’s Marc Caputo that former President Bill Clinton was scheduled to appear this week at a rally supporting the Jacksonville mayor’s re-election bid.
“I have nothing for you at this time,” said Brown deputy campaign manager Fabien Levy.
Other operatives for the mayor indicated this week would include campaign events for Brown, but refused to confirm specifics.
Even if the 42nd president doesn’t appear on the First Coast this week for Brown, it’s expected that he likely will soon since Brown was a staff member in the Clinton presidential administration. Clinton came to town to support Brown in 2011 during his first run for Jacksonville mayor.
And Brown hosted Clinton at Jacksonville City Hall in 2012, remarking at the time that his former boss “has an unparalleled perspective on my priorities.”
Brown’s top opponent as he seeks to retain his seat is Lenny Curry, former chair of Florida’s Republican Party. Also in the race, but far behind Brown and Curry in fundraising, are GOP City Councilman Bill Bishop and a fourth filed candidate, Omega Allen.
Brown’s ties to Clinton run deep. He worked on the staff of the Clinton-Gore transition team, and also held various posts during the Clinton years at the Department of Commerce, Housing and Urban Development, and a stint as executive director of the White House Community Empowerment Board, among others.
The Jacksonville mayor’s race has attracted big money and major political operatives to town on both sides, none of whom are natives of the area. If Brown, as expected, brings in a big gun like former President Clinton to campaign on his behalf, it’s expected Curry will do the same, tapping heavy hitters from the GOP side of the aisle to appear on stage with him. Curry has made a point of trumpeting endorsements ranging from Texas Gov. Rick Perry to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, and has bagged deep-pocketed North Florida donors aligned with the Bush family such as Tom Petway and Gary Chartrand.
Democratic political operative James Carville recently speculated that Brown could be a contender for a cabinet post should Hillary Clinton win the presidency in 2016. Also of note: Some of Brown’s major donors are heavyweight Democrats with ties to the Clintons, such as John Podesta and Terry McAuliffe.
In other words, some political observers see the Jacksonville mayoral race as something of a proxy for a hypothetical Jeb vs. Hillary matchup in 2016, with Florida partisans from both camps determined to win the city’s top post.
