NE Florida LGBT leadership PAC endorses Bill Bishop, Tracie Davis, myriad council candidates

Midyette and Mead preparing for NE FL LGBT Leadership PAC endorsement announcement.

One of the more exciting developments of the 2015 Jacksonville elections has been the increased discussion of issues that matter to the LGBT community. The Northeast Florida LGBT Leadership PAC, a nine-member political action committee, announced its formation Monday with a news release promoting Tuesday’s endorsements.

“The committee plans to target specific races and push to increase turnout among LGBT and equality voters. Through financial and grassroots support, the organization will seek to demonstrate the importance of the LGBT community and need for public officials and candidates to speak to their issues,” the release states.

On the steps of Jacksonville City Hall Tuesday, the PAC made its endorsements.

“The LGBT community has had painful reason to feel less than valued in recent years,” said PAC Vice Chair Jimmy Midyette, who added that “we have not had a place at the table.”

Midyette spoke of the “struggle we endured to pass a fully inclusive human rights ordinance three years ago” to “prohibit discrimination against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in the areas of employment, housing, and public accommodations.”

“Before the bill was introduced,” he said, “members of the LGBT community met with Mayor Brown’s staff in an effort to coordinate the effort, as was promised during the 2011 election cycle.”

However, Midyette said, “Instead of assisting with our efforts, many of our elected leaders failed to deliver on campaign promises made to the LGBT community. Despite months of public testimony and comments outlining horrendous instances of discrimination against LGBT people, the mayor and council were unmoved.”

With that in mind, Midyette, PAC Board Chair Carrington Mead, and others  central toward the ultimately thwarted push to get the 2012-296 HRO bill OK’d have decided to “engage earlier in the political process” via “nonpartisan political engagement” relative to the “upcoming unitary municipal election.”

Mead, a stalwart in the fight for LGBT rights, said the endorsements were “based solely on actual conversations with candidates” — not questionnaires, as are some endorsements.

The two major races they endorsed candidates for are mayor and Supervisor of Elections, where the nod went to Republican Bill Bishop and Democrat Tracie Davis, who is locked in a tough battle with 2011 mayoral runner-up Mike Hogan.

In the At Large City Council races, the PAC endorsed:

At Large 1: Anna Brosche

At Large 2: John Crescimbeni

At Large 3: Tommy Hazouri

At Large 4: Greg Anderson

At Large 5: Ju’Coby Pittman and Michelle Tappouni

That slate has three Republicans and three Democrats — with one “co-endorsement,” in which either candidate would be acceptable to the PAC.

The PAC also endorsed candidates in district council seat races.

In District 1, the PAC gave a co-endorsement to Joyce Morgan and Melody Shacter. Lisa King got the nod in District 2, as did Aaron Bowman in District 3, and Ramon Day in District 4. James Eddy got the PAC nod in District 7, as did Terry Fields in District 8.

Glorious Johnson and Garrett Dennis got the co-endorsement in District 9. In District 10, they went with Joseph Willis; in 12, Abner Davis. Finally, District 14 challenger Jason Tetlak and the incumbent Jim Love got the nod.

“Some of these folks have dubious records” on LGBT issues, Mead said of  candidates such as Love, who, but like President Barack Obama, have “evolved” on issues important to the LGBT community.

Given the flux in the sheriff’s race, with seven candidates competing for two runoff spots, the PAC decided to hold off on those until voters “cull the herd.”

I asked about the Bishop endorsement specifically during the press conference. Given that the Alvin Brown and Lenny Curry campaigns hold substantial fundraising and organizational advantages, and that people associated with both campaigns have openly derided Bishop as a “protest” or “send-a-message” candidate, it seemed natural to ask where they will go if, as expected, the runoff comes down to Curry and Brown.

Midyette — a Bishop supporter — strongly disagreed with that characterization of the longtime City Councilman.

“We reject the premise that Bill Bishop is a protest candidate,” Midyette said.

Mead added that the PAC “may make no endorsement in May.”

Rumors about the candidates in the mayoral race and their positions on LGBT issues are circulating now. With estimates of more than 32,000 LGBT voters on Duval County rolls, a mobilized voting bloc could swing the election. At the very least, their leadership PAC ensures that issues important to their community are on the table as the election approaches.