Mayoral race heats up as Davis enters the fray
With Jacksonville’s first mayoral election just five months out, some candidates have begun ramping up their campaigns while others are just getting started.
On Sept. 8, Republican Daniel Davis formally kicked off his campaign with a Sept. 8 rally at Tom Nehl Trucking Company that was attended by both current Mayor Lenny Curry and former Mayor John Peyton.
The announcement followed months of speculation that the Jax Chamber president and CEO would run, during which his associated political action committee, Building a Better Economy, raked in more than $4 million — the most of any candidate to date.
But with three other Republicans to split the GOP vote and Democrats surging in the polls, the question remains as to whether those funds will be enough to boost the former state representative to victory.
A crowded Republican field
Prior to Davis entering the race, an Aug. 17 survey conducted by the University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Lab showed the former City Council president holding a narrow lead among the Republican candidates with 11 percent of the vote, followed by City Council members Al Ferraro and LeAnna Cumber at 8 and 7 percent, respectively, and Frank Keasler Jr. at less than 1 percent.
While Davis’ campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment, Ferraro, for his part, was not overly concerned by the poll’s results, noting the 5.9 percent margin of error.
“That poll is the definition of a statistical tie,” he noted. “With that in mind, our city deserves a mayor who operates with integrity. Unlike Daniel Davis, who actively promoted the sale of JEA — which was a blatantly obvious rip-off of the taxpayers that has resulted in federal indictments — I opposed this raw deal. Jacksonville deserves a mayor who will act on behalf of the hardworking families across Jacksonville and not just the select few lobbyists and members of the ‘good old boy’ system that have profited off of government dollars for too long.”
Unapologetic in his criticism of Davis, the two-term District 2 councilman touted his reputation as a “straight shooter,” adding that he intends to “restore honesty and accountability” to the mayor’s office.
“I invite voters to examine my voting record on the City Council,” he said. “I stood strong on the principles I espoused during my prior campaigns. As mayor, I will do the same and not surprise my voters by failing to do as I promised. I will focus on our core functions like ensuring public safety, restoring our infrastructure and keeping government hands out of taxpayer pockets. We have a great city and it’s time that we put Jacksonville families first.”
Cumber, like Ferraro, said that she felt the city required a change in leadership that the other candidates could not provide.
“I’m the only candidate out there that is the ‘change candidate,’” the District 5 councilwoman contended. “All the other candidates, it’s more of the same, and if you continue to do more of the same, you get the same results.”
Noting her work on the City Council to create the city’s Public Nuisance Abatement Board and crack down on drug and sex trafficking, Cumber described herself as a champion of Jacksonville families.
“This city really needs a fighter, and someone who’s going to fight for the future of the city and for its kids and grandkids,” she said. “We have a 9- and 11-year-old, so I look at things through their eyes, and I want them to want to come back and for them to grow up in the safest, best city in the country. And we can absolutely be that.”
Even though Cumber placed fifth overall in the UNF survey, she is second in fundraising, having raised more than $3 million with the help of her JAX First political action committee. She has also secured endorsements from District 14 Councilwoman Randy DeFoor and local faith leaders like Rev. Fred Newbill; Bishop Terry L. Hill Jr.; Pastors Robert LeCount, Terrance Pickett and Terrance Brisbane; and Elder Terrance Ray.
Keasler, meanwhile, is a former attorney who had his license permanently revoked in 2014 over allegations of a conflict of interest.
Stating that he was just glad to be “in by the skin of [his] chin,” Keasler attributed the launch of his mayoral campaign to the breakdown of race relations following the controversial death of George Floyd.
“I saw the beginning of the 2020 ‘summer of love’ and politicians on both sides of the aisle once again rushing to get TV time,” he recalled, holding that during that period, the Black community was being “placated, patronized and pandered” to by those in power as a means of control.
“When Mayor Curry took down [Andrew] Jackson’s statue in Hemming Park under the [cover] of darkness, I said, ‘Dear God what have we become?’” Keasler continued. “And from such compulsion I have heeded the call to stand for our city and ‘We the People.’”
Democrats in contention
Like most Republicans in the race, the leading Democrat hopefuls have positioned themselves as “change candidates.” But while the Republicans largely identified crime as the No. 1 issue currently plaguing the city, Democrat frontrunner Donna Deegan — who received the most support in the UNF survey with 31 percent of the vote — does not include crime as a key issue on her campaign website. Instead, her “#ChangeForGood” platform homes in on infrastructure, health and the economy.
Though Deegan’s campaign did not respond to requests for comment, her primary competition for the Democrat vote, State Sen. Audrey Gibson, agreed with Republicans that curtailing crime should be the top priority for Jacksonville’s next mayor.
Stating that her plan to address crime would combine “old-fashioned policing” methods with technological advancements, Gibson said she would work with the sheriff’s office to boost public safety.
“We must have a strong multidisciplined crime and safety commission that is data-driven beyond program review and sprinkle funding,” she said. “More partnerships among and between community organizations focused on prevention, intervention and mental health is how we get to our community feeling safer. My experience in criminology and serving for years on criminal and juvenile justice committees makes me the best candidate to communicate with the sheriff on the issues of crime prevention and public safety.”
After Gibson entered the race in June, rumors floated among Democrats that she might have done so to siphon votes from Deegan. And whether true or false, the state senator’s candidacy may have done just that, as Deegan’s poll numbers have dropped 10 points since February, when a previous UNF survey indicated she had the support of 41 percent of likely voters.
Meanwhile, in the August poll, Gibson drew 10 percent of the vote.
Gibson, addressing the speculation, stated: “I am running for mayor because I believe it is time that we had a mayor who puts the needs of the residents first and actually brings the community together. A mayor who gets it that we all want a good quality of life including housing affordability, safe neighborhoods, healthier families, a good business environment and a future that embraces ‘Promises made, promises kept.’ And a budget that works for all. I have years of experience in budgeting.”
The final three candidates, Democrat Theresa Ann Richardson, independent Darcy G. Richardson and non-party affiliated candidate Omega Allen, were unreachable for comment.
Altogether, they accounted for less than 4 percent of the vote, yet it is also worth noting that 20 percent of the survey’s respondents either had yet to decide on a candidate or chose not to answer the question. And with several months left to campaign, there is still time to make an impact.
Jacksonville’s first mayoral election will take place Tuesday, March 21, 2023. If no candidate receives an outright majority, the top two finishers will go head-to-head in a runoff. In the meantime, Resident Community News will continue to follow the race and provide updates as the election draws near.
By Samantha Flom
Resident Community News
(2 votes, average: 3.50 out of 5)
Loading... 
