Daily Record Financial News &
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
Vol. 102, No. 093 • Two Sections
Brown vs. Curry
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Jefferson, Williams to face off for sheriff
Mayor Alvin Brown, Democrat
Photos by Fran Ruchalski
By Carole Hawkins Staff Writer
Republican challenger Lenny Curry.
Both candidates courting Bill Bishop By David Chapman Staff Writer
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Just after 9 p.m. Tuesday, Mayor Alvin Brown and Lenny Curry each took to the microphone at their respective watch parties, addressing their supporters at Downtown venues. Minutes apart in time and distance, their messages had some similarities. They’d done it — each garnering enough voter support to move into a head-tohead runoff. They looked forward to talking about the issues heading into that May 19 showdown. And they had glowing remarks about Bill Bishop, the third man in what essentially was a three-man race. The two-term City Council Republican conceded his run for mayor at about 8:30 p.m. Brown received 43 percent of the vote, Curry 38 percent. Neither won outright,
Coverage of City Council races Pages A-2 and A-3
in part, because Bishop took in 17 percent — pulling voters from both camps. He built momentum in recent weeks with straight-answering performances at televised debates and by running a positive campaign. Support like that would put either of the two remaining candidates over the top. Curry, first to talk, mentioned he had left Bishop a voice mail. He talked about the council member as “trying to hold this city together” the past four years under Brown’s irresponsible fiscal leadership and as a candidate who brought “serious ideas” to the campaign. Brown congratulated Bishop on a “very
hard fought campaign” during his speech and applauded him for his willingness in wanting to lead. And to Bishop’s supporters, a hope he could serve them well and represent their interests. Omega Allen, a no-party affiliate candidate placing fourth with 2 percent of the vote, also received praise from Brown and Curry, but not to the extent of Bishop — whose support and fanbase are looked at as assets by each side. Despite the early Bishop talk, the night really was about Brown and Curry. Brown and many other Democrats in other races surged to early leads when First Election results were counted Tuesday. The incumbent ended up on top with 78,320 of the 183,728 votes cast in the race, according to unofficial results. Curry, the Republican challenger was just about 8,000 off, receiving 70,594 in his Mayor... Continued
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Ken Jefferson far outdistanced a crowded field in a fight to be Jacksonville’s next sheriff, but it wasn’t enough to avoid a May 19 runoff against Mike Williams. Jefferson, a Democrat, took 66,422 votes for 36.6 percent of the total vote count. Williams edged Jimmy Holderfield, racking up 40,619 votes to Holderfield’s 37,276, a difference of less than 2 percent. Jefferson emerged as the front runner early in the campaign. “Even though the early polls showed I was in the lead, I always ran a humble race, because polls can change,” he said. “We live to fight on and to put in the work for the next election,” he said. While the race for Jefferson front-runner status was clear from the first returns, the slot for second place proved to be a nail-biter. “We knew this was going to be a close one,” Williams said. “Jimmy ran a great campaign and was always going to be a tough opponent right from the begin- Williams ning.” Both he and Holderfield are Republicans. Williams is endorsed by outgoing Sheriff John Rutherford, while Holderfield captured the Fraternal Order of Police backing. With crime a top issue on the minds of voters, combined with city belt-tightening that has seen cuts to the department, the election to replace Rutherford could be a watershed moment for the sheriff’s office. Jefferson, a 24-year veteran of the office, promised to reduce violent crime, drug crime and gang activity in Jacksonville by 25 percent during his first year in office. He said he will use crime tracking software programs such as CompStat to identify high-crime areas and will deploy a newly created street crimes unit to those areas. On the budget, Jefferson said during a debate he did not expect the City Council to restore cuts that resulted in the loss of Sheriff... Continued on Page A-7
No election-night disappointment for Hogan this time By Marilyn Young Editor
Hogan
Public
Mike Hogan led the Duval County Supervisor of Elections race from the moment the first precinct results were released. He wasn’t comfortable, though, until the last ones came through. “Once you lose one, you’re never confident again,” Hogan said, referring to the 2011 mayor’s race where he was narrowly defeated by Alvin Brown. Especially, he said, when the 2011 race turned badly for him in
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the final 20-30 minutes. No worries like that Tuesday for Hogan, a Republican, who won just shy of 55 percent of the vote to defeat Tracie Davis, a Democrat who’s worked in the elections office since 2001. Hogan’s win came in an election where 3,000 more Democrats than Republicans voted. He said he’s always appealed to both parties, pointing out he ran for City Council as a conservative Democrat. Hogan had considered running for supervisor in 1999 when Tom-
mie Bell designed not to seek reelection. She asked Hogan to run to replace her. He hesitated when it looked like some of his friends would get in the race. At the same point, former state Rep. Steve Wise called and said he’d like Hogan to run for his legislative seat. Hogan did and he won. He submitted a resignation from his job as chair of the state’s Public Employees Relations Commission to run for the office. His resignation is effective June 30. His term as supervisor begins July 1.
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Hogan called Tuesday’s win a “humbling experience.” “This race, unlike others, people give to you because they love you. You can’t do anything for them,” said Hogan, who collected $95,186. “These are gifts of love.” He said there would likely be some changes at the office, but nothing immediate. Well, maybe one. “I would have had all the results out at 7:05,” he joked. myoung@jaxdailyrecord.com (904) 356-2466
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