Alvin Brown files for Re-election

[Cheshire Cat]

Make no mistake about the fact that the resignation of Jennifer Carrol and Alvin's support of Rick Scott are sending a few ripples through his camp.  While those who went head to head with Cuba on Pensions are likely doing a happy, gotcha dance, the flip side of that coin is that several in powerful positions have been left worried by the reality that investigations like this do happen and are secretly underway.  I expect to see some shoring up of "business" connections by several in state and local politics.

Which leads me to wonder if authorities have looked further into the close business relationships of Mayor Brown, his wife and their pastor Rhim?  They were aware of that and some questions about campaign donations and books that didn't seem to be complete.

Lot's of smoke and mirrors in politics.  Not everyone is blind to that but I am sure this Allied thing will have several on their toes for awhile.

On wonders if you are referring to that million dollar 'donation' that Khan gave to Alvin's wifes charity, Dianne?  I remember that she represents some kind of veteran's group, but I don't recall the name..

   There is actually a "history" of companies Brown, his wife and Rhim have been involved in.

[Cheshire Cat]

I think any donation coming from Mr. Khan is genuine and meant to do good.  Not sure exactly how those funds have been used by the charity run by Alvin's wife at this point. 

[kreger]

It will be fun watching Alvin Brown distancing himself from these people. He should have grabbed a hold of Obama's coat tails when he had the chance.

[JeffreyS]

Wow we sure have a senical crowd here. I know about the accessibility issues with Alvin but he is very urban minded and looks out for the tax payer. He will work with either party and a Tea party candidate won't stand a chance against him. Perhaps he has overly focused on downtown but Jacksonville needs that.  Not every good politician is a great Baby kisser.

[Cheshire Cat]

Alvin will likely hang onto his Scott connection a while longer in order to get some agenda items taken care of. He cannot afford to anger him.

Jennifer is another story and born out of her own environment in local Jacksonville politics that has influence in both Democrat and Republican camps to some degree.  Basically, there is an understanding by some in politics that they are there to work the system and that they are clever enough to do so and remain just inside the law.  In this case it looks like someones skirt got blown up and it just did not turn out as sexy as the Marilyn Monroe film piece from years ago.

[Cheshire Cat]

Jeffrey, There is a difference between cynicism about the integrity of some in political office and job performance I believe.  For instance, someone in office can support issues that are positive and well received by the community and still make some personal, political and business decisions that may be pushing the law or ethics. 

A positive outlook is imperative to the hope for a better community and society.  On the other hand, a realistic look at what is going on that my be questionable is not cynical as much as it is the opening of ones eyes to the realities of politics and some in business at the local, state and national level.  We have to be able to do both and be willing to discuss all aspects of what government and it's officials may or may not be doing while representing us in office.

[JeffreyS]

He seems to have leveraged the Scott relationship in Jacksonville's favor a few times. I have not seen any smoke of unethical behavior. The only direct accusation I can recall is how hard it is to get to him. I do not take that lightly but I believe he has been a real positive for Jacksonville.

I don't want to turn a blind eye to anything so if we have an accusation lets make it.

[Cheshire Cat]

It is my understanding that questions have been raised and posed to some at the State level with regard to the hows and why's of Alvin's campaign funding which of course predate his actual election.  There was quite a bit of reporting about how the campaign was being funded and by whom. That of course can all be Googled by anyone who needs a refresher.  You may remember the Dem money he received in a lump sum that no one could explain at the time as well as other issues.  I don't know how far those inquiries went or if they are still being pursued.  I doubt we will see similar questions in the next campaign as he will have a better more informed campaign crew behind him. 

[Cheshire Cat]

Here is some insight into some money raised by Alvin Brown's "Take it to Another Level" re-election fund raisers.

http://jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/403455/matt-dixon/2013-10-08/fundraising-committee-taking-jacksonville-next-level

A fundraising committee set up to support Mayor Alvin Brown’s reelection raised $86,000 between July 1 and Sept. 15, according to recently filed campaign finance reports.

The biggest contribution to “Taking Jacksonville to the Next Level” – known as a committee of continuous existence (CCE) - was $25,000 from Jacksonville law firm Pajcic & Pajic.

Physician Charles Greene, law firm Farah & Farah, and Advanced Disposal Service also inked $10,000 checks.

The group’s largest expenditure was $5,000 to the Florida Democratic Party.

Due to legislation passed during the 2013 legislative session eliminating CCEs, the remaining $79,423 has been transferred to “Taking Jacksonville to the Next Level PC,” which is a so-called political committee.

Both groups are chaired by prominent Democratic election attorney Mark Herron.

Brown’s campaign committee has raised just more than $300,000. Of that, $43,000 has come as in-kind contributions from the Florida Democratic Party. Much of the party money was for consulting and campaign staff.

His campaign account has spent $14,207. The biggest expenditure was $4,000 for “database maintenance” from NGP, a Washington-based company that provides technology services to Democratic campaigns.

Update: An earlier version of this post state Advanced recieved incentives from Jacksonville. An incentive package was offered, but not accepted

[mtraininjax]

From the Sunday Newspaper at the Times Union - No Moran in 2015.....

NOT RUNNING

Among candidates who ran in 2011, none has made noises about taking another shot.

Rick Mullaney said he’s focused on Jacksonville University’s Public Policy Institute, where he is the founding director. He and Audrey Moran split the vote when they ran for mayor, resulting in the runoff election between Brown and Mike Hogan, who was the leading Republican vote-getter.

Brown won with 50.4 percent of the vote in the runoff, a margin of 1,662 votes. Hogan did not return calls this past week to the Florida Public Employee Relations Commission, where he is the chairman.

Moran said she won’t run in 2015. “What I tell everyone is the absolute truth, which is not never, but not now,” she said.

After Brown won in 2011, Moran served as co-chairwoman of his transition team. As for who she will support in 2015, she said she’s waiting to see what the mayoral field will look like.

“I am going to look forward to see who is going to run for mayor,” she said, “because I believe our city needs bold leadership.”

[urbanlibertarian]

I think the mayor's 70% polling number is due to his not raising taxes and cutting city jobs.  I know those things are not popular on this site but to the average taxpayer they are.

[Tacachale]

The taxes thing is part of it, but it's more his avoiding anything that remotely resembles a tough decision. It's a lot easier to avoid upsetting people when you don't do anything.

You'll also notice his "no taxes" stance didn't actually result in no taxes - he just forced the city council to do his job for him and create a budget.

[mtraininjax]

^^ I loved Overton's comment that the Mayor did not sign the latest budget, he just let the Council do the work for him. Great leadership by the Mayor.