Four men are now vying to be City Council vice president.
Three of them have a common bond — they’re each in their second consecutive term.
Two have experience beyond their two terms, having also served in the 1990s.
And one is being pegged by a competitor as having his influential employer generate support for his early run.
In the days after John Crescimbeni and Matt Schellenberg submitted letters of intent to their peers about becoming council vice president, Aaron Bowman and Doyle Carter did the same. One-on-one meetings between candidates and potential supporters have since dotted the calendar as each tries to secure 10 votes.
Schellenberg said he wasn’t surprised so many candidates had entered the race — it’s democracy in action.
However, he was surprised by Bowman’s candidacy. The leadership position demands experience, Schellenberg said, and Bowman is a first-term member in his seventh month on council.
Schellenberg believes Bowman’s early run is being fueled by his employer, the JAX Chamber, as a way to push its agenda. And it could get that through the 11 new members, many of whom the chamber supported.
Bowman is senior vice president of business development for JAXUSA Partnership, the business development arm of the chamber, a position through which he helps bring jobs to Jacksonville. The retired Navy captain served as Commanding Officer of Mayport Naval Station.
“I’m sorry Matt doesn’t recognize my 30 years of leadership as a key attribute,” Bowman said Wednesday.
In an interview earlier this week, Bowman said he keeps his chamber and council roles separate. He said he was running for vice president his first year of office because it’s an opportunity to step up to lead a majority of new council members.
Bowman said he wants the current class to have leadership experience before at least eight new members are elected in 2019.
The chamber also denied it was behind Bowman’s run.
“Council leadership elections are family business and this isn’t something we’re going to get in the middle of,” said Matt Galnor, chamber vice president of public affairs.
He said the chamber had not talked to any members about who to vote into the leadership role. And he pointed out the chamber endorsed Schellenberg in his election last year.
Bowman and Carter also were backed by the chamber in last year’s election. The organization backed Dave Barron, Crescimbeni’s opponent.
Council Vice President Lori Boyer said she wasn’t contacted by the chamber about her vote, but has heard the chamber-related discussions in the community, which she said is “purely gossip.”
Boyer, a second-term member, on Wednesday signed a pledge to support Crescimbeni.
She is expected to be president next year.
She said Crescimbeni would be a capable leader who would respect everyone’s opinions and be inclusive.
However, she said her support for Crescimbeni wasn’t a knock on any of the other candidates — they’re all qualified and she’d be happy to work with any of them.
As for Bowman’s run, Boyer said she wasn’t surprised — getting in early is one of the only ways to get one’s name out there publicly.
She also knows the feeling of an early run. She pushed for the vice presidency at the same time former council member Clay Yarborough did and ended up coming up short.
“It’s not necessarily a bad thing,” she said of running early.
Council member Bill Gulliford was one of the first to support a candidate in this year’s race, also siding with Crescimbeni.
He wasn’t surprised four people had jumped into the race, but said he was somewhat surprised about Bowman.
“I think it’s a little presumptive you would do that before some level of experience,” said Gulliford, a second-term member who has served as president.“ “Whomever you elect is the face of the council and some level of experience is critical, I think.”
He said Schellenberg’s claim of a chamber-backed push is “not a surprising speculation” and it’s one he’s heard several times. He wouldn’t say if he believed it is true.
Bowman has earned early support from Tommy Hazouri, a first-time member and former mayor. The two had a meeting Tuesday in which Bowman explained his goals in the leadership position would be to bring jobs of all levels to Jacksonville, support Downtown development and help lift Jacksonville’s most troubled neighborhoods.
He also reiterated his stance about the first-time class taking more of a leadership role.
“It’s time for our class to step up,” he told Hazouri.
Schellenberg doesn’t disagree with the class stepping up. He believes that leadership is “much more” than filling one of the two internally elected positions — it comes from being engaged at the committee level, attending other meetings and learning. And that takes time.
“Experience counts,” he said.
It’s something he learned in his first four years being elected and can’t be ignored. The push by Bowman, he said, is “unprecedented.”
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