by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
Separating political candidates by distinctive characteristics can be a daunting task to the casual observer, but Richard Darby and Michael Corrigan make it easy. Although both are vying for the City Council District 14 seat currently held by Jim Overton, who can’t run again because of term limits, they come from opposite corners of the map — literally.
Darby has wanted a chance at a Council seat for years. Corrigan took some persuasion to enter the race. Darby lives on the extreme southern edge of Duval County in sprawling Argyle. Corrigan lives in relatively urban Avondale. While both stress their bid for City Council is for the betterment of the community, their only real common thread is their district.
Last year’s City Council reapportionment created interesting district neighbors, particularly in Overton’s Westside district. By tradition, the district hugs the St. Johns River, encompassing well-established enclaves like historic Riverside and Avondale and genteel Ortega. New to the district this year is the suburban community of Argyle, which had been in District 13.
Darby lives in ever-expanding Argyle. A Jacksonville firefighter for over three decades and a Westside resident for just as long, he has been a community activist for years, a charter member of the Southwest Citizens Planning Advisory Committee and thinks his efforts would be best served as a Council member.
“I set my goals probably three years ago,” he said of his bid for Council. “I got this bug probably about 10 years ago when I became homeowner president of Chimney Lakes.”
Corrigan lives in the heart of Avondale. He is the president of a Westside food packaging manufacturer, Nu-Trend Plastics, and a long-time community volunteer. He is a past chairman of Riverside Avondale Preservation and former president of the board of directors of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Jacksonville. Unlike Darby, who had been eying a Council seat for years, Corrigan took some persuasion.
“Jim Overton, who currently represents the district, discussed it with me,” said Corrigan. “Jerry Spinks, who’s a former chairman of Riverside Avondale Preservation and on the Jacksonville Preservation Commission, approached me about it. I initially said, like most everybody else does, ‘Ha ha ha.’ But then I gave it some serious consideration and took about six months making sure I understood what it involved, how it would affect my business and how I would be as a political figure. I pretty much made the decision into looking into a formal filing in December.”
Corrigan says his hesitancy to commit to a campaign is not indicative of his dedication to the position if elected. Despite his responsibility to his family-owned company, he promises a wholehearted effort as a Council member.
“I feel like I’d have to spend 30 to 40 hours a week, minimum, to be a good district Council person,” he said. “You can be a Council person and work eight hours a week. You can’t be a good representative at eight hours a week. That’s not my style. I’m a guy who’s going to put in the hours necessary to get the job done right.”
Darby, a captain with Jacksonville Fire and Rescue, also promises to give the time needed, saying he’ll retire from the fire department if elected.
At the outset, Darby looks to have the most ground to cover to gain supporters from his relatively remote outpost in Argyle.
“Darby’s challenge is to make himself known in Ortega and Riverside on top of the district,” said Overton. “Argyle definitely has a voice in the district with a large population base.”
Darby agrees. Although his neighborhood is commonly mistaken as Clay County territory, Darby points to Argyle as a formidable force within the district.
“It’s a major part,” he said. “There are a lot of homes. In Chimney Lakes, there are 1,700. In the original Argyle, there are probably 1,400 homes. I think I can relate to the whole district. I’ve worked some in the Ortega area. I’ve worked some in the Riverside area. I know the streets in Riverside almost like the back of my hand.”
When traffic choked Blanding Boulevard a few minutes from his home in one direction and the emerging Brannan Field/Chafee Road in the other, Darby’s soapbox drifts naturally and effortlessly into growth issues.
“Growth is something that’s affected this city tremendously,” he said. “It’s something we can’t ignore. It’s something that we’ve got to deal with. We can’t be somebody who sticks their head in the mud and says we’re not going to deal with it. We’ve got to deal with it. I think I can bring homeowners, developers and people together to where we have a smart growth — something where we’ll all be proud of what this area will look like in 20 years.”
To battle growth and transportation issues, Darby is a proponent of the town center concept, which is a holistic approach to pockets of communities.
“If you work for an employer on the east end of Argyle, you would never have to leave the Argyle area,” he said. “You have restaurants, you have grocery stores, you have barber shops, you have dry cleaners.”
Corrigan has the advantage of greater name recognition within the district and also the endorsement of long-time friend Overton. Like Darby, who must endear himself to the northern reaches of the district, Corrigan must introduce himself to Ortega and Argyle.
“I’ve already started that,” he said. “The day I opened the campaign account, I went that night to a meeting. I’ve been to four other meetings in Argyle since. It’s a very long process. That’s one of the reasons I started over a year away from the election. The thing you have to understand about this district is that nobody is from everywhere in the district. You have to educate yourself. You have to go meet the people. You have to knock on doors and you have to become knowledgeable with the issues that are there. I know much more about Argyle today than I did yesterday and the same for all the areas in the district.
“I’ve spent a lot of time talking to individual people all throughout the district already and I’ll continue to do that. By April 2003, I feel like I’ll know most everything going on in the district. You can always learn more.”
Corrigan’s vision of District 14’s future is based on making sure its residents get their fair share of the city’s spoils.
“That’s a very traditional three generation-plus district,” he said. “Our people in the district are people who have been paying their taxes for years and years and years and we’ve got to make sure we get what’s due to us. If you couple that with the addition to the district, which is southern Wesconnett and Argyle, those are people who have real needs — different needs than the traditional district. We need someone who can work with everybody in the district and I feel like my experience as a community volunteer and my experience working with the council and neighborhoods, that gives me a great ability to work with all the people in the district, not just one area.”
Two other candidates have opened campaign accounts for District 14 but have since dropped out of the race.
Attorney Kevin Hyde was briefly interested in the district, but switched to an at-large district where he could better serve his campaign financial supporters if elected.
Esther Victoria Maree also dropped out. A security officer for Argenbright and Associates, she decided to run for Council when her home was burglarized. Lingering effects from a January auto accident forced her to withdraw.