by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
In U2’s “Some Days are Better Than Others” from Zooropa, Bono sings of a day that has more ups and downs than the stock market. While the lyrics can certainly apply to almost everyone, the song could easily be a metaphor for a politician and the many highlights and lowlights that a typical day can bring.
For Mayor John Delaney, Wednesday was a good day. The 12-hour day started light and ended light. In between, he met with his executive staff, addressed several Springfield residents, had barbecue with Times-Union publisher Carl Cannon, held three afternoon meetings in his office and hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Mandarin.
No fires to put out — except he spent the whole day wondering where his wallet was and making calls around town to see if it had been found.
No firings, no hirings, no sudden resignations.
No heated discussions about Better Jacksonville Plan projects and their progress or lack of progress.
Even with a reporter tagging along, Delaney was the perfect mix of seasoned politician and CEO, overseeing 7,500 City employees, and successful comedian who knows when to pick his spots for a lighthearted jab.
Tie-less, Delaney started the day his favorite way — with a good time. He joined several members of the Jax Cares executive steering committee staff to have a bite and thank them for their hard work during the last year. Jax Cares is responsible for organizing thousands of City and public volunteers to help with HabiJax, the I.M. Sulzbacher Center for the Homeless and Hubbard House, just to name a few.
The half-hour is filled with smiles and laughter.
“I just wanted to thank you for all the great stuff you do,” Delaney told the gathering. “You make the city a better place and you always have smiles on your faces.”
Realizing he wasn’t the only high-ranking official in less than formal garb, Delaney told the group, “I just saw a rare sight, [Chief Administrative Officer] Sam Mousa without a tie.” Apparently Mousa sans a tie is as rare as a Yeti sighting.
The short meeting may have lacked a serious tone, but that doesn’t stop anyone from talking shop for a moment. One member of the group updated Delaney on the past year.
“It was the highest year for Jax Cares in terms of participation,” he said. “We had more volunteer hours than ever. The HabiJax hours alone topped all of last year combined.”
The mayor has his own tidbit that left them impressed.
“HabiJax is just an incredible story,” said Delaney. “They started with 100 houses the first year, then 200. Now they want to do 500 a year.”
Lots of oohs and aahs.
HabiJax quickly becomes a hot topic. Some City employees live in HabiJax homes and everyone agrees that a family moving into a HabiJax home, often their first, can tug at the heartstrings.
“Those family things are emotional,” said Delaney. “But they are fun.”
“Most of them get excited when they just see the blueprints,” says one staffer.
The non-business atmosphere continues. Topics include Delaney’s lack of a tie and the fact that he has taken them from staffers in the past. He once borrowed one from Super Bowl boss Mike Weinstein for a Memorial Day ceremony. It rained, and the red, white and blue tie was ruined.
Suddenly, Delaney shifts gears and the home-owning landscaper emerges. Seems he has a couple of holly bushes that don’t produce many berries. He’s been told he has two female plants and he needs a male. Lots of laughs, but he still wants to know where the male plant is that Harold Jones of the agriculture service promised him.
Like many in the room, Delaney is first and foremost a husband and father. With four children, he relates easily to the other parents and the tribulations they face raising the youngsters, especially boys.
Delaney the politician will take a back seat to Delaney the dad starting today. With two young ones, The Players Championship, zoo, museum, Kids Kampus and water taxi rides are on the agenda.
Meeting adjourned, work to do for everyone. Delaney’s off to find his tie.
9 a.m.
Staff meeting. Delaney and nine others gather. The initial mood indicates it will be mostly business —solemn faces, note pads, pens, not much talk. But that doesn’t last long. Even with a reporter in the room, they can’t resist good-natured barbs. The informal Mousa instantly becomes the object of easy going banter. Usually impeccable, Mousa is headed to New York in the afternoon, hence the sport coat, and takes everything in stride.
“Even when we go on retreats there are creases in Sam’s jeans,” said Delaney. “Sam, what do you wear when you mow the lawn?”
“I wear jeans,” said Mousa.
“I mow his yard!” said JEDC boss Kirk Wendland, on cue, sending the room into an uproar.
I asked Delaney later if the mood was light because a reporter was in the room, something that rarely if ever, happens.
“Actually,” he said, “it gets even worse. We were actually on good behavior today.”
If that’s true, it is a wonder how they get anything done. But, the executive staff seems to be a tight-knit group that works very hard at being on the same page.
9:15 a.m.
On to business. Downtown Vision Inc. executive director Terry Lorince and DVI board chairman Michael Stewart arrive to give a presentation on DVI, what it is, what it does and where Lorince wants to take it.
Lorince confides that after 13 months on the job she still gets those who wonder what DVI does all day. Delaney and the rest of the staff listen intently as Lorince and Stewart describe their vision for DVI. The problem, it seems, is marketing or lack of it.
Lorince and DVI want, and need, lots of things. After 20 minutes, she and Stewart leave with assurances that everything possible will be done to help.
Delaney gets a phone call and has to step out — perhaps his wallet has been located.
“I’ll be right back but Sam will watch over things,” he apologized. “If Sam’s in the room, I know he’s guarding the money. Audrey [Moran, chief of staff] will spend it. Sam will guard it.”
The meeting then moves into Delaney’s office because another group has asked to use the mayor’s large conference room. The intimacy of Delaney’s office allows the staff to interact even more. The spacious conference room and huge table (actually several tables pushed together) create a slightly stuffy atmosphere. In the mayor’s office, everyone gathers in a circle that more resembles an elementary classroom gathering than a meeting of several of Jacksonville’s decision makers.
Topics include pocket parks and preservation land and I’m reminded that some things may be off-the-record.
The pocket parks become the topic of much debate. It seems that no one really knows where the six downtown pocket parks are or what constitutes a pocket park.
10 a.m.
Preservation land. A very big deal to the mayor, who is dead set on assuring that much of Jacksonville, especially the area around the Timucuan Preserve, remains off limits to developers. A deal is in the works to partner with JEA to purchase as much land as possible.
The executive director of Preservation Project Jacksonville, Mark Middlebrook, map in hand, says it can happen, but it will be tough. A few of the property owners in the area may succumb and sell to someone other than the City. Land is available here and there, but that’s not good enough for Delaney, who is now all business.
“God, once it’s gone you don’t get it back,” he said, staring at Middlebrook’s map, moving lines in his head. “The biggest appeal is if the land is congruous. Maybe we’ll have to move our focus east and say, that’s as big as we can make the Timucuan rails.”
Said Moran, “I hate to see all that developed. It’s criminal.”
All agree.
Delaney then shifts gears to something he personally dealt with over the weekend. Seems his five- year-old had a soccer game Saturday afternoon at Patton Park and he didn’t like what he saw.
“It was awful. The road in isn’t paved and there isn’t near enough parking,” he said of the multi-million dollar soccer complex near the beach that has been under construction for several years. “I’m not sure we should have opened it. Gina [his wife] said, ‘You might not want to go. You are going to catch hell.’ The fields are super, but it’s a half-mile walk in. The small kids are whipped by the time they get to the field.”
He and Mousa agree to drive out and look at the park soon.
Next year’s River Summit, the JEDC audit and the Veterans Wall wrap up the staff meeting after which Delaney, Mousa and Moran scamper to a Springfield Roundtable meeting.
A couple dozen Springfield residents and business owners have gathered to hear the latest on their neighborhood. Once a thriving part of Jacksonville, Springfield’s downward spiral mirrored the downtown exodus of the 1970s and 1980s. As the suburbs exploded, Springfield imploded, literally. The streets and infrastructure deteriorated. Businesses along Main Street moved, replaced by an undesirable element.
Delaney is there to assure Springfield residents that the City won’t abandon the redevelopment assistance agreement. (Because he’s making his first public appearance of the day, Delaney has dug a tie out of his closet.)
Like many needy communities, the issues in Springfield are the same. Roads, drainage, more police, trash, jobs. As the meeting evolves, it takes on an almost Town Hall-like aura. The folks like what they hear from Delaney, Mousa and Moran, who soon leave for other commitments. The Springfield group, which was invited to the mayor’s office for this meeting, will use all of their allotted time before adjourning.
For Delaney, it’s off to lunch at Cotton’s with Cannon.
1 p.m.
The afternoon proves less eventful than the morning. A looser schedule gives the mayor a chance or two to catch his breath, meet with a staff member behind closed doors or simply stop. With a spare 30 minutes, Delaney often takes the time to read his mail, respond to correspondence and make and take phone calls.
At 2 p.m. Rick Ferrin of the Seaport authority arrives for a short update on the port. Neither Ferrin nor Delaney is happy about Volvo’s decision to drop Jacksonville and 30,000 cars a year off its agenda. Ferrin says the main reason Jacksonville lost that business is because Volvo got an offer the authority couldn’t match.
“There is money to lure business to Jacksonville, but not any to keep them from leaving,” said Ferrin, assuring Delaney that there is a deal in the pipeline that would more than compensate for Volvo’s departure.
The two talk port security, river dredging, strategic plan and the recent trade mission trip. Ferrin, along with U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, City Council member Pat Lockett-Felder and port board members Marty Fiorentino and Tony Nelson, recently went to Freeport in the Bahamas.
“It was good for them to see the operation at Freeport and how good it is for them,” said Ferrin, adding he’d like to take a similar group to Miami later this year.
Before leaving, Ferrin seeks input from Delaney. “Just keep doing what you’re doing,” said the mayor. “If I can help you, let me know.”
With that, Ferrin departs, and Delaney gets 15 minutes to himself. And, he takes another shot at finding his still missing wallet.
A few minutes later Cindy Burgin and Susie Loving of the local Republican Party arrive for 30 minutes of the mayor’s time. Apparently they want to bend his ear about all things and people Republican. The meeting is private.
After Burgin and Loving leave, Delaney enjoys a rare hour of down time. He says this is the time of day he struggles — don’t we all? — and the couch in his office is tempting. Rarely though, does he ask receptionist Sherry Sands to hold his calls while he kicks off his shoes and puts up his feet. On this day, Delaney opts out of the shut eye and spends his free time on the phone and with Moran.
4 p.m.
Before going to Mandarin for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, Delaney takes a quick meeting with Leatrice Walton. Currently a general master, Walton is also on the short list for a judicial opening in county court. The meet and greet goes well and it’s off to Mandarin.
Ribbon-cuttings may seem more for publicity than sustenance, but Delaney understands their importance. Only after his predecessor, Ed Austin, explained why.
“Ed told me a long time ago that you have to do those things. You have to do things that generate good press for the newspaper,” said Delaney. “I don’t do them all the time, but I enjoy getting out into the community.”
Wednesday’s short ceremony was to open a long-awaited bike/walk/run path on Scott Mill Road in the Beauclerc area of Mandarin. Residents there have been clamoring for years for the three-mile path because Scott Mill is a relatively narrow, busy road. It also happens to be in the heart of a neighborhood that has a lot of children, recreational joggers, walkers and bikers.
The informal gathering drew dozens of locals, each of whom seemed to thank Delaney personally. A couple of women joggers yelled, “Thanks for the Better Jacksonville Plan,” as they continued along it.
Joe Turner, Delaney’s sometimes driver, subtly lets the mayor know it is time for his last commitment of the day by pulling the dark green SUV up to the gathering.
On the way back downtown, Delaney talked about the event. As mayor, he concedes he’s in a tough position when it comes to projects like the bike path. Here’s a neighborhood that has just about everything and the residents certainly aren’t hurting financially. Yes, he says, there are neighborhoods that need more, a lot more. But if a bike path is the finishing touch on one area, why not?
“In the big scheme it’s not much money,” he said. “But, it’s personal.”
6:15 p.m.
A sneak peek at the Lynch Building renovation is the last stop of a busy day. Vestcor president John Rood invited the mayor and other City officials to join him and many of his close friends and business associates at a reception.
It took Delaney 20 minutes to make it past the front door. Seems everyone wants to bend his ear about something. Seizing the moment, Rood took a few minutes to talk about the project and present Delaney, City Council president Matt Carlucci and City Council vice president Suzanne Jenkins with plaques, recognizing their efforts to make the project work.
Within a year, the decrepit old building will be converted into 11 E. Forsyth, dozens of slick, modern loft apartments designed to lure people back to downtown Jacksonville. For various reasons the project took many, many months to realize and Delaney briefly explained the roller-coaster ride to the audience. Many of the problems were legal in nature, which prompted Delaney to paraphrase a conversation he once had with Rood.
“I said, ‘John, who is your attorney? This is good for me because I’m going to be an unemployed lawyer in about 16 months,’” said Delaney.
For Delaney the day wasn’t quite over. He was pondering a quick pass through his office, then the drive home to the beach, where, hopefully, his wallet was waiting.
Delaney said it was a typical day. He had a solid schedule, but not so tight he couldn’t relax. He likes it that way. The 12-hour day was typical, too, and his family has gotten used to it.
“I never eat dinner with the family on Monday through Thursday,” he said. “Never.”