Jacksonville delegates worked late Tuesday night in London.
At midnight, they toasted the last day in office for former state Rep. Daniel Davis, who became JAX Chamber president in July 2013.
Davis, who’s on the trip, said when he was hired at the chamber that he would not seek re-election. Republican Jay Fant’s term began Tuesday.
Then they turned their focus to the results of Tuesday’s gubernatorial election.
“It was frankly a little tense,” said JAXUSA Partnership President Jerry Mallot, who was reached Wednesday about 4:30 p.m. in London, where the group was preparing to leave for a Fulham Football Club game. The soccer team is owned by Jacksonville Jaguars owner Shad Khan.
“It would have been really difficult for us to tell a positive story about where we’re headed” had Gov. Rick Scott lost the race, Mallot said.
Scott narrowly prevailed over Democratic challenger Charlie Crist, a former Republican governor.
Crist was a Republican when he served as governor from 2007-11. That period also included the Great Recession of December 2007-June 2009 and the financial crises, when the state and nation lost jobs, markets plunged, real estate markets stalled, financial institutions were bailed out, and bankruptcies soared.
Mallot cited the “negative experience” during Crist’s time in office, referring to “very different style or lack of a style.”
JAXUSA Partnership is the economic development arm of the JAX Chamber. Its affiliated JAXBIZ nonprofit, nonpartisan political organization endorsed Scott for the 2014 race and also in 2010 when he ran against Democrat Alex Sink.
Florida polls closed at 7 p.m. Tuesday, which was midnight in London. A delegation of Jacksonville leaders, including Mayor Alvin Brown, is visiting this week to recruit jobs and economic investment.
Mallot said Brown has worked closely with Scott “and appreciates his impact on jobs.”
The group is traveling with the Jaguars, who play the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday at Wembley Stadium as part of the team’s four-year agreement to play one home game there each season.
The nine-member group is led by four partners of the Jaguars-JAXUSA London Mission, which ends Sunday after the game.
Mallot wouldn’t identify any specific job opportunities he expects the trip to generate. Last year, Greencore USA, an Ireland-based company, agreed to add more than 280 jobs at its North Jacksonville food plant after Jacksonville delegates met with corporate leaders in London.
Asked if the trip would result in jobs, like the Greencore additions, Mallot said he hoped so, “but it is a little too early to tell.”
The delegates are meeting with Deutsche Bank executives today, Mallot said, but declined comment on what might result. Deutsche Bank has been adding jobs in Jacksonville and is said to be looking for a site here to consolidate and expand its operations.
They met with Deutsche Bank last year, too.
“It’s a very busy agenda,” Mallot said.
Mallot said the group has been meeting with aviation and aerospace, maritime, technology and financial services companies, along with site consultants and others. He said about 10 more meetings remain.
The group met Tuesday with Liverpool leaders and toured the port.
Today’s schedule and Friday’s agenda include more meetings with unidentified companies along with other tours and visits.
A difference this year is that London fans know the Jaguars, he said. Mallot said an NFL survey found that last year, the Jaguars had almost the lowest recognition there of any NFL team. Today, he said, the Jaguars are No. 9.
“What the Jaguars do is terrific at positioning us in the UK,” he said.
Khan’s international profile and the growth of Jaguars’ support in London are an economic development advantage, Mallot said.
“It’ll pay off.”
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