Mayor Lenny Curry has been to the JAX Chamber. He’s been to Gate Petroleum Co. He’s even visited the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens.
He’s been to San Marco, Mandarin and Northwest Jacksonville.
He’s traveled just about all over Jacksonville the past four months to sell the merits of his pension reform proposal.
The first-term mayor has been busy since Gov. Rick Scott signed off on allowing Duval County voters to determine whether to extend a half-cent sales tax dedicated toward trying to solve the city’s $2.8 billion pension quagmire.
That vote is Tuesday, but there’s been much effort in the sales job along the way. It may be paying off.
A University of North Florida Public Opinion Research Laboratory poll released Friday morning shows 51 percent of likely voters support Curry’s plan, up from 41 percent in June.
The poll shows 32 percent oppose the plan, compared to 33 percent in June, and 18 percent are undecided, down from 26 percent two months ago.
Curry’s calendar since April shows he’s taken part in close to 80 forums, luncheons, civic club meetings, City Council town halls, meetings with city employees and media visits as part of his citywide pension sales job.
“I never thought about what it would take,” Curry said Thursday. “I just knew I had to do it.”
Chief of Staff Kerri Stewart and Director of Community Affairs Charles Moreland both have more than a dozen events to their name, too.
Sometimes the audience was a handful of people, such as a group of pastors Curry met with in mid-May.
Other times it reached into the hundreds like when he visited Fidelity Investments for an employee town hall in late July.
There have been many other town halls, such as with employees of Baptist Medical Center, UF Health Jacksonville and JEA.
He’s partnered with council members Aaron Bowman, President Lori Boyer, Garrett Dennis, Bill Gulliford and Matt Schellenberg, a combination of representatives who cover a large swath of Jacksonville.
There’s also been a host of meetings within his own ranks with more than a dozen meetings with employees on the city payroll.
Those aren’t over yet, either — he has two planned Monday, a day before the all-important vote.
Curry said along the way, he has “yet to encounter any hardcore opposition.”
Sure, there’s been a person or two who has spoken up against the plan or grilled him with questions, but it hasn’t been an audience.
That includes the much-publicized April forum with representatives from the Interfaith Coalition for Action, Reconciliation and Empowerment, also called ICARE.
Despite being pressed to commit to include specific projects in his budget, Curry held his ground and said without reform, there was no money.
“They wanted to hear me speak,” he said. “They wanted to hear a problem and the solution.”
Curry said after that meeting he was approached by many who appreciated his honesty.
He said the easy out to secure more votes would be to make promises to individuals and groups that money freed up would go to their cause.
“I have not done that,” he said.
According to the latest financial models, the half-cent sales tax that would go into effect in 2031 could save as much as $57 million in annual budgets up to that time.
But, spreading out payments and putting off the pay-down would tack on an estimated $1.5 billion to the plan, which many critics point to as a reason not to support the idea.
Curry said he has heard those concerns as he has been out on the campaign trail, but when he has a chance to talk about the facts with people, they often come around in support.
Some audiences have responded. Meetings with groups like the chamber, Jacksonville Civic Council, Northeast Florida Builders Association, Association of Builders and Contractors, JAX Sports Council and others often are followed up in the weeks after with news that the group has pledged its public support for the cause.
“I think it’s easier for a group to endorse something any time a proponent shows to make the case,” said Curry.
While the mayor has loaded his calendar with pension-related stops, there have been many that haven’t officially been logged.
Yes for Jacksonville, the political action committee behind pushing for the vote’s approval, often has called on Curry to help, too.
“Anything we have asked him to do, he’s done it,” said Susie Wiles, co-chair of the committee.
That could mean a call, an email or even an impromptu appearance.
As for how many times he’s been called upon compared to his city-led efforts, Wiles didn’t have an exact figure.
“It’s the same,” she said of Curry’s public push. “Just more of it.”
Wiles said Curry’s efforts in selling the pension referendum have been comparable to those displayed during his campaign to get elected last year. He’s articulate and compelling when talking about the subject, especially with those who aren’t typically acquainted with the city’s budget, she said.
Whether the town halls, calls, emails and sit-downs pay off will be known Tuesday evening. Like he’s always maintained, Curry thinks they will.
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