by Corey Oliver
Staff Writer
The recent state elections didn’t bode well for the Democratic party. A high-profile attorney from a high-profile firm was trounced in the gubernatorial race and many other Democrats fell to Republicans across the state.
Locally, the losses haven’t created much of a stir. In fact, Jacksonville-area big-name Democrats don’t think the November elections will have any bearing on this spring’s mayoral and City Council elections.
“The races for City Council tend to focus more on personality than party and the Nov. 5 election saw the president come to Florida, the Republican Party spend $50 million and a large Republican turnout at the polls,” said Clyde Collins, head of the Democratic Party in Duval County. “I don’t think the president is coming to Duval County.”
City Council member Suzanne Jenkins said it’s really too early to know what impact the November elections will have locally. Jenkins, along with 13 of her colleagues (five Council members are term-limited and may not seek office again), is running for reelection from Dist. 4. However, she did say there is an overriding theme for local elections: party affiliation should not be an issue in local elections.
“We are here to provide City services and there is no such thing as a Democratic pothole or a Republican sidewalk,” said Jenkins. “This [eliminating party affiliation] would allow the City Council to get more done as party affiliation at this level can cloud the issues and we are not in the business of dealing with those issues. We are here to run the city and respond to the needs of the citizens.”
Jenkins added that most political candidates are novices and they should not have to declare a party unless they choose to run for office at the state or national level.
Democratic mayoral candidate Tommy Hazouri agrees with Collins’ assessment.
“I think that there will be little or no trickle down effect from the Nov. 5 election as local elections tend to focus more on the campaigns and the individuals that are running,” said Hazouri.
The perception of many is that local elections tend to be much more personal. Often, candidates are long-time residents of their district and see serving on City Council as a way of giving back to the community.
This is true of Terry Diperna, who’s running for Lake Ray’s Dist. 1 seat. Diperna has lived in Arlington since 1956 and has grown to know the Arlington area through his work at the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and coaching area Little League teams the past 10 years. Diperna believes that kind of contact with voters will help his chances against Ray and demonstrates the close contact that local City Council candidates can enjoy with the voters.
One of the obvious differences between many of the local candidates and their counterparts at the state or national level is that many have not made a career of politics. They are new to the business and believe this may work in their favor. On a Republican-heavy Council — 12 of 19 — Democratic candidates will need every advantage they can get and Diperna believes the next Council may have a very different political make up.
“Several of the current Council members may be unseated in the April 2003 election,” said Diperna, adding he decided to run for office because he felt the community needed someone who was responsive to its needs. “The District is not receiving the full-time representation that it needs. I will roll up my sleeves and get to work and do whatever it takes.”
The Democratic Party’s woes did not start with the Nov. 5 election, but can actually be traced back to the Reagan Reagan era. Since that time, the Democrats have lost ground at all levels in Florida, including Jacksonville.
In the 1970s, a registered Republican was a rare breed in Florida, or the South, for that matter. Today, the state legislature and the governor’s mansion are firmly in the hands of the Republican party and Gov. Jeb Bush was reelected to a second term, an unprecedented feat for a Republican governor in Florida.
Ju’coby Pittman, who is running for City Council at-large Group 5, believes the November election will actually spur a strong Democratic showing this spring.
“The Nov. 5 election was a wake up call for the Democratic Party,” said Pittman, “and the people who failed to vote or register to vote need to take heed and go to the polls.”
Statewide, the party has made a few inroads, mainly in South Florida. Miami Mayor, Manuel A. Diaz, is a Democrat in the state’s biggest city. His election may help to serve notice that Democrats can win major political seats in other cities. Once that occurs, the party may see a trickle down effect, resulting in more Democrats being elected state legislators. Pittman understands this may be a long, arduous process, but it has to start somewhere.
“In Jacksonville, it has taken some time for the leadership to restructure itself,” said Pittman, who ran for a district seat in 1998 and lost by a narrow margin.