by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
Mayoral candidates Alberta Hipps and John Peyton are now in the same boat, to an extent. While other candidates Mike Weinstein and Ginger Soud use public relations agencies — Weinstein has retained The Dalton Agency while Soud has employed the Robin Wilson Agency — to help spread their word, Hipps and Peyton are both going it alone.
While Hipps has run her own grassroots campaign since she announced her candidacy last summer (and during her campaign for City Council in 1994-95), Peyton entered the fray teamed with The McCormick Agency. That working partnership is currently on hold.
Last month, McCormick took on another client, the Utility Contractors Association of North Florida, Inc., who has since filed a lawsuit against the City, challenging its Minority Business Enterprise ordinance. Peyton and McCormick both sensed that the suit could represent a possible conflict of interest for McCormick — if the suit drags on for a couple of years and Peyton wins the election, McCormick would be representing both the mayor of Jacksonville and an entity suing the mayor and the City — so they put the professional relationship on hold while maintaining a solid personal relationship.
Peyton says he also realized that, at this time, there isn’t a need for a public relations machine.
“It’s really too early,” he said. “I want to concentrate on building my team and securing support. I don’t intend to seek any promotion or exposure for several months. The public aspect of my campaign will come later.”
Hipps, who has Paula Weathersby serving as her campaign manager, agrees with Peyton that it’s simply too early to fret over public relations.
“As the campaign goes along I’ll be engaging a lot of people on my team and I might very well do that,” said Hipps of hiring a PR firm. She added that because the mayor’s race covers, obviously, the entire city, a PR firm may become necessary to winning the election. “The mayor’s race is different from the City Council election. I’m open to having someone from the public relations realm join the team.”
Peyton insists the spilt with McCormick was amicable and they remain close friends. He’d like nothing more than to see the UCA suit against the City resolved quickly so he can rehire McCormick in the future.
As March winds down, Peyton will continue hosting fund raisers and next month his first campaign contribution list will be due at the Supervisor of Elections Office where it will become public record. Speaking engagements, fund raisers, campaign reports. Sounds like a lot like a mayoral candidate. However, Peyton is quick to point out he’s not officially in the race.
“Remember, I haven’t declared my candidacy yet,” said Peyton. “I still haven’t filed my paperwork. I’ve just done the legal things necessary to open a campaign account.”
As for handling any overt public relations, Peyton said he has people on board who can handle the job until the race dictates he rehire McCormick or another firm.
“Mike Tolbert is in there and he’s good,” said Peyton. “We also have a lot of experienced volunteers.”
Peyton said he will maintain a low profile and continue to feel out the political atmosphere for the next several months. Once the gubernatorial election passes (the primary is slated for Sept. 10 while the general election is Nov. 5), Peyton will assess where he is both financially and in public opinion polls. If he likes the landscape at the time, Peyton plans to kick his campaign into another gear.