by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
Suzanne Jenkins says she’s paid her dues as City Council vice president. Jerry Holland claims it’s about leadership and loyalty.
Both have their eyes on the Council presidency.
While the Council won’t vote for another two months, both Jenkins and Holland have been actively plotting their path to the presidency.
The pinnacle of Duval County’s local legislative leadership, the City Council president plays a strong role in charting Jacksonville’s course. The president is the cornerstone of the 19-member delegation and decides what community issues are brought to the forefront, who chairs what committee and what bills are given priority.
The unwritten rule of the Council is the natural order of progression. After a year learning the ropes, the vice president is expected to relieve the president with the general blessing of the other Council members. Jenkins is the heir-apparent; Holland is the perceived outsider.
“It’s the natural order of progression,” said current Council President Matt Carlucci, who openly endorses Jenkins. “I think she’ll do a great job and I think she’s earned it. The natural progression of ascendancy is what is best for the Council.”
Over the course of the last year, Jenkins says her track record as a Council member and a leader more than speaks for itself.
“I’ve had a full year of people watching how I led, how I voted. Did I vote for the good of the whole because it’s the right thing to do or did I vote because it was a friend of mine?” she said.
Jenkins says she refuses to vote based on relationships and maintains she’ll base her decisions on what she feels is right. When Holland introduced a bill to rebuild the Jacksonville Beach Pier at Sixth Avenue South instead of constructing a new one 11 blocks north, Jenkins initially supported Holland, but later voted against the action when the bill came before the Council.
“That’s Jerry’s issue with me — my vote on the pier,” she said. “He felt I abandoned him. I explained to him that that night I had to vote to do the right thing. As a person in a leadership role, I didn’t have that freedom to say, ‘Jerry, you’re my friend and even though you don’t have enough votes, I’m going to go down with you.’”
Holland hasn’t forgotten Jenkins’ flip-flop. His decision to run for Council president stems from her vote on the pier as well as a few other incidents. While he acknowledges that he’s bucking the trend of progression from vice president to president, he says the seat is fair game to anyone who wants it.
“I don’t feel like I’m circumventing anything,” he said. “I feel like some people are saying they would not be happy if the current vice president was elected president because they’ve watched reactions that she’s had and don’t care for some of the reactions she’s had.”
Holland points to Jenkins’ vote on the pier as one example. He maintains that he holds no grudge, but her apparent lack of loyalty on the one particular issue concerns him.
“It’s not a grudge situation. It’s a decision of leadership,” Holland explained. “She had made a commitment to me early on a vote [pier] and said she was going to support that. To come and say you’ll give support and then you don’t give it, those are the kinds of things that worry me in leadership.
“I want someone who can say I’ll support you. Whoever it is, I don’t want someone to tell me they’re for something and then without any indication whatsoever, go the opposite way. I really felt she did an injustice when she changed her support for that issue.”
Jenkins appears to have the inside track to the presidency. So far, she has gathered four written commitments from fellow Council members plus three verbal promises. If her alliances remain true, she will have at least seven votes plus herself when the matter comes before Council on May 28. The winner needs 10 of 19 votes to win; conceivably, Jenkins has to convince only two more members.
Holland, on the other hand, appears in a distant second. He has two written commitments plus a few verbal promises. But Holland keeps his alliances close to the vest says he prefers not to rush the issue — after all, the vote is over two months away. Yet all the promises, paperwork and pats on the back don’t mean a thing. When May 28 comes, each Council member can vote how they feel regardless of prior promises.
The swing lies in the half-dozen or so undecided Council members. Jim Overton, the Council president from 1997 to 1998, remains uncommitted.
“I think it’s easier to get elected to office than it is to Council president,” he said. “You have to keep 10 people happy and you’re constantly dealing with shifting coalitions.”
Gwen Yates says the natural order of progression isn’t an issue with her. Like all members, she’s looking after her best interests and will vote for the person that will likely further her district agenda.
“I’m looking at all the issues,” she said. “I’m looking at the different leadership and the different leadership styles.”
Warren Alvarez remains ambivalent and perhaps a little amused at the race, particularly how early each of the candidates have gotten started.
“I’ll probably go on vacation between now and then,” he joked. “It’s too early to decide. I have not talked with either one of them.”
While the presidency race takes the spotlight, Jenkins tries to direct attention to the vice presidency as the proving ground.
“To me, that’s where you run,” she said. “If you get elected there, you spend a year learning everything you can. Really, VP is people looking at you seeing how you handle pressure or stress or controversial issues. They get a good look at your style. That’s what I tried to do this year. Even on your best day, you’re still not going to appease everybody. At least everybody can see how I handled stress and pressure and controversial issues.”
Jenkins has proven to be a tenacious leader who hasn’t been afraid to poke holes in Mayor John Delaney’s supposedly airtight Better Jacksonville Plan, specifically questioning several proposed overpasses in her Southside district. If elected president, more of the same can be expected from the Council woman.
“I really want to get us to the next level as a city and there are some things we haven’t done yet that I think we need to do to help get us there,” she said.
Two of Jenkins’ platforms are technology and the fine arts. She takes technology seriously and would like to form a standing committee.
“I don’t want to be on the bleeding edge, I want to be on the cutting edge,” she quipped. “Technology is going to keep changing. If we’re going to compete globally, which is where we’re all headed, we better know technology. We better be looking at policy so we can get there as well. We need to take a look at Jacksonville and say, ‘Where do we want it in 20 years?’”
Holland, on the other hand, will bring public safety and the modernization of fire stations to the forefront.
“We need to make sure we have the same fire protection throughout the county,” said Holland “If that’s the No. 1 concern, I will still continue in that area. We did a five-year capital improvement plan [for the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department]. Part of it is to put that plan in place. Keeping that a priority is very important. You can afford to do any one thing, but it’s usually at the expense of another thing. Part of that is to see how that balances with the Council.
“What’s important, too, is my agenda on public safety and fire protection. It cannot be at the expense of what the majority of the Council doesn’t want to sacrifice. I can’t imagine anything more important than that. But we all see it through our own eyes.”