by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
The rumor is correct. City Council member Jim Overton is seriously considering running for Duval County property appraiser.
Overton had been tossing the idea around for months without serious consideration until recently when Duval County Republican chair Tom Slade gave him a little encouragement.
“Tom called me and asked if I would be interested in the property appraiser position,” said Overton. “I think it’s a good fit for me. It goes along well with my education. I have a master’s degree in public administration. I like the feel of the position. I’m talking to folks about it and I’ll make my decision soon.”
“Soon” could mean as early as June, which gives him time to examine the feasibility of a mounting viable campaign. Overton has been a City Council member since 1992 when he replaced Tillie Fowler, who was elected to the U.S. Congress. He will be term-limited out of Council in 2003.
So far, only fellow Council member and Republican Dr. Gwen Chandler has officially shown interest in succeeding current property appraiser Ernie Mastroianni, who also exits his post in 2003 because of term limits. She filed paperwork with the Duval County Supervisor of Elections office May 3, which means she can start collecting campaign contributions. Still, Chandler maintains she is not a full blown candidate and is merely in the exploratory stages of a campaign — feeling out funding sources, identifying supporters and making sure the Republican party is behind her.
According to Overton, Chandler’s entry into the property appraiser race has confounded his decision but wouldn’t scare him away from running.
“When Dr. Gwen applied for property appraiser I was surprised,” he said. “I consider her a political friend so it makes me a little uncomfortable to run against her.”
Overton maintains that even though Slade recruited him as a candidate, it doesn’t mean the Republican Party will automatically back him over Chandler.
“If there are two Republicans in the race, they won’t necessarily back a particular candidate,” he said.
He also said his recent promise to vote along party lines when City Council chooses its next president is not a strategy to curry favor from Slade or other Republicans in return for party sponsorship if he runs for property appraiser. Democrat Suzanne Jenkins and Republican Jerry Holland are both vying for the Council presidency. Last month, Slade made it known to a couple of Republican Council members that a Republican should be the next president because the party holds a 12-7 advantage over Democrats in the Council. Overton promised to vote Republican.
“I’m a loyal Republican anyway,” he said. “There are some internal politics that Suzanne and I can’t agree with. Until the day we have non-partisan elections, it is unreasonable to think we should elect a leader other than from the party in power.”
Overton had also considered a run at mayor until the field quickly filled with Republicans.
“I thought about running for mayor until about four months ago. The race got convoluted. I had too many friends running,” he said, mentioning John Peyton, Michael Weinstein and Alberta Hipps.