by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
City Council vice president Suzanne Jenkins has relinquished her pursuit of the Council presidency and has asked those who backed her to support fellow Council member Jim Overton for the position.
Jenkins made the announcement Monday after realizing that she would not be able to garner the needed 10 votes to defeat Jerry Holland, who has had 10 written pledges tacked to his office wall for several weeks now.
The decision comes as somewhat of a surprise considering Jenkins’ persistent ways and recent statements that as long as her supporters continued to back her, she would at least take the election — which is May 28 — to the Council floor. Jenkins said she based her decision on two things: Overton’s proven ability to lead and past success as Council president and with various committees and her inability to persuade fellow Democrats Gwen Yates and Warren Alvarez to support her bid for the presidency.
“I’ve said all along that it’s about leadership. If they will not accept my leadership or the process or tradition, then let’s go full bore with someone else. I think Jim can pull us through,” said Jenkins, adding she did not consult with Overton about her decision to pull out and endorse him, a conversation which would have violated the Sunshine Laws.
Overton says it’s too early to say if he’ll pursue the presidency.
Jenkins also blames local Republican Party leader Tom Slade for meddling in the election by pressuring Republican members of Council to vote for Holland, a Republican. Jenkins is also disappointed by the decisions of Yates and Alvarez to support Holland.
“When Tom Slade got involved, it changed the dynamics of the election. Gwen and I had a difference of opinion in Finance [committee] back in December and I don’t think we ever recovered from that,” said Jenkins. “And, I couldn’t even get a meeting with Warren. I tried to talk to him about a meeting one night before he went on vacation and all he would say is that he was supporting Jerry.”
Despite the setback, Jenkins vowed not to give up on the presidency in the future, hold any grudges and even hinted that she may shift her attention to another race.
“I never hold grudges; it takes too much energy to hold a grudge and I’m too busy for that,” said Jenkins, adding that the mayor’s race does intrigue her, but not at this time. “I won’t start it [a possible campaign] right away. I do not know what I’ll do yet. Obviously, I have until February to make up my mind. It’s fair to say that I will not rule it out. We’ll let everything shake down and see who’s still
interested.”