by Bradley Parsons
staff Writer
During consecutive terms as mayor, John Delaney invested himself into his policies. Once programs like his Preservation Project or Better Jacksonville Plan were introduced, Delaney became their most forceful and public advocate. When he first left office, Delaney found it difficult to keep out of the public debates. Six months later, however, he says he’s enjoying his time removed from the spotlight.
Delaney said Monday the transition from City Hall to the University of North Florida was an abrupt one. As his successor, John Peyton, tussled in the headlines with the City Council over issues such as the budget and the new Duval County Courthouse, Delaney said he found it initially difficult to remain silent.
“We were working 80–hour weeks right up until I left office so, for the first few weeks, sure it was a little difficult to step back,” said Delaney. “But then I realized that I just had to let it go.”
Mayor Peyton has squabbled a bit with Delaney in the media. Most of the disagreement came over the cost of the courthouse project. However, Delaney said he thinks Peyton has handled the transition “incredibly well,” and gave the mayor credit for assembling a strong, hard–working team.
“He’s [Peyton] done some things different than I would have, but that’s why you have elections,” said Delaney.
Term limits forced Delaney to leave office after eight years, but he said the time was right for him to leave. He was approached by a group that wanted to extend the mayor’s term limit, but Delaney told them he wasn’t interested.
“I told them they could do it, but that, even without term limits, I wasn’t going to run again.”
Once settled at UNF, Delaney said he came to enjoy the relative lack of media attention. He said his university initiatives will have a chance to breathe before they come under the media glare.
“It’s been enjoyable not having the scrum of reporters every day, constantly watching your every move,” he said. “It’s actually refreshing not to have the scrutiny.”
In public office, Delaney said decisions are often forced into public debate before they have a chance to function. He said the Better Jacksonville Plan’s success was due partially to the fact that his team had about 18 months to put it together before it became public.
During “fairly frequent” talks with Mayor Peyton, Delaney said he had been asked how to contain leaks.
“Mayor Peyton asked me what to do about leaks. I told him, ‘Nothing; it’s going to get out as soon as you talk to someone outside your immediate advisors.
“Mayor [Ed] Austin [Delaney served as Austin’s chief of staff] used to say that things leaked as soon as he thought about them.”
As much as he enjoys his break from the front pages, Delaney said he wants to increase UNF’s public presence. One of his top priorities will be to stamp his school with a unique presence.
“Universities are not particularly good at marketing, and I want to really connect to the community,” said Delaney. “It’s like a verbal Rorshach test; what do you think of when you hear UNF?
“Right now, I don’t think there’s anything that comes to mind, and that’s probably a good thing. Establishing a positive identity is a lot easier than overcoming a negative one.”