by Fred Seely
Editorial Director
If it’s Friday, are we downtown? Or Springfield? Or Argyle Forest?
“We probably all should load into a VW bus and have someone haul us around,” said John Peyton.
“I left my new friends at 10 last night and I’m back with them at 7 this morning,” said Ginger Soud.
“We’re pretty pooped,” said Matt Carlucci.
Jacksonville’s Magnificent 7 mayoral candidates — often reduced to six because of the war (and more on that in a minute) — are moving around the county almost in tandem, each campaign afraid to turn down any invitation for the seemingly omnipresent “Candidate Forums” that seem to sprout daily.
So the trail continues, grinding away until April 15 when five will depart into the trivia books. The surviving two, unless there’s an unanticipated majority vote for one candidate, then hit the road, head-to-head, for the May 13 finale.
The forums are almost all the same. Each candidate is given three or five minutes to make a statement. For the most part, that’s it . . . that’s what the Chamber Trustees got Wednesday evening. Some forums have questions from the audience but, like at Friday’s Downtown Council meeting, they are written in advance and filtered through the moderator.
The candidates usually are lined up at a head table, usually in alphabetical order; “I’ve been closer to Mike Weinstein than my husband lately,” said Soud, noting their constant alphabetical pairing.
If there are questions, the rotation is varied. If there are closing statements, it’s reverse alpha.
These are not “debates” and the candidates’ looks reveal the commonality — as one speaks, everyone else is glassy-eyed. They are hearing the same statements for the umpteenth time. If you’ve seen their TV ads, you’ve heard their opening statements.
The crowds vary. There were 150 or so at the Chamber Trustees meeting, 100 or so at a Junior League gathering, 70 or so at the Downtown Council . . . all the way down to just a few.
“We were at one meeting where, if you counted our aides, we outnumbered the audience,” said Weinstein. “It’s a traveling circus, but it’s important. It’s a way to connect with people.”
By necessity, they have learned to talk in sound bites because of time limits.
“One minute to talk about inner-city schools?” said Betty Holzendorf. “I need a half-hour.” But she plugged away Friday, barely beating the gong that sounded when 60 seconds elapsed.
“These people are getting skilled at one-minute speeches,” said attorney Lynn Pappas, Friday’s moderator. “I’ve been counting, and they almost come right to the second.”
They also seem to share a friendship, which someone said was similar to a prisoner of war’s relationship with his captors. Rarely is there a formal address such as we’re accustomed to from national presidential debates. Here, it is “Keith” instead of “Mr. Myers,” even though the others probably never heard of Keith Myers until he popped up with the $9,000 qualifying fee in hand.
“These are quality people,” said Weinstein. “We have people here who are capable of holding the mayor’s job. No disrespect here.”
The format limits disputes, but they creep subtlety into speeches. For instance, Peyton says he’s the only businessman and that rankles the rest — all claim some sort of business background. And Carlucci and Soud, old foes on the City Council, remain icy though they’re well separated; the C comes first at this table.
The oft-missing element is Sheriff Nat Glover, who makes about half the forums.
The reason: homeland security, and he sends word that he’s busy with his law enforcement duties, defending our borders.
Question to two candidates: “Is that a reason, or is it an excuse to get out of the boredom of these forums?”
Candidate No. 1: “No comment.”
Candidate No. 2: “No comment.”
Candidate No. 3 (overhearing the conversation:) “Yes.”