A year ago Matt Carlucci was a City Council member looking forward to another term. He had the respect of the community and an eye on the soon-to-be-vacant mayor’s office. A year ago, he was considered by some to be the odds-on favorite to win it all. Today, he may not be the mayor, but he’s lost little else. Many who know him from his Council days attest Carlucci remains honest, full of integrity and, most important, human. Today, he works full-time running his State Farm insurance business and spending time with his family. He met recently with Daily Record staff writer J. Brooks Terry to review the last year and where he’s headed in the future.
Question: Six months ago, you were probably in the busiest time of your life. You were running a business, working as a City Council member and running a mayoral campaign. Lately, you’ve been pretty quiet. What have you been doing?
Answer: I have been plowing the fields of my insurance business. This really is a 40-hour-a-week job, and I’ve been away from it for a while. I’m back at work, and I’m setting my goals. I’ve also been spending a lot of time with my boys. My son is a senior in high school, so I still have him for one more year. I’ve got to make a living so I can pay for his college. My youngest son is a freshman, so I have been spending as much time as I can with him, too. I’m just trying to enjoy the stress-free life that I have now.
Q: How has that transition been? You were right in the middle of Jacksonville politics. Now you’re not in it at all.
A: It was both easy and difficult. On one hand, it’s been really nice not having to rush to meetings and answer so many phone calls. Then there are the zoning issues and the time crunches. Really, all the stuff that comes with being on the City Council. Now, I just go to work and come home. I have time to do so many more things. That part is really nice. But I do miss being a part of the action. I miss having a role in the city’s future. That’s been somewhat difficult. I love this city. I felt honored to be able to play the roles that I’ve played. Public service is unique, but I never considered myself to be a career politician, even though I spent many years working in politics. I’ve always considered myself to be a public servant and it’s what I like to do. I miss my friends downtown.
Q: Having said all that, would you make a return
to politics?
A: That’s a question that I can’t answer right now. If a position or office that I was passionate about became available and there was a base of support — that’s key, you can’t carry your own banner by yourself — sure, I would consider it again. But you never know if that kind of opportunity will come up. In other words, I won’t run just to run. That’s not why I ran for the Council. I’m driven by a purpose and a calling. To me, life is like a river, and you never know what will come around. It’s hard to predict the future. I can’t really say.
Q: After the primaries, circles of support began forming. Many of the mayoral candidates who were eliminated decided to back John Peyton. You didn’t. Instead you backed Nat Glover, a Democrat, and there was a bit of a hiccup there in your political career, and it even bled into your business. Did you expect the reaction you got?
A: I knew it would generate strong feelings both ways, but I did not expect the strong feelings that some people had about it. Nonetheless, I love the city, and that’s why I did what I did. It was important to me to throw my support to who I felt had the same goals and purposes that I did. I wanted someone who believed in the same statesmen-like values that I did. I made the endorsement because I had to make a decision. I could have stayed out of it, but you know what they say: ‘The hottest places in hell are made for those who stay neutral in a time of moral conflict.’ I felt like I had to make an endorsement. As far as the Republican Party pledge, I considered that and addressed it with a Republican Party official who originally sent me the pledge. Ultimately, they released me from it. That played a role in making that decision, too. That’s something that never really got out, and I’ve never divulged who that person was. I knew it could’ve caused them problems and I didn’t want that. But I didn’t go against that pledge without addressing it first with the official who sent it to me. They told me that the other candidates had each broken the pledge so many times during the campaign and that I was the only one who hadn’t. Basically, the pledge had become meaningless. Once I was released from it, I felt very, very comfortable in my endorsement.
Q: And the backlash?
A: And as far as the backlash, I lost business after it went public. I did. I also got a lot of mail that was very nasty, but I learned that there are really more good people than bad people out there when it was over. When people found out what was happening — the phone calls and that my sign had been vandalized — they came from all over the place to give me business and to support me. The network of support surrounding me really was huge. Some people made it clear that they didn’t agree with my decision, but they respected my right to make it. A month after the election was over, the clamor died down and business really picked up. Life has been very good since then.
Q: But if you run again, what ticket do you run on? You were a Democrat, then a Republican, then you backed a Democrat.
A: I’m a Republican, but I’m also a Republican who believes that partisan politics shouldn’t have a role in local government. What should play a role is right and wrong, what’s good for the community. Partisan politics shouldn’t get in the way of that. But we live in a political community where you have to be one or the other. I’ll tell you this: there were some Democrats who have endorsed Republicans in the past. Jake Godbold, for example, backed Peyton. Jake actually got upset when Tommy Hazouri supported [former mayor John] Delaney. When all of the clamor and posturing is gone, when you look beyond the shallowness of partisanship, it’s about what’s best for the community. I believe that, and I’ll take whatever comes my way to do that. I love this city, and my family loves this city. We’ve contributed to it for a long, long time. Decisions aren’t easy, but you have to make them, and you make them based on what you think is right. The best ones you ever make may not be popular with a lot of people. Sometimes it has to be that way. As a Council we had to vote to raise taxes two or three times. That was tough, but that money brought about a lot of positive changes for the city. We got the Jaguars. We were able to improve our water and sewers. When you look back on a decision like that, you feel better about it because you realize that, in the long run, it was the right thing to do. So a long answer to a short question is that I will run as a Republican if I choose to run.
Q: Looking back to a year ago, many people were saying, ‘Matt Carlucci is Jacksonville’s next mayor.’
A: Uh-huh.
Q: You were a high-profile Jacksonville politician, a high-profile Republican, but it didn’t work out that way. Do you look back and think about what you could have done differently?
A: There are plenty of “would’ves and should’ves.” Anytime
I have run for anything,
I start as the frontrunner because of name recognition. Unfortunately, when you start in the front, people take a lot of shots at you. Unless you have a lot of money, it’s hard to fend those shots off. I would have preferred to be the unknown with a lot of money. That way, you can paint whatever picture you want to paint. Sure, we raised a considerable amount of money, but if I could have done anything differently, I would have put more into 60-second commercials on T.V.
Q: More commercials?
A: Yes, that’s true. They just weren’t long enough, and that hurt us. But as far as the people around me on my team, I love them all, and they worked hard. But when people want to misrepresent your track record, that can knock you down pretty quickly. Bottom line is, I don’t want to dwell on that. You don’t get everything you shoot for. That’s life, and I don’t want to whine about it. The important thing is, anyone can make the tactical mistakes we made. Our message always remained honest and clear. Until my dying day, I’ll believe that. We respected our opponents. I said from the beginning, if I can’t win it the right way, then I don’t want to win it.
Q: Jacksonville is in a big transition right now, and,
for the first time in a long time, you’re not a part of that transition.
A: Yes.
Q: But do you still keep up with what’s going on?
Do you follow what’s
been happening?
A: I keep my eye on it a little bit. But you know, you’re right. I’m not in it, and I’m not going to do Monday morning quarterbacking from the sidelines. That’s not me. Art Shad is the new Council member now, and if he needs my help, I’ll be happy to give it. The torch has been passed to new leaders and, while I am always here to help, it’s their turn. I’m not a critic. You know, I’ve been in and out and in and out of politics, and I can tell you this: the things you think are important when you’re in don’t mean anything. What matters is family. You can be the mayor or a Council member, but you really need to be there for your wife and children at the end of the day. My family has sacrificed for me for so long. It’s my turn to make their dreams come true. That’s what I’m trying to do.