by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
City Council member Kevin Hyde is following the efforts of Matt Carlucci and Property Appraiser Jim Overton to ensure the memory of one of Jacksonville’s most dedicated and beloved public servants never fades.
Hyde will oversee the completion of a sculpted tribute to former U.S. Rep. Charles E. Bennett, who represented Jacksonville in Congress for 44 years. Bennett left behind a legacy of hard work and integrity that future generations should learn from said Carlucci.
“Charlie Bennett had so many legacies; the naval presence here in Jacksonville is almost single-handedly because of his efforts, he left the City with an environmental legacy, but his greatest legacy is probably the way he treated people. No matter if you were rich or poor, whatever your color or ethnic background, he treated everybody the same; with respect and dignity. He was the essence of what a public servant should be in this country,” said Carlucci.
Carlucci and Overton took over a flagging, privately-funded campaign to erect a Bennett statue shortly after the congressman left office in 1993. When the private campaign failed to raise enough money, Carlucci made the statue a priority as he took over the Council’s presidency, making sure $150,000 was set aside in that year’s budget to build the statue.
Public funding was necessary, said Carlucci, because most of Bennett’s contemporaries — the people who most appreciated him — were gone.
“He served for so long, he kind of outlasted everybody that we could have raised money from. He was like the last leaf on the tree,” said Carlucci.
Nearly 10 years after the project was first conceived, Hyde described it as “closer to completion than the start.” Hyde said a small-scale model has already been approved and the sculpture would be finished by the end of this year.
The bronze statue, sculpted by William Duffey, depicts Bennett, dressed in suit and tie, leaning his weight slightly on his trademark pair of canes. Bennett contracted polio during World War II and walked with canes or crutches for the rest of his life.
Following the approval of a location, site work must be completed, including landscaping. Hyde said Hemming Plaza or the U.S. Courthouse at Jacksonville could be potential sites. Carlucci, noting Bennett’s World War II naval service in the Philippines, recommended the future site of the Jacksonville Veteran’s Memorial Wall.
No matter the location, Carlucci said the statue, and accompanying commemorative plaque, would teach future generations what to expect from their elected representatives. As he began his own career in public service, Carlucci said he tried to emulate Bennett’s work ethic and fairness. Bennett sponsored the creation of the House of Representative’s Ethics Committee, and, according to House records, never missed a roll-call vote.
Typical of Bennett’s everyman demeanor, Carlucci said Bennett was conflicted with the idea of a monument.
“He was humbled by it,” said Carlucci. “He recognized the work he had put in for this community, but at the same time, he was a little embarrassed by the recognition.”