by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
A proposal to reopen Cecil Field as a master jet base has already drawn support from top Florida Republicans from Jacksonville’s City Hall to the Capitol in Tallahassee. But local Democratic leaders say there are too many unanswered questions to clear the plan for takeoff.
Linda Whipple, chairwoman of the Duval County Democratic Party, said much of her party’s local support is concentrated in the west Jacksonville neighborhoods surrounding Cecil Field. Now the party’s local leadership is considering getting actively involved in the debate over reopening Cecil.
Whipple questions the economic effect on the Westside if Cecil Field, now an industrial park, is recalled to military service. The Navy closed a previous base at Cecil Field in 1999. Since then, the City has promoted the area as an aerospace industrial park and has landed several high-profile tenants, in part by offering tax breaks.
Mayor John Peyton projects a reopened base could bring 12,000 jobs, $1 billion in wages and climbing property values to the Westside. He launched a 17-man commission this week to investigate the economic impact of a reopened Cecil.
Local Democratic leaders are considering the formation of their own “shadow commission,” charged with auditing the work of the mayor’s commission.
“I’m reluctant to believe any numbers that come from the mayor or Gov. (Jeb) Bush,” said Whipple. “I’m concerned that the mayor is making promises that can’t be kept.”
The local Democratic Executive Committee will meet this week to decide the extent of the Party’s involvement in the Cecil debate. Whipple sees an opportunity to tap into dissatisfaction among some residents with the proposal.
“What the DEC is looking at is: Should the party take the lead on this?” said Whipple. “Our phones have been ringing off the hook on this. It makes you wonder why the mayor even needs to form a commission on this. Just listen to what the residents are telling you.”
Whipple said the party hasn’t yet taken a position on the wisdom of reopening Cecil. The shadow commission would only be charged with evaluating the work of Peyton’s commission, the Cecil Field Opportunity Commission. Similarly, the CFOC isn’t trying to settle the debate over reopening Cecil. Rather, it’s evaluating the potential impact.
The possibility of reopening Cecil has stirred strong sentiment on both sides of the argument. Supporters point to the economic impact of thousands of relatively high-paying jobs on the area’s service and homebuilding industries.
Detractors say the rumble of about 200 fighter jets taking off and landing from Cecil will lower the area’s quality of life and property values.
The stark separation between the two sides was evident at a pair of appearances by Peyton meant to sell the proposal to Westside residents. Peyton received unanimous support from a meeting of the West Side Rotary Club. Less than a week later, he faced a hostile gathering of detractors at Cecil Field’s Equestrian Center.
Peyton has pledged to let Jacksonville’s residents decide the issue. By that he means they will have the opportunity to make their opinions known through his commission and through communication with their City Council members and their state legislators. Those two bodies will have the final say on whether the City and State make about $200 million available to relocate businesses currently operating at Cecil.