by Mike Sharkey
Staff Writer
With four quick signatures, Mike Weinstein officially declared himself a candidate for mayor Thursday afternoon — for the second time.
As promised, Weinstein opened his campaign account at the Supervisor of Elections Office and will begin raising funds with a goal of $1 million. Weinstein said he will be quietly active until after the Nov. 7 general election.
“I will have a rally at the (Osborn) convention center Nov. 14 where I will talk about my platform and meet with volunteers,” said Weinstein, who was joined by his wife Sara. “It’s not a fundraiser, but I am expecting about 500 people. Although, I will take donations. It’s about gaining momentum and getting the word out to people.”
Weinstein, if he qualifies in February — and he said he intends to — will face incumbent Mayor John Peyton, who has well over $1 million in his account. The current president and CEO of Take Stock in Children hasn’t hired a campaign manager, but he is looking.
“I have interviewed some candidates,” said Weinstein, who lost to Peyton in 2003 by one percentage point. “I have run elections in the past and you can’t do both (run for office and manage the campaign) if you want to win and stay sane.”
Rumors of Weinstein, a Republican, running surfaced several months ago. Last month, he went on the record saying he intended to run and open his campaign finance account this week.
Weinstein said he’s running for mayor because he doesn’t like the direction the city is going and he doesn’t like how three particular issues — Cecil Field, the new county courthouse and the murder rate — are being handled.
In order to raise $1 million, a number he figures is enough to get his message out, Weinstein said the plan is to enlist the help of a core group of 200 people. That group, he said, will then partner with nine others to raise the $1 million. Since he will only have about six months to raise money and campaign, Weinstein figures $1 million is adequate.
“I will raise a million dollars,” he said. “One million dollars is enough to win.”
Mike Hightower is the local Republican Party chairman. He’s also Peyton’s campaign manager and will remain in that role for several more months. Hightower has said numerous times he will continue to raise money on Peyton’s behalf until a Republican candidate qualifies to run. Qualifying is Feb. 20-27.
Weinstein, who is an attorney, said he would put his resume up against any mayoral candidate. Before taking over Take Stock in Children, Weinstein held several other prominent positions, most of which were in the public sector: president and CEO of the Super Bowl Host Committee, executive director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission, Chief Financial Officer for the City under both Mayor John Delaney and Mayor Ed Austin, Chief of Staff under Austin and executive director of the State Attorney’s Office for 15 years.