Staff Writer
In what was termed a “get acquainted” session, two young leadership groups of the United Way of Northeast Florida on Thursday held the first collective gathering of candidates for the 2011 mayoral race in a structured question-and-answer session at the Five Points Theatre in Riverside.
Seven of the 14 candidates participated. They were David Crosby, Beth Dickie, Robert Hutcherson, Kevin Hyde, Warren Lee, Audrey Moran and James Moser.
United Way of Northeast Florida President Connie Hodges specifically referred to the event as a conversation, not a debate.
Atlantic Circle and Women in Local Leadership, the organization’s two young professionals group, hosted the event.
“We thought it’d be a great opportunity for our members to hear directly from the candidates themselves,” said Justin Spiller, who serves on the Atlantic Circle executive committee. “There are a lot of points of contention, especially in this economy, for this race, and I think being the first (organized event featuring candidates) is a significant event and a tribute to the United Way and all they do for the community.”
University of North Florida professor Matt Corrigan moderated the event, with answers being limited to a minute, or two minutes for detailed questions, and the order of answers varied.
Brief introductions for each candidate comprised the first talking points. The first spotlight question asked which significant budget changes each would make, with Corrigan prompting each to be specific.
The majority of the candidates (Moran, Lee, Hutcherson, Dickie, Hyde) touched on pension, either reform or saving, as vital parts of the budget, while reducing waste (Crosby) and fee reduction while finding alternative cuts (Moser) were also cited as budgetary concerns.
The candidates’ perception of Jacksonville’s reputation, both within and outside the city, and what could be done to change it for the better, followed, with the majority saying it’s well perceived and their affinity toward it is a reason for their candidacy.
Topic organizers wanted details from candidates when asked what role the mayor would play to improve the K-12 education system. Candidates were given two minutes each to answer.
Lead answers included partnering businesses with schools (Lee), ensuring it’s a top priority (Moran and Hyde), keeping education in the Duval County School Board’s hands (Moser), advocating responsible parenting and back to basics (Crosby), working with Duval County Public Schools (Hutcherson) and empowering parents (Dickie).
When asked how small business could benefit from their mayoral time, each agreed, to a degree, on the importance of small business, with answers that included increasing economic incentives for small businesses, attracting big business that could partner with small business and lowering their costs and taxes.
The final question was what each candidate wanted his or her biggest accomplishment to be if elected. Each was given two minutes to answer.
A brief summary of responses:
Crosby: “My legacy would be we would have the greatest education in the State of Florida and we’d be known as having the most responsible citizens.”
Dickie: “My goal is to have a budget where we stop writing checks on taxpayers’ backs that we really can’t cash.”
Hyde: “I have a vision of cradle-to-job ... they should feel like they have every opportunity to succeed in Jacksonville, but in order for that to work, we have to fix some of the issues,”
Hutcherson: “It’s about how we best served our citizens of Jacksonville ... and become a more efficient and effective operation,”
Lee: “I would hope my legacy would be that I brought equality to the City of Jacksonville, equality to our education system ... and equality in our public safety and our jobs.”
Moran: “I want my legacy to be that we created a system of public education that is second to none. ... I do believe it will affect so many parts of our community.”
Moser: “No. 1, we’re not going to be paying any high taxes anymore, and No. 2, we’re going to be reducing the crime rate.”
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