by David Chapman
Staff Writer
Qualifying for the spring elections doesn’t end until Friday, but the two remaining front-runners to become Jacksonville’s next mayor filed their paperwork Wednesday and are officially in the race.
Rick Mullaney, former City general counsel, qualified with staffers at his side in the morning before briefly discussing platform issues involving government cuts, jobs and pension reform.
Mullaney said cuts in labor costs and departments, along with transitioning some duties to the private sector, were solutions along with growing jobs in areas such as health care, aviation and logistics.
Mullaney said a full, detailed plan would be unveiled during a kickoff celebration Saturday at his campaign headquarters.
Later Wednesday, Alvin Brown, an executive-in-residence at Jacksonville University, qualified for the race with his family by his side.
Brown, considered the leading Democrat in the race, said he would be going into further detail on the issues over the next 10 weeks and reiterated a focus on jobs, the port and education, among other issues.
Brown said a kickoff event will likely be planned for the near future.
Mullaney joins fellow Republican front-runners Mike Hogan and Audrey Moran, who both qualified Monday. Brown joins Democrat Warren Lee, who also qualified Wednesday.
The candidates join a list of several others who have already qualified as write-in candidates. Qualifying ends at noon Friday, with the first election March 22.
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