Last week, filed candidates for the 2015 general election were required to report campaign contributions for the second reporting period that comprised April 1-June 30.
In reviewing Mayor Alvin Brown's latest re-election campaign finance report, at least three different words came to mind: token, absent and reachable.
On Wednesday, the reports showed Brown has so far raised $259,485 by adding $155,185 to his initial total.
That's a decent amount of money, especially when you consider Brown has no opponent and the election is more than 22 months away.
The mayor has lots of time to fill up his wagon with cash in hopes of discouraging anyone from challenging him, especially a strong Republican.
Right now it's just speculation about who might oppose him, if he will have a challenger at all.
There seems to be continuing discussion in the private power circles that someone will step forward and that it will be a candidate who can inspire deep support.
It's only talk for now, but one idea seems certain.
If Brown is to be unseated, it will have to be in a campaign where he only has a single, credible challenger.
With multiple candidates in the race, it's pretty much a given Brown will win.
But, back to those three words: token, absent and reachable.
Just as in his first campaign report, there are some big names scattered among the more than 500 contributors.
Last time there were a dozen members of the Jacksonville Civic Council such as Peter Rummell and Steve Halverson on the list for $500, along with people like Shad Khan, Ed Burr and Preston Haskell.
In Brown's first campaign Rummell raised thousands of dollars and is credited with being the difference in Brown's victory.
But, a $500 contribution seems only to be a token from people who are known to often contribute and collect multiple checks for a favored candidate — especially an incumbent.
Brown's first report did contain several checks from contributors like the Sleiman and Pajcic families.
This latest report featured names like John Coxwell, Wayne Weaver, Bill Gay, John Baker and Bob Shircliff, each contributing individual checks of $500.
Engineering firm England, Thims & Miller gave $500. Principal Doug Miller, like Coxwell and Gay, is someone who has raised thousands of dollars for previous mayoral candidates like John Delaney and John Peyton.
But once again, absent is an apparent effort by anyone locally to bundle multiple checks in an organized fashion the way fundraising veterans like Mike Hightower and Marty Fiorentino often do.
Whether connected or not, there are 39 contributions from Washington, D.C., and the Virginia and Maryland areas around the capital.
In fact, 173 of Brown's contributions — 34 percent — are from out of town.
More than 30 contributions to Brown came from Tallahassee, and that doesn't include the thousands of dollars contributed in-kind by the Florida Democratic Party, which is headquartered in Tallahassee.
That leaves us with reachable.
It's hard to imagine, and highly improbable, that Republicans simply will concede the City's top elected position to Brown and Democrats without a fight.
Certainly, Brown's $260,000 is not yet enough to scare them away.
It's an amount they can match in a hurry with the right candidate.
As we plow through the hot summer months, many of those Republicans who influence much of Jacksonville's political landscape are wrapping up their vacations.
When Labor Day arrives and football begins, they'll be back and looking with interest, I'm sure, at what Brown has raised through October, when the next report is due.
Brown has an opportunity to show leadership and change perception
He presents his fiscal 2013-14 budget today to the City Council. By now you know it will be a bruising summer.
Brown's budget continues to cut services and with a $29 million "extraordinary lapse" in the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, it is setting up to be a potential budget war between Brown and Sheriff John Rutherford.
Year after year of rolling back the millage rate and refusing to raise taxes has once again set up a tumultuous and contentious budget season with very real threats to public safety and our quality of life.
Closing six public libraries and shutting four fire stations is no calling card for a city that wants to expand economic investments by attracting new businesses.
Hanging an "out of business" sign on the Sexual Assault Response Center sends a bad message about Jacksonville's compassion for victims.
As the Council's Finance Committee dissects the mayor's budget proposal, I would encourage Brown and his staff to work as partners with committee members to fashion a final budget that is in the best interest of Jacksonville.
It's not good enough for the administration to simply walk away, thinking its work is done and now it's the Council's problem.
There has been a lot of talk about how Brown and his staff have created the perception that they ignore and sometimes disrespect Council members and disregard the Council's legislative responsibility.
This summer is a good time for Brown to change that perception.
Everything always comes down to leadership.
Leadership is about collaboration and compromise.
Good leaders know how to work with others to make decisions for the common good and Brown should demonstrate he can work with Council members.
If Brown's past budgets are an indication, this year's budget process might expose errors and miscalculations by the administration.
If that happens, Brown needs to be accountable.
Don't bob and weave. Take ownership.
It could be the difference between four and eight years.
(904) 356-2466