Susie Wiles knows John Delaney well.
Their decades-long relationship includes her working for the former mayor at City Hall and with him on countless issues and causes over time.
Even then, Delaney can surprise her sometimes.
She and others had been talking to Delaney for a while about endorsing Lenny Curry in his campaign against Mayor Alvin Brown.
But Wiles didn’t hold out much hope it would happen, that the man she calls a Jacksonville patriot would break his 12-year policy of not endorsing a mayoral candidate.
So, when Delaney told her Friday he would publicly support Curry, it was a bit of a surprise.
“Honestly, I didn’t think he would,” Wiles said. “But the more he looked at the situation, the more he felt compelled to do it.”
Wednesday morning, Delaney and Curry stood side-by-side on the Southbank Riverwalk as the popular former mayor made it known Curry was his choice to lead Jacksonville.
Delaney said City Hall and its finances were in “absolute shambles.” He called Brown’s budgets ”as mythical as a fairy tale.”
He chastised the mayor for lack of movement on pension reform, the port and UF Health Jacksonville.
And he bemoaned Brown’s proposals to cut hundreds of police officers at a time when the city’s murder and violent crime rate were soaring.
As Delaney touted Curry’s enthusiasm and plans for the city, the two were flanked by members of the former mayor’s administration and supporters of the Republican candidate.
It was an event several people in the crowd who know Delaney and his personal decision to stay out of mayoral races didn’t anticipate would happen.
Longtime reluctance chipped away
Truth be told, Delaney said he didn’t want to weigh in on the race.
In an interview after the news conference, Delaney said he and his former boss, Ed Austin, had always taken the approach to do what they could to support the incumbent. Delaney worked under Austin during his time as state attorney and mayor.
“Everybody here wants the mayor to succeed,” he said. “I really wanted that.”
Delaney said he and Brown had a lot of conversations in the mayor’s first year.
“He came out every three, four or five weeks,” said Delaney, who has been president of the University of North Florida since leaving City Hall in 2003.
Over time, Delaney said he shared concerns about management with Brown and discussed several topics, including the Human Rights Ordinance eventually defeated by City Council in 2012.
Delaney is an ardent supporter of the issue. Brown was largely silent on the matter as it was being debated by council members, never publicly taking a stand on the ordinance.
Delaney said his endorsement should not be seen as a sign that Curry is going to support a Human Rights Ordinance, an issue the two have discussed.
Curry has said publicly he is against discrimination and would talk to all sides about the issue. Delaney said that’s enough for him.
“I think he’ll do right thing substantively versus politically,” Delaney said of Curry.
Over time, Delaney’s concerns about Brown’s leadership grew.
He was frustrated by what he perceived as Brown’s lack of support for funding to help UF Health Jacksonville.
“I sense I spent more time on it than the administration,” Delaney said.
He said the mayor’s revenue proposals for pension reform were “not viable, not practical, not real.”
Delaney said he doesn’t think Brown has been honest about the 14 percent tax increase approved by council in 2013.
While Brown has been adamant in his public stance against raising taxes, Delaney said the mayor did nothing to try to stop it, such as veto the notice that informs taxpayers a tax increase could occur.
And, he said, Brown used the extra revenue created by the tax increase in his proposed budget the following year.
“I just don’t think you can treat the public that way,” Delaney said.
The issue that “kind of pushed me over,” Delaney said, was when an outside auditor couldn’t get financial records from the city.
It was then Delaney started seriously considering whether to endorse Curry, a move he hadn’t made for close friends and valued confidants.
Why he endorsed after 12 years of staying out
Delaney said he and Curry are not particularly close, describing their relationship as “friendly.”
He’d often bump into Curry in Tallahassee when Curry was head of the Republican Party of Florida. And he’d email Curry observations — “feel free to ignore kind of things” — from time to time.
The emails primarily dealt with political strategy, including observations on how actions may be perceived by the public, Delaney said. “Really policy things in a broad sense,” he said.
Delaney was one of dozens of people Curry talked to as he was making his decision to run for mayor. Delaney had a young family when he first ran, as Curry does now. The two talked about how to maintain a stable family life for the children.
Delaney doesn’t think Curry asked for an endorsement in those meetings. “I think he knew I did not endorse in the mayor’s race,” Delaney said.
He hadn’t endorsed friends and fellow Republicans Audrey Moran, Rick Mullaney, John Peyton or Mike Weinstein.
And he hadn’t backed Nat Glover, a Democrat who is one of Delaney’s closest confidants. In fact, the two had a gentleman’s agreement to stay out of the mayor’s race.
But, Delaney said, “I just didn’t see the city getting better.”
He saw Curry, a first-time candidate, maturing throughout the race.
“He seems to seek both sides and see complications that a lot of first-time politicians don’t see,” Delaney said.
He also praised Curry’s “sunniness, optimism and can-do approach.”
Delaney said he hadn’t talked to Curry for weeks before making his decision. In fact, Wednesday was the first time he’d seen Curry in some time.
Wiles said a potential endorsement had been “a real topic of conversation” between her and Delaney over the last couple of weeks.
She said Delaney wanted to make sure the Curry campaign believed the endorsement would bring value.
“Even though he’s John, he is very modest,” she said.
Celebrating a big get
Wiles said Curry was “thrilled” when she told him he would receive the coveted endorsement.
“I don’t think he (Curry) held out a lot of hope either,” she said, especially “When you don’t endorse people you have been friends with for years.”
Curry said when he got the call from Wiles, his reaction was “celebratory.”
“When I found out it was a good day,” he said. “Today, being there, made it a great day.”
Curry knows the importance of Delaney’s backing. He said the former mayor’s voice and his presence are both powerful tools.
“For folks who don’t know me, who have been introduced to me over the course of the campaign, it says to them someone that was successful in that office supports me,” said Curry, who also has been endorsed by Peyton.
Now that the endorsement has been secured, the next step is deciding how Delaney will be utilized.
Delaney said Wednesday afternoon his “historical rule” is not to do commercials, though he “sort of gathered” they want him to do them.
But, he said, “I’d prefer not to.”
Wiles said in whatever role Delaney is used, “It can mean the Good Housekeeping seal of approval for a candidate never elected before.”
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