A day after trying to outdo one another on the debate stage, Mayor Alvin Brown and Lenny Curry rolled out dueling endorsements within hours of each other.
First up was Brown with a contingent of supporters from the City Council, both past and present.
Former council members Alberta Hipps, Matt Carlucci, Warren Jones and Eric Smith all announced they were backing Brown. Hipps and Carlucci, both former council presidents, are Republicans endorsing the Democratic incumbent.
Additionally, Brown received the support of Connie Hodges, the former United Way of Northeast Florida president, and Jimmy Midyette, chair of the Northeast Florida LGBT Leadership PAC.
“Jacksonville needs a mayor that unites communities and cares more about the well-being of its citizens than partisan politics,” Brown said.
Hours later, Curry had an endorsement of his own — a Democrat and former Brown supporter.
Two-term council member Johnny Gaffney stood side-by-side with Curry in the afternoon to say the city needed new leadership.
Gaffney had to resign from his District 7 council seat in February after unsuccessfully running for a state House seat. He said Brown hadn’t done enough for his constituents in the mayor’s first term, including basic services like mowing and blight remediation.
“I know we can do better,” he said.
Gaffney was asked several times about the 2012 Human Rights Ordinance bill council defeated, with his vote largely considered the deciding factor.
Gaffney at the time said he was confused about what he was voting on. He also said then he wasn’t pressured by Brown, who hadn’t taken a public stance on the issue.
On Thursday, he said he was being pressured about the vote and issue, but wouldn’t say specifically if it was Brown.
The topic remains a large one in the 2015 elections for both mayor and council.
Curry said Wednesday he doesn’t believe the law needs to be changed, but would lead a conversation on the topic.
Brown said he is against discrimination of any kind, but hasn’t committed specifically to expanding the ordinance. Instead, he’s asked city attorneys to review local, state and federal laws on discrimination to provide as information for the next council.
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