Four years ago Alvin Brown and his supporters were all smiles, raucous rounds of applause, high-fives and thumbs up on the outdoor terrace of the Hyatt Regency Jacksonville Riverfront.
As joyous as that Election Night scene played out for the underdog Democrat, Tuesday was equally as subdued.
The spot at the Jacksonville Landing had crowds of people, but instead of giddiness there were murmurs from the political small talk. Others stood shaking their heads in dismay as the results came in waves after 8 p.m. Some just looked off in silence.
Four years after making history as the city’s first African-American mayor, Brown and his team were on the losing side of the polls.
At 8:45 p.m., Brown took the stage with his wife, Santhea, and sons, Joshua and Jordan by his side. Protracted applause met them, but not the kind teeming with jubilation or adoration. It was instead the kind reserved for the prize fighter who’d put up a spirited battle, gotten knocked to the mat but cheered for the effort after the bell had rang.
After the applause died, Brown told the crowd he had made a call to Lenny Curry, the Republican victor who bested him unofficially by about 5,300 votes. The one in this battle who had knocked him to the mat.
He didn’t elaborate, though. Instead, he thanked his family, his pastor, his supporters from the beginning. The volunteers, the ones who knocked on the thousands of doors during the campaign, “making the case.”
“I am so proud of the progress we made over the last four years of putting Jacksonville first,” he said. “We left a strong foundation to build on.”
Less than four minutes after he began, Brown’s speech was over and he and his family departed.
Bill Bishop, the Republican challenger who ended up endorsing the mayor, said Brown ran “a great race, a positive race.”
“He should have no regrets,” Bishop said.
Neil Henrichsen, head of the Duval County Democratic Party, said he thought one of the reasons for the result was the crime messaging. He blamed negative advertising and the role of Sheriff John Rutherford for that.
He talked about positives in picking up City Council seats, but as for the mayor’s race it was “disappointing.”
Despite the setback, he said there were still big things ahead for Brown, should he pursue them.
“I think for Alvin Brown, the sky is the limit,” he said.
He said he didn’t know what that might be.
It will have to be something other than Jacksonville’s mayor another term. Four years after sweeping into office, the highest of local political highs was matched with Tuesday’s corresponding low.
@writerchapman
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