Game Recognize Game?
Former Mayors stand behind one of their own.
by Shelton Hull
If John Peyton had a dollar for every piece of gossip and rumor attached to his name, he could build a fiberglass dome over the city. With Democrats unlikely to field a credible candidate in their state of extended malaise, the idea of Peyton facing a primary challenge in 2007– speculation that dates to the earliest days of his term– has a certain appeal for local media, which otherwise faces the prospect of a 2007 campaign in which Peyton runs either unopposed or against a weak, token opposition. That’s no fun!
Folio Weekly, for whom I’ve reported on this issue previously, is merely the finest of several local outlets to chronicle this Republican “rift,” which has implications across the spectrum of belief. Noted neocon ne’er do well “AG” Gancarski took aim at Peyton in his “Fighting Words” column of February 22: “From his handling of BJP cost overruns to his non-handling of Sheriff’s Office excesses, he has shown a frightful lack of leadership.” He went on to cite “Peyton’s quixotic and self-destructive efforts to bite the hands that have fed him” before suggesting that his mild and gentlemanly attempts to defend his character could cost him at the ballot box.
“No, there is no rift at all,” says former mayor John Delaney (best-known for his role as “Hovercraft Pilot” in Rumble in the Bronx.) “I like him immensely.” The city’s former Mayors all retain degrees of influence, which is reinforced by reasonably good relations with each other. Delaney would have a vested interest in the success of his successor. He maintains no public aspiration to seek higher office (despite being ideal to succeed Jeb Bush in 2006), but he profits nonetheless by remaining in consideration.
Gancarski– who on the relevant issues has taken more positions than Patthabi Jois on muscle relaxers– might be uncomfortable with real leadership, but sensible people see no shame in walking barefoot through the high grass of public life. Peyton is just one of many moderate leaders in American politics to trod an uncertain road to consensus, and the fresh new styles he brings have sent plenty of customers to the Haterade aisle. It is rare, however, to find citizens outside of media or politics whose opposition to Peyton goes deeper than a few selected issues.
It’s still unclear who, if anyone, might seek to unseat Peyton. He faces criticism that Jacksonville is “treading water” on his watch, according to one GOP observer who did not believe Delaney said what he is reported as saying in this article. “A lot of Republicans feel the city has come to a screeching halt” under Peyton, who has “about seven months to begin leading this city somewhere” before any challenger would have to reveal himself. “Peyton is on the bubble,” claims the source.
Nonsense, says former mayor Tommy Hazouri, now engaged in the Sisyphean fight ongoing at the Duval County School Board. “When you elect a Mayor, you give him the time to do the job.” His tenure ended after a Democratic primary challenge by Ed Austin, which prefigured subsequent changes in the local political climate. “Peyton hasn’t really been given the chance” to excel due to “grumblings” dating back to 2003.
As the elections are stacked in 2006-08, it will be necessary for all sides to not only raise prodigious cash-flow but actually spend it well. Whoa! “I think that if there is a challenger to John in 2007 that it would be by what Jake Godbold once described as a ‘nuisance candidate’,” says Delaney, “someone who will make you work a little but with no chance of winning,” said Delaney before using a few unprintable words.
“John will have all the money that a candidate could possibly need, and there is also inherently much political advantage to that office. He does not make the kind of catastrophic mistakes that doom a candidate– personal scandal, etc. … If there is a political vulnerability of any consequence for someone to exploit, I can’t think of it.”
Is the GOP engaged in an elaborate subterfuge to clear the slate for 2007? Nice work if you can get it: Area. Democrats in ‘06 may be working local and state races in tandem, certainly in regard to fundraising. It could be a fruitful political environment, but a primary challenge to Peyton would free up significant resources in October to keeping Bill Nelson in Washington. Republicans could fall in line for Christmas, leaving the Democrats, as MF Doom said, “assed-out like gay runaways.”
The fact that Jacksonville has had essentially moderate Republican leaders during the past decade– men and women who are generally inclined toward civil rights, civil liberties and civil discourse– has failed to make a dent in the thinking of Democrats who persist in working from an obsolete methodology. The national party has been too strong in influencing (indeed, dictating) the tactics of regional parties, discouraging cooperation or even dialogue with Republicans. This may or may not be “punishment” for what went on here in the 2000 elections, or they may have just given up.
Certainly the LGBT activists of this area have been very successful in achieving their goals, but other core elements of what could be the party’s base– folks who would like to end the Drug War, have some local music on local airwaves and maybe allow the younger generation to make some real money outside of restaurants and call-centers– have stagnated, in part because they pissed away their credibility trying to stop a war that could not be stopped. Not one Democrat has won “county-wide” since 1999, and it is unlikely that any will before 2009, which begs the question: do local liberals prefer to have a moderate Republican mayor, or a conservative insurgent?
“I have said this publicly, privately and repeatedly: John Peyton will not be beaten for reelection,” declares Delaney, again. “And I will be happily voting for him.” Since his support would be essential to any insurgency, his words should carry some weight. But it’s unclear whether “unity” will trump the profit motive for sowing conflict.
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