With the spirited demonstration and the long list of citizens speaking against the millage increase last night at City Hall, the Tea Party movement may have an impact on next year's mayoral race. Since so many candidates are running as of now, a candidate may only need 20-25% to make the runoff. If a candidate can capture the anti-tax and anti-government movement on display last night, it could be their ticket to the runoff.
Ironically, the current Tax Collector, Mike Hogan may be best positioned
to harness this energy for his campaign - since most of the other major names in the race are affiliated with a more moderate approach to city finances.
However - being anti-tax may not be enough to talk about city finances.
I am sure the mayoral candidates were hoping that the firefighters would approve the pension reductions the mayor proposed. Since the fire union rejected this plan, this issue will continue to be important and remain alive throughout the mayoral campaign. The candidates are going to have a hard time arguing for lower taxes while trying to eliminate reductions to public safety personnel. The rejection by the firefighters of pension reform
is a political mess that has landed in the middle of the Jacksonville mayor's race.
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