Democrats lead crowded election to represent Jacksonville in state House District 14

Four Democratic candidates are running in the Aug. 23 primary to represent House District 14, which covers much of Northwest Jacksonville, downtown and Arlington.

The winner will face a write-in candidate in the Nov. 8 general election.

The seat is open because the once-a-decade redistricting changed boundaries for state House districts, moving District 14 incumbent Angie Nixon to District 13.

Upcoming elections: Change in state law means about 33,000 Duval County voters must update records to request mail ballots

The Democratic candidates are Kimberly Daniels, a minister and former Jacksonville City Councilwoman and state House member; Garrett Dennis, a City Councilman and businessman; Iris Hinton, a community activist and retired college administrator; and Mincy Pollock, a civic leader and entrepreneur.

The write-in hopeful is Patrice Wynette Jones.

Kimberly Daniels

Daniels, 61, did not respond to Times-Union inquiries about her candidacy.

She served a four-year term as an at-large council member but lost a re-election bid in 2015. The following year, she was elected to the state House, representing District 14, and served two terms before losing to Nixon in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Through Kimberly Daniels Ministry International, she "provides conferences, seminars and workshops that train, equip and impart spiritual warfare and deliverance to believers around the globe," according to her website. She calls herself a "demon buster" and has authored 13 books.

According to a flyer posted on one of her Facebook pages, her platform for the latest campaign is about supporting veterans, small businesses, affordable housing, infrastructure, public health and safety and families impacted by incarceration.

Garrett Dennis

After two stints on the City Council, Dennis, 47, is term-limited from running again. So the general contractor and restaurant owner wants to make a difference in the state House.

"I am young … I still have energy and ideas," he said.

His council record, such as stances against the privatization of JEA and for the removal of Confederate monuments, tell voters what he's about.

"They know I am going to stand up for what is right," he said.

Residents complain of rising prices and scant affordable housing, he said. He wants to tackle those issues and be an advocate for education and "smart development."

"We want to have people going to work, buying houses, furniture," he said. "…There is a ripple effect."

Through the education budget, the Legislature "has a huge responsibility and influence" on school funding, standards, testing and curriculum, Dennis said. That influence must also include making sure plenty of technical career tracks are available, he said.

He also wants a tighter watch on the Sadowski trust fund, established by the state in 1992 with a dedicated revenue source for affordable housing. The Legislature has repeatedly used the trust fund for other purposes.

Dennis said his main focus will be working toward a "better quality of life" for residents. He cited a quote from former Mayor Jake Godbold: "A stagnant city is a dead city."

Iris Hinton

Hinton declined to provide her age but said she is retired from Florida State College at Jacksonville, where she was an administrator/adviser.

With decades of work as a community activist, "I am running to give people a voice," she said. "I can bring justice."

Hinton long fought for the cleanup of a federal Superfund site in Northwest Jacksonville. The former wood treatment plant closed in 2010, leaving tanks of chemicals in poor condition and stormwater flowing off the property.

"I'm not against development," Hinton said. "I want them to build, but make property safe first."

For years, she said, "nobody really wanted to sit down and work with the residential community" to remove the contamination. The lack of traction stemmed from the community's largely low-income Black make-up, she said.

"We're still dealing with this in poor areas," Hinton said. "I have an issue with that."

If elected, she aims for a collaborative process: "Instead of fighting each other, come to the table ... and get it done."

The most pressing issues include lack of affordable housing and violence, she said. Jacksonville is on pace to have well over 100 homicides in 2022, according to Times-Union data.

"What can we do to turn this around? We can't keep ... marching, that's not solving broken hearts," she said.

Mincy Pollock

Holding elective office has "been a goal of mine," Pollock said. He sought an at-large City Council seat in 2015 but was defeated by longtime politico Tommy Hazouri.

"My poor little heart, I just wanted to make a difference," he said.

But Pollock, 49, now says he was not ready to hold office then but has since grown personally and professionally. In addition to his work in the insurance and real estate businesses, he is a graduate of the Congressional Black Caucus Institute and Leadership Jacksonville and has civically served the NAACP, JAX Chamber, Leadership Jacksonville and the Sheriff’s Community Engagement Task Force and as a Police Athletic League coach and member of 100 Black Men of Jacksonville Inc.

"Now," he said, "This is my season."

Pollock said he views District 14 as the "promised land" and "the coolest district anybody could be running for." And he knows its pulse, he said.

He said he will aim for bipartisan cooperation. "I'm not the kind that has been arguing myself out of relevance," he said. People who argue and pursue only partisan agendas, he said, "are getting nothing accomplished."

"That's just not me," he said.

He wants to address the teacher shortage, health care access and proactive methods to attract more high-paying jobs. But the "biggest complaint" he hears from residents is the lack of affordable housing, he said. The Sadowski trust fund is in place for that purpose and should be used how it was intended, he said.

Despite all the complicated issues, Pollock's primary message was simple.

"People," he said, "please go vote."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Democrats face off in Florida House District 14 election