Election 2022 | Meet the candidates for Jacksonville City Council District 9
A mentor’s advice, an inner desire to serve and a divine calling individually influenced this year’s District 9 candidates to file for the August special election.
District 9 representative Garrett Dennis resigned from council in May to announce his campaign for Florida House of Representatives. Dennis won the city seat in 2015 and again in 2019, making him ineligible to run this year due to term limit regulations.
Two Democrats and one Republican have since launched their first political campaigns in a race to fill the open city council seat. They have each focused on specific infrastructure and social issues in their campaigns.
More: Candidates talk priorities, motivations ahead of Jacksonville City Council special elections
Tyrona Clark-Murray, a Jacksonville native, said she has spent her free time serving the community “way before any election.” She has lived in almost every corner of the district, she said, and decided to campaign after a friend pointed out she was already doing the work of a council person.
Stanley McAllister, Jr. said he wanted to make a difference in his community after returning home to Jacksonville to care for his mother after serving in the military. He waited until this election, he told the Times-Union, because he spent years “building rapport” and working in the community. He said he now feels he can expand that work to all districts.
Danny Grabill, the only Republican in the race, said he “felt something pierce [his] heart” during a daily devotional last August and believed the Lord had called him to run for office. He said he will offer a welcome change to the long-held blue council seat as he fights to bring visibility to District 9 issues.
The August special election will still follow the district boundaries set in 2015, covering part of Northwest Jacksonville and extending to part of the Northside.
Election day is Aug. 23 with early voting beginning Aug. 8. A single candidate would have to win 51 percent of the vote outright to claim the open seat in August. If no candidate reaches the necessary amount, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will participate in a run-off election Nov. 8.
In order to serve a four year term, the winning candidate will have to campaign, and win, a second time in the Spring during the City Council general election. Win or lose in November, all three candidates therefore plan to run again – though they each told the Times-Union they did not plan on losing.
Tyrona Clark-Murray
Party: Democrat
Age: 53
Neighborhood: Old West Side
Current profession: Support facilitator at a Duval County public middle school
Other experience: Vice Chair of the Northwest Citizen Planning Advisory Committee, Vice Chair of the North Florida Transportation Planning Organization’s Citizen Advisory Committee
Platform highlights: Clark-Murray told the Times-Union that having “infrastructure” as a priority was “too broad” and wanted to focus specifically on fixing drainage and electrical issues in older neighborhoods. She mentioned areas where causeways, or ditches, were placed in front of people’s homes, causing their yards to flood. Those residents, Clark-Murray said, are paying their taxes without “getting the bang for their buck.” She also wanted to expand the amount of underground power lines to service the older neighborhoods susceptible to outages caused by anything from a hurricane to a downed tree limb.
What makes her the best candidate? “If I can identify and go through the proper channels to get a bridge repaired or a road resurfaced as a committee member, imagine what I can do as a city council representative,” Clark-Murray said. “Once again, we emphasize the difference between me and my opponents is that they will tell constituents what it is that they want to do. I can show them what it is that I've done and what I will continue to do.”
For more information: Visit her website, https://voteclarkmurray.com/
Danny Grabill
Party: Republican
Age: 58
Neighborhood: Cedar Hills
Current profession: History, science and Bible teacher at a private, Christian school
Other experience: Member of the Southwest Citizens Planning Advisory Committee
Platform highlights: Grabill said his two biggest priorities “intertwined.” He said he wanted to focus on infrastructure and “all the bullet points underneath it” while making sure to be visible and active in the community. He said he would spend money on road repair, reducing homelessness and helping small businesses, instead of social projects, such as the removal of “historic monuments.”
What makes him the best candidate? “I'm not a politician,” Grabill said. “I've met some politicians, some that I can call friends, nd I say this with some sincerity but slight sarcasm that I believe if we get caught up in politics, we forget how to be servants and become more self-serving. I will remain a very humble man of God. I will be a visible councilman. I will be approachable, and I will maintain a steadfast stance on my principles.”
For more information: Visit his website, https://votegrabill.com/
Stanley McAllister, Jr.
Party: Democrat
Age: 44
Neighborhood: Durkeeville
Current profession: Pastor at Lighthouse International Church; Founder and CEO of Pipeline 2 Possibilities
Platform highlights: McAllister said he would prioritize helping drug users find access to treatment, fighting houselessness and homelessness and decreasing the food deserts in the district. He said doing so would be a continuation of the work he was already doing by trying to show others how to combat gentrification and by attempting to start a community garden in the block neighboring his church.
What makes him the best candidate? “I do the work,” McAllister said. “That's why over here they call me the mayor of Durkeeville. I do the work. I don't talk about it. I don’t always broadcast it, but I do the work. And, I am making a real change in my community. For me, it just makes the most sense for me to be able to take what I'm already doing and expand it throughout district nine.”
For more information: Visit his website, https://www.iameverydaypeople.org/
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Meet the candidates for Jacksonville City Council District 9 special election
