Mark Woods: What I'd like to see Mayor DD do to lead Jacksonville
As I write this, the polls haven’t closed. But even before the votes have been counted, I know who will be our next mayor. Or at least their initials.
DD.
As I write this, I have no idea who wins. But I have some ideas about what I’d like to see Mayor DD do once in office.
— Keep the focus on quality of life for Jacksonville’s citizens.
It’s something both DDs talked about as candidates. And I think when you get down to it, that’s what we all want. Quality of life. We have some have different ideas of what that means, and how we accomplish it. But if Mayor DD can focus on the quality of life for all of Jacksonville’s citizens, that’s a good starting point.
— Mayor DD should use Twitter sparingly and judiciously. And that means not using social media to spike the football today. You now represent all of Jacksonville, including those who voted for your opponent.
— Make our riverfront finally live up to its potential.
As I’ve written in the past year, I’m cautiously optimistic about our riverfront. We have more than renderings, more than commitments to help Shad Khan build a luxury hotel, more than the new shared-used path (finally) open next to the Fuller Warren.
We have plans for parks and public spaces on both sides of the river. And we have, in essence, half-funded some of these parks.
Mayor DD should make sure we don’t stop there, that we invest in ourselves, create great public places – and as happened elsewhere, watch our riverfront take off.
— A not-so-bold prediction: Mayor DD isn’t going to solve our murder problem. Not in four years or eight years. This is a bigger issue than any one administration. And a mayor can only do so much.
But we need to at least move the needle in the right direction.
Lenny Curry ran for office, blaming his predecessor for the murder rate, saying things would be different with him as mayor. They were. They were significantly worse. During Curry’s time in office, Jacksonville had more than 1,000 homicides.
Mayor DD needs to make it a priority to reverse that trend.
— A tip for Mayor DD: Stick to your campaign pledge not to sell JEA.
— Mayor DD should strive to make the office less partisan.
In that vein, Mayor DD should not unilaterally offer to host the Republican/Democratic National Convention.
— Mayor DD should not lead us down a path where the city’s top attorney is fighting battles over the legal definition of “shall.”
— Mayor DD should make infrastructure a priority — and emphasize smart growth. (Too often in the past we’ve left out the smart part.)
— Mayor DD should strive to make Jacksonville a more walkable city.
— When negotiating with the Jaguars, Mayor DD should at least temporarily set aside being a fan and focus on representing the city and its taxpayers.
— Mayor DD should fill the 4th floor of City Hall with good people — people who care more about this city and its citizens than power and ambition.
— Mayor DD should lean into our strengths.
Orlando is theme parks. Miami is South Beach. Our identity should be natural Florida, Old Florida, historic Florida.
We like to brag about having one of the biggest parks systems in America. Here’s hoping Mayor DD strives to do something past mayors have talked about — making it so Jacksonville can brag about having one the best parks systems in America.
— Mayor DD should view the St. Johns River for what it is — the most significant single feature of the city.
— Mayor DD should make resiliency a priority.
The last administration had to deal with Matthew and Irma (not to mention a pandemic). With 100-year-storms seemingly hitting Florida every few years, Mayor DD needs to be ready for the next one — and help the city prepare for the future.
— Mayor DD should work to bring the city together.
This isn’t simple. We’re never going to agree on everything. And Mayor DD shouldn’t shy away from challenging and controversial issues. But Mayor DD needs to work to find the common ground that can help unite us.
With that in mind, Mayor DD should reach out to DD. This is what some of our most successful mayors have done in the past. They resisted the urge to bury opponents. They instead tried to bury the proverbial campaign hatchet, work together and move the city forward.
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This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: What Jacksonville's next mayor should do to lead
