JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Eleven months in office and overall it seems Jacksonville likes it's Mayor. "Well, we've been real excited since he's been elected because he kind of tagged himself as Downtown Mayor Brown," said Downtown business owner Doug Ganson.
He praised Mayor Brown for his economic initiatives, his commitment to bringing business and new jobs to the urban core. But he admits, the Mayor has made couple of major mistakes recently. "He has a lot of oops in May. That certainly concerns us," said Ganson.
First, there was the issue with the Jaguars. Mayor Brown had to apologize to owner Shad Khan after the city sent Khan a letter threatening to kick the home team off its home turf, for allegedly violating its lease agreement. It ended up being a communication error and we're told there's no bad blood between the two sides.
Then there's the issue of the courthouse. A large, looming, $350 million disaster. The city closed the old courthouse, moved in to the new one, and then realized the new building can't pass a fire inspection. So there it sits, closed, causing major headaches to the judicial system.
State Attorney Angela Corey says even she doesn't know who's calling the shots over there. "We can't get a straight answer," she said. "The same way that everything that happens in my office falls on me, I'm assuming everything that's going on goes back to Mayor Brown."
On the flip side, Mayor Brown did get a pat on the back when it came to his handling of Tropical Storm Beryl. Governor Rick Scott congratulated him for keeping the city informed and taking the necessary precautions to prevent widespread damage.
So eleven months into the job, voters seem to be forgiving Mayor Brown's mistakes and hoping he keeps a steady course for the next three years he's in office. Ganson said, "We need to get back to the business of the business of Jacksonville. And get away from these apparent power struggles."
