Jacksonville city council member Reggie Gaffney Jr. hosts first community meeting for District 7

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Eighty days, that’s how long councilman Reggie Gaffney Jr. has been in office for Jacksonville’s District 7 after replacing his father Reggie Gaffney Sr. who held the same seat.

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Tonight, he decided to hold his first community meeting about problems people in the district may be facing.

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Several neighbors talked about issues like speed bumps, and even motels in the area. They also talked about crime. Gaffney Jr. tells me public safety is his number one priority while in office.

“We left with solutions that were the main thing, leaving with solutions,” says Gaffney Jr.

Gaffney Jr. had members from JSO and public works on hand to answer community members’ questions and concerns.

We spoke with James Crews who is a community member in this district. He says a lot has to be done in to tackle crime, and it starts with the youth.

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“We just have to come together like the councilmen said. It takes the community to come together. Once the community comes together and our youth sees that we are bonding and it’s another opportunity over here, I do have an option we can catch this wave of violence,” Crews said.

Gaffney Jr. also says he wants to allocate funds to help tackle crime in his district. He’s hopeful the city council will back his plan.

“I wanted to do something about crime. So, what I was able to do with the help of my colleagues was allocate over 300,000 dollars to Beaver Street, it’s a small business incubator. What it does is help grass root organizations that don’t have the funding. This will help with the economic development as well as crime,” Gaffney Jr. said.

Gaffney jr. is up for re-election on March 21st.