Mayor Curry is not surprised by Sheriff Mike Williams’ concerns over the RNC

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry say he is not surprised by Sheriff Mike Williams concerns over the Republican National Convention.

Williams held a press conference yesterday saying he is concerned over safety for the RNC. One of the major concerns were about staffing and resources.

“So, my team identified key resources, for example, in terms of manpower, and I can confirm to date that we’ve only been able to pull together about 25 percent of what we requested. Some of this is due to concerns over reimbursement, while additional issues are related to the pandemic that we’re facing today,” Williams said.

In today’s COVID-19 briefing, Curry addressed the concerns Williams had.

“He knows what he’s talking about so the position that he takes that we’re not prepared for this right now...Yes I agree with him,” Curry said. “However, he also is communicating that he’s working with planners to configure this in a way that’s safe and to get him resources that he needs.” 

Curry continued to say that safety is his number one priority and that any event without safety measures approved by JSO would not happen. However, Curry is confident that the RNC will still continue.

Undersheriff Pat Ivey was representing JSO in today’s update. He says that getting resources for an event that is changing venues and is 33 days away is one of the more difficult things JSO has to handle before approving of the RNC.

“We are not doing anything out of the ordinary,” Ivey said. “The only thing we are doing out of the ordinary is a timeline in which no one has ever had to deal with.”

Cox Media Group