The race for Jacksonville Beach mayor has three candidates who have all had links to public service but varying degrees of political connections.
On the Aug. 14 ballot are City Councilwoman Penny Christian, Charlie Latham, the son of former mayor William Latham, and Mitch McCue.
If no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, the two top vote-getters will face off in the Nov. 6 general election.
Latham said he sees himself as a steward of Jacksonville Beach with a desire to return city government to a level of efficiency more like a business. McCue said he's an outsider who is "not a politician," but a populist who understands the common citizen's concerns. And Christian said she's seeking to work on unfinished business and projects started in her eight years on the council.
At a June 26 forum, all agreed parking remains a major issue for the central business district of Jacksonville Beach, which remains under a crush of motorists and beachgoers from outside the city each weekend during warmer months. But their approach to the issue is different and all see the current system implemented two years ago of charging $5 to park in select lots near downtown as not going far enough.
McCue said that in the 1970s there were actually some parking meters in areas of Jacksonville Beach. He said that retro idea sounds good to him in dealing with all the visitors to the coastal community.
"They were here and we're reinventing the wheel now," said McCue, adding efforts for residents of the city should focus on low-speed vehicles. "I think that we clearly need to embrace a golf cart-friendly community. ... But if you're going to hit people to pay for parking, I agree with it. If you're coming over that bridge, you should pay to park."
Christian said the current system of attendants taking money for parking services in the paid lots is probably antiquated and she'd prefer parking kiosks or a similar system to handle the flow of visitors. But with the Beaches getting slammed more and more with a growing population from west of the Intracoastal heading to the shoreline, all alternatives need to be considered.
"I think we're going to have to use trolleys, you know, buses. I think people can find other ways of transportation to come out here, whether it be biking or walking," Christian said. "Everybody is coming to and doing paid parking. It will also bring income and it also reduces crime."
Latham said the street ends in residential areas near public beach accesses shouldn't be open to just anyone anymore.
"Parking east of Third Street from Ponte Vedra Boulevard all the way to Seagate Avenue [encompassing the city limits] should be restricted to residents," Latham said, adding a centralized parking garage or a center near downtown would be preferable for visitors to the city and trips to the beach could be augmented with a trolley system.
"I think it's time to take it to the next step," said Latham.
The candidates also distinguished themselves from each other in dealing with Jacksonville City Hall and other agencies in Duval County. An interlocal agreement between Jacksonville and the Beaches municipalities has already created a rift between the city and Atlantic Beach and Neptune Beach over the cost of garbage services. The Jacksonville Beach mayoral candidates said the relationship with Jacksonville should be addressed carefully.
Latham said with coastal residents paying taxes to both Jacksonville Beach and Jacksonville, his priorities would lie with hometown interests.
"I feel pretty strongly that we take care of Jacksonville Beach first," Latham said. "We're three [Beaches] cities but we're one community and each city is its sovereign unit, its own corporation and they have the responsibility to their own citizens. I think we need to hold Jacksonville accountable for the interlocal agreement."
Christian said the interlocal agreement that has been developed over the past two decades was "pretty good." But she agreed that Jacksonville needs to be held accountable for the tax dollars the city receives from Beaches residents.
"We need to hold them accountable in terms of looking very carefully at what was in those [interlocal] negotiations. But looking at the time, right now and not in the future, this is where we belong," in the relationship with Jacksonville, Christian said.
McCue said there's no point in antagonism between governments and if he's elected mayor, he'll try to smooth over the association with Jacksonville.
"We need to work really close together because times are tough for all of us," McCue said. "It just doesn't make sense to have this us-versus-them mentality or I'm the big fish in a small fish bowl. You got to open the door ... [and find] how we can work together, to gel together and make things pliable for all of us to enjoy. I think we just open the door and talk together, it's pretty simple."
drew.dixon@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4098
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