Johnny Gaffney

1. In recent years, the mayor and City Council have used a mix of revenue

increases and cuts in expenses to balance the city budget. Do you agree?

If not, what would you do differently?

Yes, I Agree

2. Do you support the Jacksonville Journey? Explain your answer.

Yes, however with voters approval. I think we should have some type of

referendum or a three to five year sunset provision. In other words, if voters didn’t

think the programs were working or were worth it, they could vote to kill it. The

new Mayor Administration and the City Council can also improve public

sentiment for past mistakes, rather real or perceived by beginning a push to ask

voters to step up as they did in Miami-Dade to agree to a small property tax

increase to fund children’s programs and anti-crime initiatives; consequently, the

voters will have a voice and choice on whether to raise their taxes. Lastly, I would

like to see more inclusion with urban organizations and more efficiency and

benchmarks with the present organizations alone with employee accountabilities.

3. What endorsements have you received?

Senator Anthony “Tony” Hill

Congresswomen Corrine Brown

Fraternal Order of Police (FOP)

4. How much civic activity do you perform outside work?

 My family and I have trained and mentored a large number of high school

athletes on how to perfect their athletic abilities and advocated on their behalf by

contacting college coaches in efforts to solicit scholarships.

Volunteer at a local Community Mental Health Facilities on edifying the following

topics:

 Money Management

 Budgeting Skills and Credit Counseling

 For individuals living with Chronic Mental Illness, Substance Abuse and/or

HIV/AIDS

 Advocate for individuals living with Chronic Mental Illness, Substance

Abuse and/or HIV/AIDS.

 As a professor, have provided counseling and mentoring to countless high

school and college students.

 Motivational speaking to elementary, middle and high school students and

parents.

5. How do you intend to comply with Florida¹s public records and

government in the sunshine laws? If you saw an elected official breaking

the sunshine law, what would you do?

To comply with the Florida’s Public Records and Government in the

Sunshine Laws, I will ensure that all issues that needs to be addressed by

Florida’s Government-in-the-Sunshine Law adheres to the law. Such as:

 The meeting are open to the public

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  Public notice is to be given in advance of the meeting

 Minutes of the meeting be taken and publicly displayed

In closing, as an elected official I will assure that any Laws that need to be

followed in regards to this statue are adhered to in its entirety.

6. What can you do to help support the clean-up of the St. Johns River?

I am fretful about this and support and think a long-term provincial and

collaborative planning approach to this enduring problem is needed. As

mentioned in the questions asked and the information you have shared, there are

progressive, aggressive, and safe means to safeguard our waters and provide for

the needs of the respective State/s. Managed growth is also essential to ensure

we are preserving and protecting our waters with responsible oversight and

protection of our waters and wetlands when development or redevelopment is

proposed.

Nutrient pollution or eutrophication is one of the most severe water quality

problems facing the St. Johns River and its tributaries. Without meaningful

nutrient reduction, including numeric nutrient standards, the health of Florida

streams, lakes, springs and rivers, including the St. Johns River will continue to

decline. As a Councilman, I will work vigorous to advocate, lobby and encourage,

municipal, state and federal officials for nutrients standards for Florida waters.

The state of Florida was voted fourth in the nation for performing and creating the

States Revolving Funds for creating environmental success. I also feel the

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following efforts should be put into place to help make Jacksonville, St. Johns

River one of the cleanest Rivers in not only Florida, but the United States.

As a Councilman, I will also advocate, encourage, and assist Duval

County to put out a request for proposals for SRF decentralized, nonstructural

urban runoff control projects.

a. Advocate, encourage, and assist Duval County to provide no-interest

loans for such projects as an added incentive.

b. Pilot these ideas for the St. Johns River watershed or sub-watershed,

working with DC and the District to identify and fund specific decentralized

storm water controls as part of the CSO (combined sewer overflow) long-

term control plan.

c. Issue guidance to the city directing them to score non-conventional

treatment projects that provide greater environmental benefits higher in

project selection processes.

d. Encourage the city to track the number and total funding of any

decentralized projects for efficiency and accountability.

e. Direct the city to fund monitoring as a part of these projects to document

their effectiveness and efficiency in improving water quality per dollar

expended.

f. Assist the city to include decentralized and nonstructural projects in a

Clean Water Need survey.

g. Advocate heavily penalizing any individual or business that violates

environmental laws that’s proven to further pollute the St Johns River.

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 h. Develop a strategic plan that involves the community, to improve public

participation and inclusion, spend money on more cost-effective and

environmentally beneficial projects, and reward the individualized efforts of

others.

7. How can you become engaged in the city’s high murder, infant mortality

and suicide rates?

Jacksonville has a serious problem when it comes to murders and suicide

here in the city despite the fact that, in many ways, the community is getting

safer. In order to appropriately address the murder and suicide issues efficiently,

I will work tireless as an advocate to address the following issues. As a

proponent of building safer communities, I vow to corroborate with the school

board, citizens of Jacksonville, parents, students, local, state, and federal

elective officials and law enforcement agencies in order to support their effort in

fighting crime.

Murder Rate

Duval County’s murder rate per capita has consistently ranked the highest

or second highest in Florida for the past 18 years. According to a study released

to the Citizens of Jacksonville during the summer of 2006, the reasons for this

high murder rate and they are:

a. Murder is a problem for the whole community – as a proponent of safe

communities, I will encourage and advocate a united effort with full

community ownership, including neighborhood residents, the business

community, and faith-based leadership is vital.

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b. Racial division cannot be ignored – where 62 percent of the victims and 59

percent of the known suspects are African American. As a proponent of

diversity, I will encourage and advocate a united effort with full community

ownership, including neighborhood residents, the business community,

and faith-based leadership to discourage racial divide.

c. As a motivational speaker and proponent of mentorship’s, boys need help

to become nonviolent men – Young African American males are especially

at risk, both because of a greater lack of positive male role models and the

highly violent subculture portrayed in rap music and associated media. I

will work diligently to discourage entities that are detrimental to our youth

and culture.

d. As a proponent of economic development, I will work tirelessly in efforts to

reduce violence; consequently, raising hope. The lack of economic

security and chronic stress associated with this insecurity make many

problems worse and people in these situations are more likely to turn to

violence.

e. As an advocate of safe communities, education, and healthcare,

prevention and intervention is the highest priority – successful prevention

and intervention programs result in improved educational outcomes,

economic vitality, and better health, as well as reductions in violence, high

school drop outs, and recidivism.

f. As a proponent of safe communities, equitable educational opportunities,

and economic development, eradicating violence necessitates addressing

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 the problems that existed before the individual turned to crime, such as

education, job skills training, drug treatment, as well as addressing the

burdens a criminal record can add, including loss of civil rights,

disqualification from some government services, and barriers to

employment; consequently, I will advocate and corroborate will local,

state, and federal elective officials, law enforcement agencies, and school

board members in efforts to address solutions to the aforemented issues.

Additionally, the following recommendations are also in line with my

personal beliefs and recommendations:

a. Target the killing among young adult males – such as in gangs, continue

with the Mayor’s effort with Seeds of Change – through MAD DADDS. In

order for this catalyst to work, it must be lead by proponents for safe

communities, Jacksonville Sheriff Office (JSO), Chamber of Commerce,

business leaders, faith base organizations, individuals and families.

b. Get illegal guns off the street – Continue the support of the Sheriffs efforts

to implement a Gun Bounty Program not a buy back program.

c. Admit and address racism – racial discrimination and race-based

disparities fuel a cultural divide and a sense of hopelessness that breeds

violence. Do not create new recommendations; just implement the

recommendations already recommended by the JCCI.

d. Fund successful programs – Increase funding for early violence

prevention and intervention programs that work, such as the Intimate

Violence Enhanced Team (INVEST), Project Reconnect (assisting

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 offenders with mental health counseling, substance abuse issues, job

preparedness, and job placement), and the Ready4Work program.

e. Provide Positive Male Role models – Using strong role models, such as

the Jacksonville Jaguars thru the United Way, Big Brothers/Big Sisters,

and the PACE program for girls.

f. Improve economic opportunities – Breaking the cycle of poverty through

job skills training, public transportation linked to job, workforce, and

access to jobs that pay a living wage is critical.

g. Improve the relationship between law enforcement and the community –

educate the public that law enforcement is a partner and protector.

h. Address the culture of violence – this can be accomplished through Faith

Based Organizations.

i. Differentiate drug traffickers from users – encourage the sheriff’s office to

continue their focus on drug traffickers, rather than users.

j. Target domestic violence – Jacksonville needs to reprioritize its funding

because violence is a learned behavior, and too often that violence is

learned at home.

k. Help children succeed in school – Poor education and low literacy are risk

factors for criminal activity and violent behavior. This can simply be

handled by eliminating out-of-school suspensions, increase community

support to decrease drop-out rates, decrease truancy, and keep children

in school.

l. Rehabilitate inmates and ex-offenders through:

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 • Facilitate re-entry into the community

• Mentor inmates to help turn them around

• Prepare inmates for employment after release

• Review sentencing guidelines for non-violent offenses

ALL THIS TO HELP REDUCE RICIDIVISM

Suicide Rate

There are numerous amounts of factors to consider when talking a suicide

in Jacksonville. The facts are:

a. Suicide is the eighth leading cause death for all US men

b. Males are four times more likely to die from suicide than females

c. Suicide rates are highest among whites and second highest in native

Americans

d. Depression is usually associated with suicide attempts.

Some protective Factors: Protective factors buffer people from the risks

associated with suicide:

a. Effective clinical care for mental, physical, and substance abuse disorders

b. Easy access to a variety of clinical interventions and support for help

seeking

c. Family and Community Support

d. Support from ongoing medical and mental health care relationships

e. Skills in problem solving, conflict resolution, and nonviolent handling of

disputes

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 f. Cultural and religious beliefs that discourage suicide and support self-

preservation instincts.

Prevention and intervention is critical to decrease the incidences of

suicide; therefore, to promote prevention and intervention, certain activities must

take place and they are as follows:

a. Supporting research projects that further the understanding and treatment

of depression and the prevention of suicide

b. Providing information and education about depression and suicide

c. Promoting professional education for the recognition and treatment of

depressed and suicidal individuals

d. Publicizing the magnitude of the problems of depression and suicide and

the need for research, prevention and treatment

e. Supporting programs for suicide survivor treatment, research and

education.

“These are my views on how to decrease the murder and suicide rates in

Jacksonville”

What do you intend to do about Jacksonville’s high infant mortality rate?

Jacksonville’s infant mortality rate is high, however it continues to decline

year after year. According to research, Jacksonville’s infant mortality rate is

higher in African Americans than in Whites. The Duval County Health

Department are making good strides in reducing infant mortality rate, however,

policy changes need to be made to ensure best outcomes from programs in

existence:

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 a. As a proponent of health care, I will work tirelessly with local, state, and

federal entities in efforts to implement and study the impact of a

comprehensive health care program for women of childbearing age during

the pre and interconceptional periods.

b. As an advocate of health care, I will work vigorously with local, state, and

federal entities in efforts to implement and study the impact of a

comprehensive health care program to systematically evaluate local

Maternal and Child Health programs targeting poor birth outcomes among

risk groups to identify determinants of disparities in infant mortality rates.

c. I will corroborate with, Federal, State and local supports to increase

support programs such as:

• Healthy Start

• Project Impact

• Magnolia

• Northeast Florida Breastfeeding Coalition

• Friendly-Access

• Project Reconnect

8. Has consolidation been a good or bad deal for Jacksonville? Please

explain your answer.

I think Consolidation in Jacksonville was good for the following reasons:

 It created an executive branch and a strong mayor form of government, a

19-member legislative branch, and a legal department, later named the

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 General Counsel's Office, to provide legal services to all entities of the

new government and act quasi-judicially in legal disputes.

 Independent authorities, constitutional officers, and local government

boards and commissions were included in the new government and

sacrificed some sovereignty.

 The new structure, modeled after the federal government, reduced ad

valorem taxes, eliminated duplicative and overlapping county-city

functions and eliminated intra-governmental lawsuits.

 It allowed Jacksonville to leverage all its assets, creating the potential for

national clout and competitiveness.

 It also provided for a James Madison-like system of checks and balances.

 Forty years later, many consider it the best form of local government in the

state and the foundation for Jacksonville's transformational change.

 That transformation includes the elimination of paper mill odors, an NFL

franchise and Super Bowl game, the River City Renaissance downtown

revitalization, the $2.2 billion Better Jacksonville Plan, over 53,000 acres

acquired for the preservation project, a model early literacy initiative and

expanding opportunities in international trade, aviation, finance, and health

care.

 Even more transformational was the change in Jacksonville's self-image.

Jacksonville gained self-esteem, optimism and a willingness to invest for a

better future.

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  This thinking was reflected at the polls: tolls were abolished and replaced

with a transportation sales tax, the only African-American sheriff in the

20th century in Florida and the first Republican mayor since reconstruction

were elected simultaneously, the Better Jacksonville Plan was passed and

private development at Cecil Field was embraced.

 The state and nation changed their view of Jacksonville.

 More importantly, Jacksonville changed its view of itself.

 This form of government gives us a structural, competitive advantage over

the other 66 counties in Florida and over local governments throughout

the nation. It creates limitless possibilities.

 Any structure, however, is only as good as its people and leadership, and

Jacksonville has been blessed with great leaders and an extraordinary

civic, volunteer and business community.

 Consolidation, leadership and changed thinking transformed our past.

 It will also determine our future.

What is the role of a council member? As mini-mayor? Or as legislator?

The role of a council member is a little of both. Mayors carry out the laws,

rules, and policies while advocating for the people, which in essence, as a city

councilman, I will be doing the same. Likewise, as a legislator, the City

Counselor make policies, laws and rules, bottom line, they both are in the

problem-solving mode for the city as well as the state.

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