San Marco Residents Consider Recalling Shad

Armed with anger over Art Shad’s support of a proposed rezoning in Colonial Manor, and still upset over Jackson Square, San Marco residents are exploring their options to deal with their Council member – who evidently does not share their concerns or vision for their neighborhood – including recalling him from office according to the San Marco Resident Community News. 

In the meantime, public hearings continue on the Colonial Manor rezoning.  An additional public hearing  was held during this past Tuesday’s City Council meeting, and Council’s Land Use and Zoning Committee will once again consider the bill on April 21st.

San Marco residents still have the option of litigating any decision in favor of this “cute little residential-style office” (Shad’s description of the potential 2-story professional building).

Filed under: Jacksonville, Jacksonville City Council, Art Shad, Colonial Manor, San Marco

Art Shad and the appearance of impropriety

One of the more interesting things that has gone unmentioned during the San Marco zoning controversy is the close relationship between the District Council Member [Art Shad] and the lobbyist fighting for the zoning change [Paul Harden].  Mr. Shad, whose tenure on the Council has been marked with personal controversy, utilized the services of Mr. Harden in attempting to “soothe over” a lawsuit brought by a constituent.  In March 2008, Mr. Shad was accused of punching Jacksonville attorney Tim Kelly after Mr. Kelly’s labrador showed excessive affection towards Mr. Shad.  Mr. Kelly sued for $15,000 in damages, at which point Paul Harden intervened to try to make the situation go away.  Mr. Harden was ultimately unsuccessful and the lawsuit moved forward, and ultimately a stipulated dismissal was filed in the case this past December.

Now, Art Shad has led the charge to assist Mr. Harden in pushing through a zoning change on property that his brother [Harden] owns without making any steps to recuse himself from a debate in which he appears to have an obvious conflict of interest.  As he gushed through an endorsement of this particular zoning change on Tuesday night (which passed 11-6), Art Shad proved that it’s business as usual in “The Corrupt New City of the South.”  (Or, to ditch Godbold’s slogan in favor of Peyton’s…”Jacksonville:  Where Corruption Begins.”)

Filed under: Jacksonville, Jacksonville City Council, Art Shad, Paul Harden, Tim Kelly, Vicious Labradors

City Ethics Commission to get a new member

At its meeting this coming Monday at 5pm, the Ethics Commission will be interviewing candidates for the vacant seat on the commission. The candidates are Scott Shine, Leslie Goller, and Cheryl Grymes.

Scott Shine runs a consulting business and previously made two unsuccessful City Council runs -against Jerry Holland and Richard Clark. As a result of those runs, Scott formed a non-profit – an election reform study group with local attorney Warren Anderson and Scott’s neighbor, Robert Gold. The group is seeking to make changes to local campaign financing laws. Scott most recently ran Jay McGovern’s campaign, who waged an unsuccessful race against Ander Crenshaw.

The next candidate is Leslie Goller. Leslie is an attorney with Terrell Hogan. Leslie has been very involved in local politics including being a Democratic Party attorney involved in the 2000 elections fiasco, running in an unsuccessful bid for City Coucil against Art Shad, and most recently in the news for filing ethics complaints against City officials for their Jaguars skybox and Veteran’s Arena adventures.

Cheryl Grymes, the final candidate, is the Executive Director of the Alliance for World Class Education. Most of us remember her as Cheryl Donelan Grymes, the former School Board member who most recently lost a City Council race to Clay Yarborough.  Cheryl has alot of heavy hitting Republicans behind her, while Scott and Leslie are Dems, so it will be interesting to see if this appointment will be politicized.

Filed under: Jacksonville, Jacksonville City Council, Alliance for World Class Education, Ander Crenshaw, Art Shad, Cheryl Donelan Grymes, City of Jacksonville, City of Jacksonville Ethics Commission, Clay Yarborough, Jacksonvile Elections Reform Study Group, Jacksonville City Council, Jay McGovern, Jerry Holland, Leslie Goller, Richard Clark, Robert Gold, Scott Shine, Terrell Hogan, Warren Anderson

Just Say No

The Times Union reported on the Waste Management no-bid contract this morning.

Where to begin?

Should I start with Art Shad who is the ONLY Council person to come out of the gate expressing his wholehearted support of the no-bid agreement – “a shining example of what’s good”?

Or should I start with Paul Harden who thinks the no-bid contract “sells itself”?

Or should I start with Waste Management representatives who will be meeting with each of the Council members individually to “ensure the council has all the information…”?

Or should I start with the positives – the Council members who appear to have spines?

IMO, this is a no-brainer decision – JUST SAY NO.  This contract should be put out to bid and I am calling my council representatives to encourage them to do just that.

Here’s a run-down of the various Council members’ current position on the no-bid contract according to the Times Union::

CONTACT THE COUNCIL

District 1: Clay Yarborough; position: Opposed, says a no-bid agreement isn’t best for taxpayers. (904) 630-1389, Clay@coj.net.

District 2: Bill Bishop; position: Believes contract should be put out to bid. (904) 630-1392, WBishop@coj.net.

District 3: Richard Clark; position: Declined to comment. (904) 630-1386, RClark@coj.net.

District 4: Don Redman; position: Undecided, waiting for public debate. (904) 630-1394, Redman@coj.net.

District 5: Art Shad; position: Supports renegotiated agreement with Waste Management. (904) 630-1382, AShad@coj.net.

District 6: Jack Webb; position: Said the city has given no compelling reason why contract wasn’t rebid. (904) 630-1388, Webb@coj.net.

District 7: Johnny Gaffney; position: Not comfortable with no-bid contract. (904) 630-1384, Gaffney@coj.net.

District 8: Denise Lee; position: Wants to review renegotiated contract before making a decision. (904) 630-1385, EDLee@coj.net.

District 9: Warren Jones; position: Wants legal questions about current contract settled. (904) 630-1395, WAJones@coj.net.

District 10: Reggie Brown; position: Wants to study the issue further before taking a position. (904) 630-1684.

District 11: Ray Holt; position: Wants legal questions about current contract settled. (904) 630-1383, Holt@coj.net.

District 12: Daniel Davis; position: Waiting for public debate and to hear mayor’s explanation of the deal. (904) 630-1380, DDavis@coj.net.

District 13: Art Graham; position: Wants to hear city’s reasons for not putting contract out to bid, wants legal questions about current contract settled. (904) 630-1397, ArtG@coj.net.

District 14: Michael Corrigan; position: Wants legal questions about current contract settled. (904) 630-1390, Corrigan@coj.net.

At Large

Group 1: Ronnie Fussell; position: Wants council auditors, city attorneys and mayoral staff to answer his legal questions, feels there should be bids. (904) 630-1393, RonnieF@coj.net. 

Group 2: John Crescimbeni; position: Supports putting contract out to bid. (904) 630-1381, JRC@coj.net.

Group 3: Stephen Joost; position: Feels bidding ensure that city would get best price, wants legal questions about current contract settled. (904) 630-1396, Joost@coj.net.

Group 4: Kevin Hyde; position: Wants to ensure contract is favorable to city and wants mayor to explain why contract not put out to bid. (904) 630-1398, KHyde@coj.net.

Group 5: Glorious Johnson; position: “Emphatically” opposes the no-bid deal. (904) 630-1387, GloriousJ@coj.net.

Filed under: Jacksonville, Jacksonville City Council, Art Graham, Art Shad, Bil Bishop, Clay Yarborough, Daniel Davis, Denise Lee, Don Redman, Glorious Johnson, Jack Webb, Jacksonville City Coucil, John Crescimbeni, Johnny Gaffney, Kevin Hyde, Mayor John Peyton, Michael Corrigan, Paul Harden, Ray Holt, Reggie Brown, Richard Clark, Ronnie Fussell, Stephen Joost, Trail Ridge Landfill, Warren Jones, Waste Management