The stunning hypocrisy of councilman Aaron Bowman

His fight against the school tax referendum was never about getting more information and making sure the city got a good deal and he as much admitted that today in the Jacksonville Daily Record.

Here is what he said, Bowman, a second-term Republican, said Thursday that he had not read all the details of the proposed agreement, but he is supportive of the Lot J project. 

“It’s transformational,” Bowman said. “It’s not often someone comes knocking at your door saying I want to invest half-a-billion dollars in your city.”

https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/city-could-use-hotel-bed-tax-to-fund-deal-lot-j-deal-finance-committee-chair-says?

Bowman hasn't seen all the details about lot J proposal but he is for it, where he saw truckloads of details about the tax referendum and gave it only disdain. The truth is no amount of details would have satisfied him because he wants our schools to fail.

Then lot J is transformational? Um how? Don't we have the things proposed already? You know what would be transformational? A 1.2 billion dollar  school revitalization program and then he wrong on the basic facts because the tax payers are kicking in 233 million of that but he is banking enough people won't care or won't notice, this is Jacksonville after all.

Bowman is a parody of those politicians you see in comics and TV all bluster zero substance. he is more boss hog than Daniel Webster and sadly the people of Jacksonville where republicans vote against their self interests and democrats just don't vote.

Rory Diamond calls the school board chair a liar.

I have to say I have been nothing but impressed by Lori Hershey since she replaced the horrible Jason Fischer on the school board. She is prepared and a fierce advocate for our schools. I hope she now understands that it's time to take the kid gloves off. 

In a piece in Florida Politics, political mercenary and part of the extortion team Mousa and Baker, Tim Baker called Mrs. Hershey a fool.

From Florida Politics, 

Baker sees the capital need, but doesn’t see the narrative having emerged to pull off a referendum victory yet.

“I wouldn’t oppose a good policy or meddle in a process because someone like Hershey is a fool and lashed out. A good plan with a good campaign can win by 20 points. A bad plan (or lack of one really) and the path they are on now loses by 20 points,” Baker said.

“I’m just a Duval County voter so my opinion is just worth one vote, but like the Mayor and every member of Council I’ve heard speak on the issue I personally believe the schools need more money for facilities but what I’ve seen isn’t enough to win my vote at the ballot box, which is the only place I have a say in,” Baker added.

https://floridapolitics.com/archives/301890-rift-widens-duval-tax

He sees the capital needs right, but he saw a need to put six figures in his pocket even more. As for Hershey lashing out, good, I am glad she did, it helps expose the nasty underbelly of city hall. Then he says he sees the need but it doesn't have his vote? That speaks to his poor character.

Davis wasn't the only one who disparaged the council chair in the piece as Rory "the only place children have a chance is charter schools" Diamond called her a liar in a tweet.

You know because if you stand up for public schools you must be a lair. I asked Mr. Diamond and maybe you should too, specifically what she lied about. I won't hold my breath waiting for a response.

Here is the thing too, even if you think public schools should rot, you have to admit Hershey has behaved with nothing but dignity and respect. There is noway I could hold my tongue like she must be doing. The other side which is fighting against giving children what they both need and deserve can definitely not say the same thing.

Here is his email if you want to ask him. RDiamond@coj.net

JAA proposes a 9 million dollar air traffic control tower, the city council questions the cost and suggests a private firm might do it better and cheaper.

The city council sent the the JAA a series of questions asking if it was necessary and cost effective. Some asked why not lease a tower instead and others asked historical questions about air travel in Jax. The purpose to make sure Duval's citizens are getting the best deal. Nah who am I kidding, the city council doesn't even care what the mayor does, their one and only job is to micromanage the school board and they are willing to ignore statutes and change the meaning of words to get away with it.

From the Jacksonville Business Journal,

The Jacksonville Aviation Authority received a permit Tuesday for its long-planned air traffic control tower and spaceport command center at Cecil Airport.

The permit gives the project an $8.1 million price tag and lists it as an 11-story, 118-ft. building. JAA previously estimated the building would stand 135-ft. tall and cost $3.3 million.

https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonville/news/2019/07/03/jaa-moves-forward-with-9-million-air-traffic.html

Hundreds of millions for an entertainment system, the privatization of JEA and a school system marginalized and stripped of their power to do their job. Welcome to Jacksonville

The school board does not work for the city council. Or they didn't until they usurped their authority on behalf of their donors.

Rory had zero questions for the FAA.

Estimated Completion date of city public records request, 12/11/2019 at 3:17 PM um wha?!? (draft)

First, wow what a specific time, that is amazing.

Second the city basically just told me to screw off. 

Let me explain what happened. Scott Shine sent the city council a letter saying there were a dozen IDEA charter schools on the way.

The Times Union did a report where IDEA said they planned to bring six, something they had told the district.

At a city council meeting in July, Aaron Bowman said 12.

So thinking maybe IDEA was telling different people different things, I asked IDEA myself and they told me 12.

So I wanted to see what they told the council, so I asked to see all the emails where IDEA was discussed.

Aaron Bowman told me he had none, which raised some red flags because I know I had sent him one, in response, to the one Scott Shine had sent. Now I am not that great in math but I know 1 plus 1 is 2 and 2 is greater than none.  

I don't know how they do their searches and I could see if somebody was going through each email  they might have missed a mention about IDEA, but they missed at least two and again that raised a red flag.

So I asked to see all of Bowman's since May first and for good measure all of Wilson's since June 1st.  I thought you know this way nobody has to go painstakingly through each email looking for a phrase here or there and I would just do it.  I really want to take up as little of their time as possible.

Initially I thought they were going to burn them on a CD for me as I got this email. 

No, Sir.  Not required. We are aware of your public record search request.  Very direct with dates, sent and received.  Only asking for two months of emails ..we can burn those to a CD.  I have ITD performing the task.. you only have two Search Names 

I thought wow this is pretty impressive, they take this seriously. 

Then I got this, 

 Hi Mr. Guerrieri,

The below public record request has been posted to the CARE system and has been assigned an Issue # of 2019-185601. Please use this tracking number and the address 117 Duval St W Unit 425 to check on the status of your request at http://630city.coj.net/.

I thought okay cool, the emails will be online, but that's not quite what I discovered when I went there.

And there is that incredibly specific date. I sent an email double checking with the city, but if that date is accurate then it's probably as close to a middle finger as they are allowed to give. I can see it now I will get an email in five months and I will be like um what?

I get it public giving public records can be a pain, but that doesn't mean they aren't important and the production of them should be prompt and thorough something that was obviously not the case here.

For $%#s sake councilman Gaffney endorses the extortion of our public schools

At this point in the referendum process councilman Gaffney is either woefully and willingly ignorant or complicit about what’s happening with the city and the sales tax referendum. He confirmed this in an op-ed to the Times Union.

In the editorial he admitted that our schools desperately needed resources and he supported them getting them, he then pivoted from decency to endorsing Sam Mousa a man who tried to squeeze the district out of a half million dollars while offering the district things they don’t want, a 2020 referendum and hundreds of millions guaranteed to charters.

From the Times Union,

I am writing this letter in response to offer my perspective.

First, I believe that Duval’s schools deserve better, and that they are in need of an additional source of dedicated funding. I also believe that the proposed half-cent sales tax could provide sustainable funding for our city’s most important institution: our schools.

But to accomplish this goal I believe that it’s vital for the School Board to have access to people who possess the knowledge and experience needed to get a referendum on the ballot for our students.

Um the school board shouldn’t need some high priced mercenaries to get the referendum on the ballot, all they should have needed was the common sense and decency of the city council, a couple things that have been sadly, difficult to find.

He then went onto give a full throated endorsement of Sam Mousa, also from the Times Union,

I suggested that these School Board members reach out to Sam Mousa, the former chief administrative officer to Mayor Lenny Curry, to see how he could help the referendum effort.

Mousa has been a respected community leader throughout my time on City Council; he is someone who has earned the trust of people throughout the city of Jacksonville.

Mousa has squandered and done so quickly any respect he may have had for his service. People don’t tend to respect individuals that attempt to extort money away money that is earmarked for improving the lives of children.

You know who else has lost the respect he may have had? Councilman Gaffney, instead of being outraged and demanding an investigation, since Mousa started his scheme while he was a city employee, Gaffney says sure, why not.

At this point in the referendum process councilman Gaffney is either woefully and willingly ignorant or complicit about what’s happening. Either is bad for the city and the children he says he cares about.

Shame on him.

Curry promises hundreds of millions for entertainment complex, won't lift finger for the city's public schools

I get it football is king but this is ridiculous.

One of Lenny Curry’s most consistent and disingenuous talking points was the cost of the special election. It didn’t matter that the district said they would pay for it, it would save 5 million dollars and slow down wear and tear on some of our schools that need the most help.

Well friends the city just promised hundreds of millions to Shad Kahn, money that arguably could be better spent elsewhere.

This deal reeks of desperation on Curry’s behalf.

His popularity which was never that great is waning, the tax referendum outside of his echo chamber has to be a black eye.

This is also eerily similar to his pension reform, a mighty big maybe that may seem splashy now but has a great chance to blow up in our face.

The city has two hundred million dollars plus to spend on a sports and entertainment complex but complained mightily about a million dollars that it didn’t even have to spend, to help improve our schools. Priorities.

Duval has always been about the golden rule, he who has the gold makes the rules, they get richer and richer while the rest of us are left begging for crumbs.

Gary Chartrand says not giving hundreds of millions to charter schools is discriminatory, wow this guy.

This guy, oy vey.

I want to remind you all that Gary Chartrand is a millionaire who doesn't live in Jacksonville who sent his children to an exclusive and expensive private schools, who not only never taught a day in his life but is owed over three million by the KIPP charter school. Then after giving truckloads of money to the mayor and most of the city council is fighting with his conspirators on the civic council against the tax referendum which would repair and upgrade our schools and that would finally keep some of the decades old promises to our communities of color.

This guy thinks the school board not giving into his allies attempting to extort hundreds of millions from schools that desperately need it, is discriminatory.

This guy,

Gary Chartrand Scott, thank you for doing your job with integrity . Name calling by former mayor Godbold is childish and unhelpful. The master plan is full of holes . I would be happy to explain it to him. It’s too expensive, its not realistic on student enrollment projections and it is discriminatory against students that choose a PUBLIC charter. This plan can be tweaked and passed if the DCSB would collaborate .

Maybe he should leave his mansion in St. Johns county move to Duval and run for the school board, though I guess he thinks its just easier to buy a mayor and a handful of city council members.

Does anybody see how tone deaf and obsessed this guy. He is saying 113 thousand public school kids can't get what they need so 16 thousand charter school kids can get more.

They already get huge tax incentives, PECO money, grants and his school gets millions more but its not enough, it will never be enough. His greed knows no ends.

In Video games you fight a lot of little foes and bosses before you come to the big bad, the ultimate villain in the game. Well in the tax referendum story is written there will be plenty of villains, most of the city council, Lenny Curry, Sam Mousa and Tim Baker among others but without a doubt Gary Chartrand is the big villain of the story.

Senator Audrey Gibson joins the chorus calling out the attempted extortion of Duval's pubic schools

Senator Gibson has been a fearsome and fearless advocate for the sales tax referendum. And why wouldn't she be, she understands the dire needs our schools have and she represents a community that has long been promised better times are coming, only to seen those promises broken by the city's power structure.

She also calls it like she sees it.



What's happen in Jacksonville is dreadful, there is no way around it.

We need more politicians to speak out, at this point silence is complicity.

Most of the city council should recuse itself from future votes on the sales tax referendum (draft)

If the people of the city lose confidence in it's elected officials, it's elected officials will no longer be able to govern.

There is a difference between disagreeing with politicians decisions and thinking their decisions serve corrupt purposes and there is enough evidence that the majority of the city council's decision to fight against a sales tax referendum serves a corrupt purpose. If the people of Jacksonville are to have any faith in their city government the members who took money from the civic council and who worked with Tim Baker should recuse themselves from anymore votes on the tax referendum.

Fighting against the referendum really flies in the face of what a city council should be doing. In addition to revitalizing our schools, making them safer and finally keeping promises to communities that have been long neglected it would have the added benefits of creating jobs, revitalizing neighborhoods, attracting business and stopping or slowing flight to the suburbs or you know what city council's (and mayors) should be fighting for. Since those benefits weren't enough to garner support there must be a reason why they didn't. 

People can argue that since Numerous members of the city council took campaign money from the Civic Council, the group arguably spearheading the fight against the referendum they have sided with them over the people of Jacksonville Several members of the civic council also have charter school interests and even though only a small percentage of the city's children attend charter schools and the district has promised to share with charter schools it hasn't been enough for the city council which  has made getting more money for charter schools an argument for resisting the referendum.

Next numerous members of the City Council have close ties with Tim Baker who they used as a consultant while running for election. Tim Baker along with former Curry, top Lieutenant, Sam Mousa attempted to get nearly a half million from the district in order to convince the city council to support the referendum. People can argue that the council has refused to support the referendum until their friend gets a large pay day, furthermore if members of the council changed their mind there would their could be questions about an implied quid pro quo down the line.

Furthermore there is the out sized influence that mayor Lenny Curry seems to have over this board. Curry is notoriously pro charter and he and his pac have taken lots of money from the civic council. The city council seems to shrug their shoulders at many important issues while fighting tooth and nail against the tax referendum. Are they doing so because of legitimate concerns or are they doing so because they are afraid of the mayor or they expect something in return if they follow his marching orders.

Conflicts of interests, close ties to parties seeking to benefit, specious reasons to oppose, what more evidence do we need?

In a vacuum you may be able to squint your eyes shrug your shoulders and go okay I don't like it but, but when taken in its totality there isn't just a whiff if impropriety there is a full blown fog.

The only way the city can truly know if this decision is being made on the up and up is for the city council members who have taken money form the civic council or who worked with Tim Baker to recuse themselves.

Do we want to live in a city where the people are led or are being ruled because if the city council despite these glaring conflicts of interests continues to vote on the referendum then we aren't being led, we are being ruled.

What did Curry know and when did he know it?

Two of Lenny Curry's top lieutenants Sam Mousa and Tim Baker attempted to extort  get 450k from the district in a give us whatever we want or the tax referendum will never pass scheme. It is inconceivable to me that Lenny Curry did not know of this plot and since it started while Mousa was still a city employee I imagine he helped to facilitate it as well.

David Bauerlein, TU reporter had a great quote about the proposal too.



That's what is so insidious about the proposal, it was an offer to help get nothing they wanted. The school board wants the referendum on the ballot in 2019, they don't want to give charter schools 150 -250 million dollars.

Mousa from all accounts is a smart gt too he, knew this but that didn't stop him from making the offer anyways and nearly half million for him and Baker well that's just gravy on top.

The school district would not have benefited from this arrangement but Curry's super donors sure would.

A mayor elected with just 15 percent of the vote, while being misleading about the privatization of a local utility, who then fought against what every other mayor in the country, a referendum to help the city's schools, would fight for on behalf of his donors, while two of his top lieutenants tried to extort the school district out of nearly a half million while offering them things they did not want. This sounds more like the plot of a political thriller but instead it's not, this is us, this is Jacksonville.