Truman's Conscience

Suzanne Jenkins get's some mayoral candidate ink...

Urbanjacksonville is reporting the first stirrings of the Mayor's race for 2007 via the Jacksonville Business Journal. As a former Democratic Executive Committee member from District 1 it's only fair I acknowledge the bias in any posting I might have concerning Suzanne Jenkins. Her hard fight for Wal-Mart over on Atlantic Blvd. was so touching when one considers the GOP mindset for corporations over people. If this is how she really felt I only wish she had left the Democratic Party sooner. I'm always amazed how people put more trust and faith in corporations than their own government, which was designed to be of the people, for the people and by the people as opposed to a corporate entity of the dollar, for the dollar and by the dollar. I can't imagine a more unfriendly company moving in and desroying the economic ecosystem of a neighbood. The talk within the DEC at the time of Ms. Jenkins' hgihly publicized departure was her stand on abortion finally being the main impetus forcing her to jump. There was no secret that one or two members of the DEC had the same position on abortion. The main difference being they did not want to force thier position on anyone else. Its a personal matter. So she left and headed off for her fight for Wal-Mart. Good riddance.

Her actions regarding that fight only leaves me to beleive she would be one of those local pols that would advocate huge tax breaks/incentives as a lure for corporate entities to settle here in Jacksonvlle. Don't you just love that? They get these sweetheart tax break deals but they still expect the roads to be paved in front of thier business, the trash to get picked up off their street, the fire department to show up when there is a fire and the local police department to keep a watchful eye on their company. Yet, me the home owner, gets to fork over higher property taxes to make sure the big ol' company that just moved in gets a free ride on our infrastructure at my property tax expense. It doesn't take rocket science to guess where her sentiments probably lie.

I loved how Urbanjacksonville passed along some of those sentiments about Ms. Jenkins:

"An article in the Jacksonville Business Journal, Mayoral election talk starting up, touts the possible candidates for Mayor in 2007:John Peyton, "Big Business, as his friend Mike Hightower calls him; Mike Weinstein, Republican, no Democrat, no Republican; Suzanne Jenkins, Walmart lover/Downtown activist; Jack Diamond, never run for an office in my life...don't know why I would."

'Indecision 2007' is about right. Tell me again which one of these candidates represent the needs of the individual citizen? If Mike Weinstein is supposed to be the 'populist' in this bunch than heaven help us all.