JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two weeks of early voting began today for mayor, sheriff, supervisor of elections and more than a dozen city council seats. Outside of one glitch at a Westside library, the first hours of voting have been smooth.
Duval County Supervisor of Elections Jerry Holland said ballots had to be manually printed and filled out for about an hour Monday morning at the Westconnett Library, but no voters were turned away.
One of the mayoral candidates, Lenny Curry, made headlines Sunday by releasing a 12-page document to detail his plans for the city. Other candidates running for mayor are responding.
Curry left his office as statewide Republican Party leader last May to run for mayor. Since then he has met with people -- educators, law enforcement and small-business owners -- all in an effort to develop his plan for Jacksonville.
"We've put together a real plan that we can measure, can achieve and will transform our city," Curry said.
Curry calls it "a plan to restore our city's greatness."
He cites four pillars:
- Ensure public safety by giving the resources needed to address crime
- Expand economic opportunity for every family in Jacksonville
- A great education by partnering with education leaders
- Reclaim greatness by celebrating neighborhoods and connecting them to a growing, vibrant downtown
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News4Jax spoke to current City Councilman Bill Bishop, who is also running for mayor, to get his reaction to Curry's plan.
"A lot of it is -- there really isn't anything new there," Bishop said. "Most of it is restoring stuff that was lost over the past few years from budget cuts, which by the way we still haven't figured out how to pay for yet."
Bishop said he has his other plans:
- Restore police officer cuts
- Bring more jobs to the city to reduce crime
- Come up with a plan to deal with the city's pension obligations
- Develop downtown
News4Jax also spoke to Omega Allen, who's been trailing in the polls about her thoughts on Curry's plans.
"In view of the fact (that) up until now I am the only candidate that had citizen participation as part of their platform, I think it a little strange that now all of the sudden Mr. Curry has citizen participation as what he's touting as he wants to do, so of course I think it's an excellent idea; it was mine," Allen said.
Allen said she wants to:
- Have a city government for the people by the people
- Stop talking about downtown redevelopment and do something about it
- Balance the budget
- Re-budget and look at every line and reallocate funds where needed
News4Jax also reached out to current Mayor Alvin Brown to see if he wanted to do an on-camera interview Sunday, but he never responded. Instead, his office gave a statement.
"Mayor Brown has put Jacksonville first and has shown real leadership by helping to create 36,000 jobs and making Jacksonville the No. 1 city to start a new business," the statement reads. "He's invested in downtown and ensured our kids have greater access to opportunities. For Lenny Curry to now come up with this plan two weeks before an election just shows how weak his commitment to Jacksonville really is."
The Florida Times-Union endorsed Bishop this weekend.
After receiving the endorsement Bishop said, "I am honored and humbled by the Times-Union endorsement. There are many issues facing Jacksonville, and they seem to understand that I am the only candidate ready and able to meet those challenges head on, right now."
Stay with News4Jax for everything you need to know about Election Day 2015.