Key issues on minds of Jacksonville residents ahead of city council race that’s too close to call

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Election Day is Tuesday in Jacksonville.

In this election, we will find out who will fill the at-large seat of the late councilman Tommy Hazouri.

A new poll released this week by the Public Opinion Research Lab at the University of North Florida says the top priorities for the city of Jacksonville are crime, downtown development, transportation and infrastructure.

The poll shows the two candidates for the City Council At Large Group 3 seat in a neck-and-neck race.

Tracye Polson received 50.3% of likely voters’ support, compared to Nick Howland, who received 49.7%.

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News4JAX political analyst Rick Mullaney said this election is going to be interesting because the city is currently purple and trending blue.

Mullaney says it was surprising that one item wasn’t a priority of the public.

“Taxes were not a high priority. And what’s really pretty interesting about that is that’s on the heels of two fairly significant tax increases that have been approved here locally,” Mullaney said. “One was a half-cent sales tax referendum in education that was approved by the voters. The other is six-cent increase, the gas tax, that was approved by city council.”

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Mullaney said it’s important to fill Hazouri’s seat in order to get 10 votes during meetings to get agendas through. He said the race is too close to call right now.


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