JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The 2019 mayoral race in Jacksonville has been dominated by ads for incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry and his challenger Anna Lopez Brosche, and while all eyes seem to be on the two front runners, Republican Jimmy Hill still plans to be competitive on election night.
Leading up to Tuesday, Hill continues to meet with people across Jacksonville.
"Citizens are not happy. Taxpayers aren't happy," Hill said. "The reason we're here is because there's not a good job being done in City Hall ... that's what we're here to replace and do a much better job."
Hill, a former firefighter, made an impression to people during the mayoral debate last week and said he isn't surprised by the public's reaction. He also isn't surprised to see most of the attention on Curry and Brosche.
"We're exactly where we want to be. Having all that attention on those two people made our job easier," he said. "That's what's wrong with our government!"
"The fact that they were bickering and fighting back and forth the whole time. The fact that they were spending the millions of dollars beating each other up makes it really valid for a reasonable human being who has common sense, who has a background in government, who knows what to do can come in and actually present an option that is completely better in every way without all the drama and, quite frankly, the nastiness."
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Hill believes his experience as a firefighter and as a large event promoter lines up with what it takes to lead the River City.
"You're not going to walk into a situation much worse than a four story building (on fire) with people in it. You're not going to be surprised by anything. Nothing is going to catch you off-guard, it's just part of what you do every day," Hill said. "That helps a lot in government."
"Government is just a slow speed disaster, and by that I mean all the pieces are the same. You mitigate situations either really quick in a disaster or over a period of time with a team in government. Same thing. The training is the same. The operation is the same."
To win Tuesday's election, a candidate must capture at least one vote more than 50 percent. That's not so easy when there are four candidates.
Many polls have shown Curry with more than 50 percent support, but Hill and his competitors think they can pull off an upset.
Curry, Brosche and Hill are all running as Republicans. Omega Allen is running without party affiliation. News4Jax will share her interview Friday.