The mayors of Jacksonville Beach, Neptune Beach and Atlantic Beach, along with the city councilmen who represent the beaches, have endorsed incumbent Mayor Lenny Curry for reelection.
All of the beaches’ top elected officials made their endorsements during a press event where Curry announced the completion of the renourishment project to repair Jacksonville-area beaches damaged by hurricanes Irma and Matthew.
Related: As Beach Renourishment Wraps Up, Jacksonville Leaders Look To Address Sea Level Rise
“Our charter provides for a strong Mayor form of government and, I can tell you, we have a strong mayor,” said outgoing District 13 Councilman Bill Gulliford, who represents all of Duval County’s beach communities south of the St. Johns River. “And for that reason I'm going to support him in the upcoming election because every time I have gone to him and asked for support for the beaches, and the community as a whole, he has been there, ready to help.”
Curry’s willingness to listen and help when needed was a common theme.
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“Once you form a partnership and that partnership continues to strengthen, you want to continue it,” Neptune Beach Mayor Elaine Brown said. “Mayor Curry has been there for Neptune Beach, for all of our beach communities. I look forward to another four years with him as mayor and continuing to be a good partner.”
“A chimpanzee can lead when things are going well. It takes tough times to find out who your leaders are, and we found a good leader in Lenny Curry,” said Jacksonville Beach Mayor Charlie Latham. “Mayor Curry has always been a very available, very supportive member of our community here in Jacksonville Beach and I also proudly endorse his candidacy.”
“Every time I've ever reached out to Mayor Curry he's been very responsive and helpful to our community and to the beaches,” Atlantic Beach Mayor Ellen Glasser said. “So I'm proud to partner with the other two beach mayors, all three of us, to support his candidacy.
“If it's not clear, every single leader at the beaches is endorsing Mayor Curry because he has been a friend of the beaches,” concluded Jacksonville City Councilman-Elect Rory Diamond, District 13, who has qualified and is facing no competition in the city’s March 19 election.
Brendan Rivers can be reached at brivers@wjct.org, 904-358-6396 or on Twitter at @BrendanRivers.
