Accountability Forum Links Elected Leaders and Community

Members of two community groups had questions, and Jacksonville’s leaders had answers at this year’s first SFPPCA / COPOCA sponsored Local Leadership Accountability Forum.  City Council Members  Johnny Gaffney, John Crescimbeni, Ray Holt, Glorious Johnson, Reginald Brown, Warren Jones and Clay Yarborough were on hand, along with Jerry Holland, Matt Shirk, Angela Corey, John Rutherford, Brenda Priestly-Jackson and Jim Overton to field a wide variety of questions from the community.  Topics ranged from police conduct, to education, to housing and were aimed at giving the voters a clearer picture of how their leaders are tackling tough issues.

Sheriff Rutherford and State Attorney Corey fielded numerous questions on how their offices are dealing with the seeming disparity of crime and misconduct that has plagued certain parts of Jacksonville.  Citing impressive reductions in arrests and reported crime, Rutherford and Corey detailed how they are working in tandem to strengthen neighborhood ties and improve Constitutional training for Sheriff’s Deputies.  In spite of encouraging statistics, both the Sheriff and the State Attorney, called upon communities to never forget they too play a vital role.  Councilman Crescimbeni backed their statements by pointing out that city residents “outnumber Jacksonville’s leadership by nearly 850,000 people and it’s the residents of the City who are the real force in combating crimes.”

School Board Member, Brenda Priestly-Jackson, addressed the many concerns expressed by parents of children in Duval County schools.  Declining literacy rates and increasing drop-out rates were the biggest issues posed to her during the evening’s moderator-led discussion.  Along with the usual accolades placed on existing programs, Priestly-Jackson called for a concerted effort to target 14-16 year olds, who statistics show are at the highest risk of falling through the cracks. She stated there needs to be an emphasis on GED programs, vocational training and optional school hours that will give these teenagers alternatives to traditional curricula.  She too, looked for the community to help educators do their jobs and urged every family member and neighbor to “ask the questions, and demand the results” so the school system has the chance to make a difference.

Although the turn-out of elected leaders was impressive, some members of City Council declined to respond to invitations or refused to appear, in fear of the event being “nothing more than a gripe-session.”  Notably absent were City Council’s two presiding officers Richard Clark and Jack Webb, both who have been recent targets of Ethics Commission complaints.  With this event in the books, and organizers looking forward to future Accountability Forums, it remains to be seen if this will change the tone of responsiveness in Council Chambers – or will it be status quo in the Council Districts that lacked elected representation at this meeting.

Tags: Duval County School Board, Jacksonville City Council, Jacksonville Sheriff's Office

This entry was posted on Sunday, January 24th, 2010 at 8:34 PM and is filed under Local Politics, Miscellaneous. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.