Honest Thoughts on the Election and Jacksonville

We have forgotten how to simply talk to each other...
One Citizen, one American to another, give me the benefit of the doubt and hear me out....

We're damn lucky to live in a nation, and in a time, where we have the Liberty to voice our opinion and vote for someone to represent us. I have thoughts on Alvin and this campaign and I'll go into more depth about that in a paragraph or two, but first I want to explain what I feel, and what we all know, about the current state of our political landscape.

The war between Democrats and Republicans, to me, is stupid; and there are faults with both parties, but overall the hateful and mean spirited insanity that has hijacked much of the Republican party makes me both sad and fearful. We make the joke that Republicans don't have a heart and Democrats don't have a spine-and perhaps that joke is rooted in a bit of truth.
Our founding fathers knew that in order to "Secure the Blessings of Liberty" that one of the most important things was to "promote the general Welfare". It is no surprise to me that in the Republican response to the State of the Union Address recently that they mentioned "Insure Domestic tranquility" and "Provide for the Common Defense", but failed to mention promoting the general welfare. Our founders knew that we are only as strong as our weakest link, and "social Darwinism" basically states that if people are in poverty that they belong there, and if they are rich, they deserve it. That our class is part of a natural order, like a natural law, and we all know deep down that this idea is garbage.
When our nation fought the Revolutionary War, we understood that our strength and freedom depended upon our unity. Liberty did not come from and we were not founded to insure simply individual liberty, but instead we formed a Republic to act together to protect individual liberty through mutually pledging to each other "Our Lives, Our Fortunes, and Our Sacred Honor". We pledged, in the Declaration of Independence, things as basic as our lives, our honor, our individual wealth, and this this with the common good as the objective because we understood that this is what protects our freedom to have "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness".
The Libertarian view of freedom is a selfish one and by that very nature accepting of the abuse of others, and any the justification of any means to attain wealth, it is an animal survival of the fittest mentality that sets one American against another, and is not Constitutionally-minded; and it is not moral or Christian either.
Our recent history is one that has seen a rise in productivity, which means more goods and wealth created with less hours work, but a rise in the earnings of the very rich and a loss of wealth and earning power for everyone not in the top 5% or so has happened instead of workers witnessing their earnings increase. What this means is that the middle class is being stolen from by the twisting of laws and practices promoted and paid for by the wealthy, who want to destroy worker's rights so they can lower wages. They'd bring back child labor if they could, and deep down we know that; and they'd make us something like slaves or indentured servants if they could, and sometimes it feels like they're getting that done.
What these short sighted people forget is that it is the middle class that drives the economy by buying goods and services, so they are hurting America, hurting their neighbors, and don't really care about it that much either. There are people who see through this veil and understand the reality of the world and who work to make it a better place for everyone.....
That's why I like Alvin Brown.

He understands that real jobs with a decent wage and the ability to get ahead in life promote growth and end poverty, and that poverty and education go hand in hand, and require infrastructure and education, and that government is a business OWNED by ALL OF US. It is a business and a service that provides roads, schools, emergency and utility services, everything that promotes growth and real capitalism and innovation, and that this is what keeps us free. When someone gets and stays sick because they can't afford proper healthcare their family suffers, their kids suffer, and even their employer and our economy suffers. Hospitals have become primary care clinics by default, and we all wind up paying for that, and when education fails and there are no decent jobs there is little real growth. This hurts us all and drives up what we have to spend in taxes to address these problems, and it also increases substance abuse and crime, and we all have to pay for that as well.
The same group of so-called conservatives have been in power for years in Jacksonville, and none of them have fixed these problems, in fact, they make it worse. Florida ranks last, 50th! in what we spend per capita on education, and now Rick Scott, who got elected with money made from Medicare fraud, our money, is cutting education further! Does someone in the tea Party want to tell me how any businessman or board of directors will choose Florida to relocate or expand when we are last in education and cutting it further? And now they are attacking unions. They say they believe in freedom, but if people choose to form a union and protect their rights and themselves from being fired for no valid reason that would become illegal. It favors only the very rich, and hurts us all. What about cherishing individual freedom there? Not when it deals with choices that protect the common people from the abuses of power of others, others in business, it seems.

It is true there are some unions that make mistakes, but for the most part there has been a propaganda effort paid for by these employers through lobbyists designed to take away rights to lower wages and leave us all exposed to the whim of employers. That is what they are attempting in Wisconsin by ramming through anti-union legislation even after the public employees, which get paid lower than private scale for the same types of jobs, gave the monetary concessions that right wing radical was asking for. A candid investigation found that this is part of a conspiracy and that they will lie to pass their agenda, and that they are funded by anti-labor radicals. This is what we fought against 230 years ago...... I want someone who will find real solutions to grow the economy and who understands urban policy and how to grow and economy.
Alvin brown has an MBA in Business, has managed a 4 Billion Dollar budget, worked as a Senior Advisor to the Clinton White House,

and he comes from humble beginnings and worked his way through college, so he understands what it means to struggle and suffer. He married his best friend and they have two wonderful young boys, and he has strong family and Christian values. This is fact.
That matters to me.
The best part is that he is not an insider who circulates our tax dollars to friends and party members and developers, and he owes no one favors and won't be part of backdoor deals.
Mulaney, Moran, and Hogan..... three of a kind!

None of the other people in this campaign can say that. Audry Moran is the lesser of the evils in the Republican party, but I haven't heard her speaking out against what is wrong until now.

She also won't come right out and say she'll fight Rick Scott on cutting education and that he was dead wrong. I also have questions about how she and her campaign is connected to Warren Lee's campaign, which to me seems designed to steal votes, because Warren Lee and Audry Moran are part of the same "good ole' boy" network. You don't have to be white and male to be a "good ole' boy" anymore.

This is class warfare between haves and have nots, or haven't you noticed that the best city services always seem to go to the most wealthy areas while the rest of the city looks like hell and you have to wait hours for a cop to show up, if they do at all.
Alvin is an Executive in residence at Jacksonville University. You have to be a smart cookie to be accepted for that kind of position. He has been on numerous boards, like Families of Slain Children and the Chamber of Commerce. He faces a real uphill climb being Democrat and black in Jacksonville. That's the reality, and damn being politically correct, I'd rather just be correct. It is sad that King's dream is still just a dream and not a universal reality.

There are people in this town who blindly think all Democrats are socialist liberals hell bent on destroying society, but most Democrats are capitalists with a real sense of patriotism who have strong family values. The economy actually does better under Democrats, and if you don't believe me read a research paper I did at http://partisansandplutocracy.blogspot.com/ You will see that GDP is higher, there is more job growth, and spending goes down under our party. You can watch talking heads full of hate on Fox, or do the research like I did and see through the lies.
Numbers don't lie, and the only reason Democrats ever have to raise taxes or deal with a debt is because the Republicans have come in, deregulated everything, run the bank dry, and left us with the tab. Remember the Savings & Loan crisis under Reagan? Same thing! Obama may have bailed out General Motors, but they just turned their first profit since 2004. If he didn't do what he was forced to we would have found ourselves in a Depression. We didn't break the economy! Alvin is concerned about education, jobs, poverty, healthcare, mass transit, crime, and how all of that works together, and has the smarts to find solutions that the power brokers, who want to install another one of the "more-of-the-same" people to the mayor's office, just don't give a damn about.
I was floored when I first met this guy. His energy and passion reminded me as to why I work on elections. When he looks you in the eyes and says something his eyes don't shift. We all know how liars look down and to the left, almost all of us do it, but not him. His handshake is real, his mind sharp, his values sincere. I don't have much real admiration for many political figures, but him I do.
Clay Yarborough, City Council District 1 Republican

Hell of a nice guy, period!

Republicans Lake Ray, and Steve Wise, and Jim Overton.... I have met, talked to them more than a few times, and like each of these guys because they are sincere despite the fact they are Republicans because they are honest, even if I feel they are misdirected sometimes; I may not agree with their politics, but they have many good ideas, and it is by all ideas coming to the table to be discussing and debating issues that we find solutions. At least these guys are trustworthy, and I just don't trust the "more-of-the-same" three. Their smiles don't seem genuine, and neither do they.

I, myself, even like the idea of tax reform and maybe a modified flat tax, or a FAIR TAX. I am like a John Bircher in the respect that I think our currency needs to be commodity backed, like back on the gold and silver standard. We support and have volunteered for the USO and support our troops, and my son is a Boy Scout. That may not sound like a Democrat, but it is. I am a conservative and a capitalist, and that is WHY I am a Democrat! We have more in common that what we do not, and should be working together to find solutions instead of wasting time and energy trying to find ways to separate ourselves. There are greedy people with narrow minds who work to hurt their fellow citizen, and there are those who think like socialists who believe government should do everything for everyone; and the main difference is the wealthy manipulate laws and media and thus public opinion with the power of money. Both these extremes are wrong, and there must be the freedom to work hard in freedom and attain wealth but that comes from access to resources like education and a good shared communial infrastructure, and the things which create the fertile soil for freedom and capitalism to flourish in. We have forgotten we are all part of the American family, and Alvin gets that. Alvin knows that because he had access to schools and the drive to work his way through school and make something of himself. He is a great example of what is great about America.
Alvin has managed big budgets, ran large administrations, and been a senior advisor to a vice president and a president. That says something. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard? That says something as well. He has the character, integrity, and smarts to maybe solve a few things around here for once. They had their shot for years, and we're even more in the crapper than when they took power. Maybe it's time to try something different. I see blemishes on every other candidate, but not him, and I looked hard.
This is the first mayoral campaign I have ever worked on in all my 50 years on this fragile earth, and when I think of who will work to protect the River and not give it lip service, or work to lower JEA bills, or make sure people have access to healthcare and city services, and fix the pension problem, distribute city services fairly and not favor their buddies gated neighborhoods, fix downtown, work with the State to fix mass transit and revitalize downtown, who will work to fix education, and who will represent me and care about all of us, not just a select few, I think of Alvin Brown. His website is http://alvinformayor.com/
The last thing is back to the race issue. I am sad and sickened that there are still people who won't even consider him because he's black, but this guy doesn't see color and when you look him in the eyes you don't see it either. Hell, honestly, he's whiter than me in a lot of ways. People need to be big enough to step beyond their prejudices and misconceptions, look for the truth, admit when they are wrong, and better themselves by doing what is just and right in spite of themselves.

Eisenhower, Kennedy, King, Johnson, Carter, and even Reagan, has a vision of what America could be, and you will find the best of it in this man. This kind of chance doesn't come along every day, and we have it right in front of us. Not all politicians are the same, and Alvin has proven that to me. He has what it takes to bring some real positive change, but words aren't even needed to know this....you can see it in his eyes.