Deo Vindice: Nathan B. Forrest High School’s Name Retained by Duval County School Board

Lovers of the South, we had a great victory last Monday, November 3rd, here in Jacksonville, Florida, CSA. The Duval County School Board voted 5-2 to retain the name of Nathan B. Forrest High School. Tremendous pressure had been placed on the Board over the past two years to change the school's name.

Please accept my grateful thanks to all of you who wrote and called School Board members or spoke at the meetings on behalf of our Southern heritage and history. Your efforts made the victory possible. I admit I was very worried that we would lose this one because several of the Board members are about to retire or cannot run again due to term limits; they would not have to answer to voters. Instead, they listened and remembered their history.

In today's Sunday Florida Times-Union, there is a front page story on the decision. (See http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/110908/met_353875219.shtml ) According to it, our Mayor John Peyton, Executive V.P. of the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce Jerry Mallot, and Public Relations guru Michael Munz are unhappy with the decision. If you like, you can contact them at:

Mayor John Peyton
City Hall
117 W. Duval St.
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 630-1776
Email: jpeyton@coj.net

Mr. Jerry Mallott, Executive Vice President
Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce
5000 Norwood Ave.
Jacksonville, FL 32208
(904) 366.6654
Email: jerry.mallot@jacksonvillechamber.org

Mr. Michael Munz
Dalton Agency
140 W. Monroe St., Ste. 200
Jacksonville, FL 32202
(904) 398-5222
FAX: (904) 398-5220

As Jesus told us, we must be ever vigilant for the enemy lurks around waiting to devour. Nothing could be more true than with the name of Nathan B. Forrest High School here. Every few years, we have to refight this battle. I will keep you posted as to any future developments.

Super Bowl & Jacksonville’s Murder Rate

Mayor John Peyton is boohooing that Jacksonville has lost its Super Bowl spirit. Jacksonville has Florida’s worst murder rate, with no end in sight. During the past week, Jacksonville experienced ten homicides, making it one of the city’s worst for murders. So far, there have been 83 homicides in 2008.

According to the F.B.I.’s 2006 (the most recent) Uniform Crime Report, the national murder index is 5.7 per 100,000 population. In contrast, Jacksonville suffered 110 murders or 13.8 per 100,000 population in 2006. Jacksonville’s overall crime index is 512.3 per 100,000 population compared to a national average of only 323.2 crimes per 100,000 population.

Certainly, a “can-do” attitude is required to solve any problem. However, Jacksonville’s crime problem is not the result of losing “Super spirit,” as Peyton suggests. Michael Hallett, head of University of North Florida's criminology department, nailed it when he said “tears in the social fabric have more to do with municipal spending priorities than a lack of Super Bowl excitement.” It is not a stretch to say that the Super Bowl and the Jaguars have contributed to the current crime wave.

Ever since Jacksonville acquired the Jaguars, city budgets have been skewed. Like imperial Rome, our city has chosen circuses over bread in recent years. The Better Jacksonville Plan exemplified this. The new baseball stadium, municipal arena, and the football stadium expansion were built before the new library and courthouse. While expensive sports and entertainment venues were improved, city budgets for libraries, social services, parks, community centers, youth programs, and mental health care were cut.

Jacksonville continues to lag behind other cities in the number of police officers, despite population increases, some of which were the result of the Super Bowl. Sheriff John Rutherford is correct to say, “We cannot arrest our way out of this crisis.” There is a direct correlation between the number of police per population and crime prevention.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) may be able to patrol its way out of this crime wave through more pro-active community policing. It worked in the latter half of 2006. Operation Safe Streets (OSS), which funded overtime for JSO officers to do more proactive policing in high crime neighborhoods, saw a “38% decline in murder the second half of 2006 when compared to the first half of the year, which had no OSS overtime.” Helping the decline was “the tens of thousands of citizen contacts that were made and the resulting increase in crime tips those conversations produced” through OSS.

Sheriff Rutherford proposed “the hiring of 225 sworn officers” over a three-year period in his "July 2008 Sheriff's message to the Community." The Law Enforcement and Deterrence Subcommittee of The Jacksonville Journey “recommended the addition of 101 patrol division officers to increase proactive policing levels and help deter crime.” In June, City Council unanimously approved the hiring of 40 additional sworn officers to the JSO in 2008 and another 40 in 2009.

As of 2006, Jacksonville had 1,690 officers or only 2.16 per 1000 population. The U.S. average for officers per 1000 population is 3. The Census Bureau estimated the population of Jacksonville in 2007 was 805,605. These 90 new hires will bring Jacksonville’s ratio of officers to population to about 2.2, still well below average, and a mere .04 increase over the current level. For the city to have 3 officers per 1000 population, we should have an increase of 727 or 2,417 sworn officers.

The Florida Times-Union cites Raymond Sauer, a Clemson University economics professor, “Super Bowls come and go while towns remain much the same after some temporary hoopla. ‘If there's a big event, there's a lot of civic cooperation,’ he said. ‘But for a change in the social fabric, it has to be something on a repeated basis. The Super Bowl doesn't come to town often enough.’"

Sources:

“Peyton yearns for the return of 'Super' spirit,” Florida Times-Union, July 26, 2008 http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072608/met_309841146.shtml

“Rash of shootings has police fatigued,” Florida Times-Union, July 26, 2008 http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072608/met_309841269.shtml

City Data http://www.city-data.com/city/Jacksonville-Florida.html

2006 Uniform Crime Report, Federal Bureau of Investigation http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2006/

"City Council agenda," Florida Times-Union, June 25, 2008 http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/062508/met_294895465.shtml

"July 2008 Sheriff's message to the Community," Jacksonville Sheriff's Office http://www.coj.net/Departments/Sheriffs+Office/Press+Room/July+2008+Sheriff%27s+Message+to+the+Community+.htm

"City Council approves 40 new officers," WJXT-TV 4 http://www.news4jax.com/news/16700910/detail.html

"City Council supports hiring more police officers," WTLV-TV 12 http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=112271&catid=3

Jacksonville & Duval County (Florida) Elections: March 20th

Once again, I am getting calls about how I am voting in the city elections. Well, it happens occasionally: I vote for a Democrat. This is one of those times. I have voted for Dale Carson, Jr. for Duval County Sheriff. There are a number of reasons I made this decision. Number one, of course, is the city's murder rate. Although I agree we cannot arrest our way out of the problem, I believe Sheriff Rutherford's approach as been too defensive and reactive, not pro-active. The tipping point for me was when he left a meeting of angry victim's families and neighbors last weekend to go to a campaign fund-raising appearance. That told me that Rutherford does not have his priorities straight or he cannot take the heat of legitimately upset constituents. Dale Carson, Jr., has the requisite background to be sheriff. Often, a department outsider is the best way to get the kind of reform and fresh ideas that our Sheriff's Department needs.

If almost anyone else besides Suzanne Jenkins had run against Jerry Holland for Supervisor of Elections, I would have voted for another Democrat. Jerry Holland's performance in his first term has been a total disappointment. Many times, I've wished my friend Andy Johnson would have won last go-around or was running again. However, Suzanne Jenkins will never get my vote. She has been my councilwoman for the last two years. She has been as unresponsive as any council person I've ever encountered, and she regularly votes completely contrary to what her constituents desire. Jenkins could be the poster child for why term limits are a great idea. So, reluctantly, I voted to give Jerry Holland a second term as Supervisor of Elections.

For Mayor, I voted for John Peyton. "Aunt Jemima" Jackie Brown would be a joke as mayor, a very bad joke. For Councilman-at-large from Group 2, Jay Jabour won my vote. Remember, that all Duval County voters vote in the Council-at-Large races. Group 2 is the only one that has a competitive race. For Council District 4, I voted for George Banks who has served previously on City Council when I found him to be a good listener to his constituents.

Early voting is going on right now until March 18th. Election day is Tuesday, March 20th from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Absentee ballots are available and must be turned into the Supervisor of Elections office by 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 20th. Whether you agree with my selections or not, please take time to vote for your city's future.