JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – With more and more political ads hitting the airwaves Thursday, many of them negative, News4JAX is hearing from voters about the impact they have on their choices for mayor.
It seems instead of Jacksonville voters deciding the issues in this mayor’s race, it’s coming down to what is airing on TV.
Some voters say the ads are getting out of hand.
“It’s ruthless,” said voter Cieleta Neely. “You know, they’re cutthroat with all the information that they’ve given us.”
On Thursday, new ads were released by both Republican Daniel Davis and Democrat Donna Deegan. They center on different issues and each claims the other is full of it.
“Right now, one of the battles going on in the mayor’s race is who is defining the issues, because whoever defines the issue, positions themselves to be successful,” said Rick Mullaney, News4JAX Political Anylyist and Director of JU’s Public Policy Institute.
For Davis, Mullaney said he’s defining the issue before the public as public safety and going after that issue hard with two strong ads.
“We need a mayor that improves public safety and not takes it backward. Donna Deegan’s radical policies would make our families and my officers less safe,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters says in a new ad supporting Davis.
Mullaney said Deegan is rebutting those ads by saying they are misleading and that she supports public safety.
“You have seen the attacks, it’s the only thing they know. They lie and smear because they don’t want change. It is a desperate attempt to hold on to power,” Deegan says in her latest ad.
“She’s also interjected the issue of the JEA saying she’s the one candidate who’s always been opposed to it and he supported it,” Mullaney said.
On Thursday, the Davis camp responded to that in a statement from campaign staff.
“Daniel Davis is focused on working with Sheriff TK Waters to make Jacksonville a safer city while Donna Deegan is lying about JEA,” the statement reads.
JEA was also a key topic of a debate at UNF on Thursday night that featured the two candidates.
“I have never said once that I wanted to sell JEA,” Davis said. “And I would tell you, as your next mayor, that is off the table.”
“He has been in on this from the very beginning,” Deegan responded. “And if you believe he won’t sell our utility given the opportunity, I will tell you I got some oceanfront property in Arizona to sell you.”
“What happens here is for Daniel Davis defining [the key issue] as public safety, for Donna Deegan, defining this as change, whoever wins that argument will likely be more successful in the outcome of this race,” Mullaney said.
The election is in 26 days and there will be several forums with the candidates before then, and yes, more ads are expected.
The Deegan campaign also issued a statement in response to the ads:
“As I’ve said many times, I will fully fund our police and put more officers on the streets. I also believe Black mamas should not have to live in fear every time their children walk out the door. We need more communication and trust between our police and community, not less.
“We were all horrified by the tragic murder of George Floyd. It’s beyond disappointing to see partisan attacks on me for attending peaceful protests just like Mayor Curry and Sheriff Waters did - and which Daniel Davis said he supported at the time. It’s the same political establishment that over the past eight years allowed Jacksonville’s murder rate to skyrocket.
“The only thing that is radical is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. It’s time for a change and to bring an end to the politics of fear and division, especially when it comes to our public safety. I look forward to working with the Sheriff on solutions that make our community safer and address the root causes of violent crime.”