I felt like crying when I saw the article posted that the City of Jacksonville is now taking bids to TEAR DOWN THE LANDING without letting the taxpayers know the plan for the site. See it here:
https://www.jaxdailyrecord.com/article/city-issues-bid-notice-to-demolish-the-jacksonville-landing
I felt defeated and lied to by the guy I once shared The Landing stage with during our tea party days — now Mayor Curry. A guy I voted for. I hate it when I vote for someone and then they lie to us. Happens all the time! So sick of it.
I’m not the only one who thinks we need to know what the plan is — an interview with former Mayor Godbold sitting at the Landing gave me great hope that someone with clout and wisdom might be able to stop the madness of Lenny Curry’s internal plan to take down the Landing.
Take a look at what former Mayor Godbold had to say here:
https://www.news4jax.com/news/jake-godbold-makes-heartfelt-plea-as-the-landing-nears-demolition
The fact Mayor Curry is refusing to tell us what he has planned is not just wrong, it’s shady and unethical. And the worst thing of all…he promised we would have a say about the Landing. He once tweeted these statements:
“The Jacksonville Landing is owned by the taxpayers of Jacksonville. Sleiman Enterprises leases The Landing from the city.” and “Taxpayers deserve better for their investment and their asset.”
Reality is this. He isn’t telling us his plans even though he said “we own the Landing”. Why?
Rumors have it that he has a deal in place with Shad Khan. You see, dear readers, Shad Khan wants to tear down Metropolitan Park for his big development. His big development is a cool idea BUT…The Landing will be used as a pawn to make that happen. You see when Metropolitan Park was built, Federal dollars were used and the Feds have said, “If you tear down Metropolitan Park, you have to replace it somewhere else.”
So did the Mayor decide NOT to allow the Sleiman’s to rebuild, refurbish or renovate The Landing so he could give a better deal to Shad Khan? Did they paint the Sleimans as slum lords all the while not allowing them to make the renovations? Preston Haskell along with the Sleimans had a beautiful plan to remodel The Landing BUT — nope they were not allowed to rebuild. The City did all they could to “put the screws” to the Sleimans so they could get the Landing back. Don’t believe me? Remember these words from Mayor Curry in a Florida Times Union article:
Mayor Curry said, “I’m prepared to take the Landing… I’m prepared for the city to have it and to begin in a very public way determining what its best and highest use is.”
“We’ve got a plan internally to put the screws and keep pushing this,” he said.
So Mayor Curry, you not only “put the screws” to those who wanted to rebuild the Landing — you are now putting the screws to the taxpayers you once said owned The Landing. You are lying to us by not telling us what you have planned. We want to know. We want to make the decision ourselves since — in your own words —
“The Landing belongs to the taxpayers and they should determine what its best and highest use is.” – Mayor Curry
Those are your words, sir. Be a man of your word. Stop the madness. Reveal the plan. Let the people have a say.
If you don’t – you are plain and simple…a liar.
Billie Tucker has worked in the CEO world for more than 30 years and was the Chief Operating Officer of Vistage Florida, a think tank for CEOs. She started her own consulting practice, CEO Service Bureau, in 2001 and earned a reputation for her keen understanding of the motivations, challenges and goals of people and became a life-long student and teacher of leadership principles.
She craved anything leadership related and enjoyed being around the world of entrepreneurial CEOs. She watched as they made decisions; pondered how they would make payroll when cash flow was tight; and appreciated how they created career opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people. Because of her experiences, she has emerged as a key resource for the media and others who want to understand important insights about executives, management teams and board dynamics.
In 2008, Billie became discouraged as she watched some of her clients struggle with the political economic impacts on their businesses. The same CEOs who mortgaged their home and charged up their credit cards to make ends meet to build a business and keep others working, now watched as their government bailed out the big banks who had mismanaged their resources. She cringed as most of her clients laid off employees for the first time and she vowed she would help them… somehow…someway.
That somehow…someway showed up in the Tea Party Movement in America. She formed one of the largest tea party group’s in America (more than 9,000 members strong) and helped bring attention to America’s debt problem, out of control spending, over taxation and regulation strangulation on companies.
With her background in working with leaders and her influence in the political and leadership world, Billie has continued her dream to help CEOs navigate these troubling waters that permeate the world of capitalism in America.
She has been an active participant in the media as a guest on CNN, Fox News, Fox Business, Bott Family Network Radio and co-hosts a political/financial radio show in the Northeast Florida market entitled, Smart Money.
She was the first speaker at the House of Representatives Tea Party Caucus inaugural event and was invited by Heritage Foundation to speak at their prestigious annual Heritage Resource Bank, and on their National Security Panel live broadcasts.
She spoke at the Congressional Republican House Retreat in Pennsylvania in 2012. She was also the co-host and co-producer of the CNN Tea Party Express Debate in the 2012 Presidential Election.
She is a firm believer that America needs more entrepreneurs and more opportunities for people to use their God-given talents and passions to better themselves, their communities and America.
Her favorite quote has become her mission to help CEOs succeed:
“Vision without execution is hallucination.” – Thomas Edison
