I woke up, grabbed a cup of coffee and turned on my computer to read the daily news.  I was excited about today because we were going to be out and about speaking about Eye on Jacksonville and not only that – the economy is booming, people are back to work and there is a feeling of hope and goodness in the air.  It was the beginning of a great day and then…

this headline ruined it all.  Jacksonville Jax Festival headed to court(house).

The article mentions the ICONIC building seen in hundreds of thousands of pictures and used by hundreds of celebrities in the past such as Presidential candidates – The Landing – would not be used for the Jazz Festival this year.  It was now going to be moved to the Courthouse – Jacksonville’s NEW ICONIC building per the city:

“Utilizing an iconic backdrop like the courthouse emphasizes the sense of community built into this great event.” 

Mayor’s office spokeswoman Tia Ford

Really?  The COURTHOUSE creates a sense of community and is now considered our new iconic building?  Can’t wait to see the pictures from Visit Jacksonville with the Courthouse as our ICONIC building.  Ridiculous decision!  Yeah people would rather look at a Courthouse during the Jazz Festival than the beautiful St. Johns River and the skyline.  Really Mr. Mayor?

I smell a rat.  A stinking rat.  And not only do I smell one, Mayor Curry told us he was going to use dirty rat tactics to take back The Landing.  These are his words, not mine.  Last June Mayor Curry told us – in his own words –  “We’ve got a plan internally to put the screws and keep pushing this.”   In other words, he had a plan to take back The Landing and he was going to use “screws” to do so.

His administration has already done their dirty deeds by squeezing the boaters away from the docks at The Landing.  See the recent article we wrote about that subject.  No docks for you  The docks are the city’s responsibility to fix and the Landing owners recently went to court to get the city to fix them.  They were concerned people would be hurt and the city was totally ignoring the problem.  Sounds like a screw tactic to us.  Let the docks rot and no one will go there.

And then let’s not forget the City was in violation of their lease with the owners of The Landing by not providing parking. That’s why the Rouse Company who built the Landing left town.  They couldn’t deal with the nasty politics in Jacksonville.  Could this be another screw tactic?  If you can’t find a place to park, residents won’t go there.

My stomach is in knots.  I ache for my city.  I abhor the screw tactics used by this administration to put the big squeeze on those they don’t like and hand off millions to those they do.  It’s disgusting.

Eye on Jacksonville was formed with a Mission to Promote Integrity and Transparency and Expose Corruption and Cronyism.  It’s a good thing we decided to start this online platform because using “screw” tactics is being exposed and it is corrupt and filled with cronyism.  Should a Mayor use screw tactics to get what they want?  In the world we live in – we call that – being a bully.  And we also call that — wrong and childish.

But my friends it is important to call out this behavior.  Why?  Because it isn’t fair to the city and to others the Mayor or his administration may not like.  That means they will pick Winners & Losers and if you aren’t on their team – you get screwed.  You lose.

Sounds like something right out of a movie about the mafia, doesn’t it?

People ask me if I worry about what “they” will do to us because we want to create a better city for ALL residents of Jacksonville.  I tell them, “I don’t care. It’s our civic duty to pay attention and become involved in our own backyard.  Otherwise, it will stink to high heaven if you let them loose and not hold them accountable.”

Well, my friends, it’s Stinking in Jacksonville today and Mayor Curry’s internal plan to put the screws to the people’s choice for entertainment downtown – is working.

How much do you want to bet the streets to get to the Landing will be roped off and no one will be allowed to go there this weekend?  If there was another “screw” in the toolbox that would be one to use.

It’s a sad day in Jacksonville.  Mayor Curry, you really “screwed” up.  You should never, ever tell us what your plans are to screw us because we don’t forget and we’ll be watching you.

UPDATE SATURDAY MORNING, MAY 26th – The Mayor’s Internal Plan is now taking the next step and sent a Letter to take possession of the Landing.  TAKE POSSESSION OF THE LANDING.  That means those businesses that are down there are going to lose patrons, employees are going to lose jobs and the iconic Landing might be boarded up while this lawsuit continues on.

If I didn’t know better, I would believe Mr. Mayor has taken some lessons from the SWAMP in DC because it smells like a swamp move, looks like a swamp move and STINKS like a swamp move.

[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://eyeonjacksonville.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Billie-Tucker-1.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]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[/author_info] [/author]