Mayoral candidate Donna Deegan is a Far-Left Democrat who was “crushed” when her choice for governor of Florida – a man who may be crook and is an admitted alcoholic – was defeated in 2018.

That is a fact Jacksonville voters need to ponder when they go to the polls.

Deegan was all in for Andrew Gillum as governor of Florida.

“I still can’t wrap my mind around it, to be honest,” Deegan told a small local newspaper the morning after the election. “I don’t know how we went Duval like we did and … ”

The newspaper said Deegan had been a high-profile, indefatigable supporter of Gillum, and that she called a transformational “once-in-a-generation candidate.”

“I can’t believe that Florida is going to miss out on him as governor,” she said. “I believe one day he’ll be president. He’s only 39 years old, he has plenty of runway. He is an electric figure, but beyond that he’s a born leader. He makes people want to be involved, to work hard.”

Deegan boasted about helping Gillum prepare for a debate.

Ron DeSantis defeated Gillum in the race despite a desperate push by Democrats who frantically poured millions into the effort.

Even before the race, Gillum had been accused of crimes as an elected official in Tallahassee.

In 2019, the Florida Commission on Ethics found probable cause that Gillum violated state ethics laws when he accepted gifts during out-of-town excursions with lobbyists and vendors and failed to report them, according to the liberal Wikipdia. Ultimately, a $5,000 settlement was agreed to on four out of the five charges.

Two years later Gillum was found naked in a motel room with a gay escort who had overdosed on meth. He later acknowledged he was an addict and bisexual.

Three months later he was indicted on 21 felony counts.

Part of the corruption case involves a $100,000 campaign contribution request agreed to by an undercover FBI agent and Gillum during a meeting in Jacksonville, that would be paid in two separate installments of $50,000 each, according to Politico. During that meeting, Gillum directly told one of the undercover FBI agents that he should “separate in his mind the campaign contributions and the Tallahassee projects.”

Gillum played the race card claiming he was indicted because of the color of his skin.

A federal judge in December knocked down that claim, saying “He would have to cite evidence showing that the government’s decision to prosecute him was ‘because of’ a protected characteristic. But he offers no evidence suggesting race- or political-affiliation-based prosecution.”

“(Even) if he had offered evidence of discriminatory effect, he would still have to show discriminatory purpose,” the judge said.

The judge refused to throw out the charges and ordered Gillum to go to trial next month.

That means it will take place between the first city election this month and the runoff in May. Polls indicate Deegan could be in the runoff, most likely with a Republican.

Her popularity is based on her name recognition as a former TV newsreader and as a fundraiser for cancer. Also, she previously has run unsuccessfully for various offices.

Among the vague promises in her campaign is to spend huge amounts of money on infrastructure, which says has been neglected – a false claim that easily is refuted.

Jacksonville taxpayers have spent billions in the past 30 years on infrastructure and the current Republican mayor pushed even more spending through the City Council.