A John McCain or Bob Dole Moment, Lost
On October 10, 2008, during the final weeks of the presidential campaign, Republican nominee and U.S. Senator John McCain was holding one of his signature town hall meetings in Lakeville, Minnesota. One of the attendees told McCain he was “scared of an Obama presidency.” McCain immediately responded that Democratic nominee and fellow U.S. Senator Barack Obama was “a decent person and a person that you do not need to be scared of as President of the United States.” Another participant said she couldn’t trust Obama and labeled him as “an Arab.” McCain instantly corrected her: “No, ma’am. No, ma’am. He is a decent family man and citizen that I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what this campaign is all about.”
Senator McCain, who died in August 2018, set an example of civility and demonstrated how political candidates can disagree without denigration. It was a reminder of another civil leader who recently passed away: 1996 Republican presidential nominee and U.S. Senator Bob Dole. In his gracious Election Night concession speech, Dole offered to assist the newly re-elected Bill Clinton: “I’ve said repeatedly in this campaign that the President is my opponent and not my enemy, and I wish him well and pledge my support for whatever advances the cause of a better America.”
I thought of Senator McCain’s responses and Senator Dole’s comments when I saw the video from a November 7, 2021, Republican Liberty Caucus forum featuring two candidates (Nick Howland and Howland “Howdy” Russell) to fill the at-large seat on the Jacksonville City Council formerly held by the late Tommy Hazouri.
The form moderator introduced the candidates with this statement: “We’ve got two wonderful candidates here. We’ve got two Republicans who are running for office to fill the seat that has been vacated by Tommy Hazouri. It’s unfortunate the way he had to leave the seat, but at least he left the seat. Sorry if that offends anybody, but it’s time to move on. When you’ve got someone who is trying to foster Marxist principles in our city, yeah, we need to get that replaced.”
Members of the audience clapped.
After watching the video several times, I could hardly believe my ears. The forum moderator for a contest to fill the Council seat of the late Tommy Hazouri made light of his passing. She disrespected the recently departed leader’s service to Jacksonville through a fabricated association with Karl Marx. And audience members clapped.
I could also hardly believe my eyes. The candidates to succeed Hazouri didn’t object to her comments. They didn’t acknowledge his public service or offer condolences to his family. Both remained silent. One even appeared to smile. Neither followed the examples of John McCain and Bob Dole.
Just to set the record straight, Tommy Hazouri was one of the most accomplished and dedicated leaders in our community. He achieved something unprecedented in the half-century history of the consolidated City of Jacksonville — the first person to serve as Duval Legislative Delegation Chair, Mayor, Duval County School Board Chair and City Council President. In their obituary following his September 11, 2021 passing, Florida Times-Union journalists Nate Monroe and David Bauerlein detailed his numerous achievements, which included championing public education, addressing Jacksonville’s notorious odor problem, removing tolls on local bridges, fighting discrimination, and investing in needed infrastructure. He served our community until the day he died.
Mayor Hazouri was also an unforgettable person and great company, as anyone who ever spent time around him quickly learned. If you met him for a meal at the Mandarin Panera Bread or Beauclerc Kazu, you also dined with the entire restaurant. One of his superpowers was the ability to carry on multiple conversations simultaneously.
Hazouri was not, as the Liberty Caucus moderator absurdly claimed, “trying to foster Marxist principles in our city.” No Marxist would have won eleven elections in Jacksonville, including as recently as 2019. He was a Democrat, which may be unforgivable to the Republican Liberty Caucus moderator but did not stop Republicans John Delaney and Lenny Curry from accepting Hazouri’s mayoral endorsements in 1995 and 2019, respectively. His closest Council friendships included Republican Matt Carlucci, who Hazouri appointed as Finance Chair. If anything, Tommy Hazouri was a model of the bipartisanship that was once valued in our nation.
The person elected to fill the remainder of Tommy Hazouri’s term on the Jacksonville City Council will join a body of 19 independently elected officials. For each member, success in that body hinges on persuading fellow Council members to support her or his legislative priorities. As the late Mayor Jake Goldbold liked to say, “you can’t do anything without 10 votes.” Those Council coalitions often have nothing to do with party membership and everything to do with relationships and shared interests. A Council member who does not understand that collegiality might find himself or herself accomplishing little in office.
I recently provided a list of 20 questions for 2022/2023 City of Jacksonville candidates. Please allow me to add one more for the two remaining candidates who are seeking Tommy Hazouri’s former City Council seat: If one of your Council colleagues heard someone unfairly impugn your public service, would you want them to follow the examples set by John McCain and Bob Dole — or should they remain silent?
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Chris Hand is a government law attorney who previously served as Chief of Staff at the consolidated City of Jacksonville. He authored the 50th anniversary update to A Quiet Revolution: The Consolidation of Jacksonville-Duval County & the Dynamics of Urban Political Reform.
