The Vision Thing
George H.W. Bush lived an extraordinary life. He was a remarkable person and leader who served the nation as a U.S. Navy aviator, member of Congress, United Nations Ambassador, Director of Central Intelligence, Vice President, and ultimately President of the United States. As President, he presided over the end of the Cold War and led a global coalition to reverse Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait.
But Bush did not extend his national service as long as he wanted. Faced with a sluggish economy and an opponent who effectively framed the stakes of the 1992 election, Bush struggled to articulate how he would lead the nation in a second term. He lost his bid for re-election, in part because of that inability to master what Bush termed “the vision thing.”
Three decades later, “the vision thing” is again notable for its absence in another campaign — the 2023 Jacksonville mayoral contest. Any voter who watches television, visits the Internet, or reads the mail has seen plenty of negative messaging about why various political committees think certain candidates shouldn’t be mayor. But voters have received less information about where mayoral hopefuls would lead Jacksonville if elected.
Earlier this year, The Jaxson published my list of 20 questions for City of Jacksonville candidates. The first two read as follows:
1. Fast forward to the last day of your term in office (June 30, 2023, or June 30, 2027). How will Jacksonville be different because of your service at City Hall?
2. Pretend you are talking to group of college seniors who are considering a move to Jacksonville following graduation. Their decisions hinge on your strategic vision for the community. What would you tell them?
Despite being a citizen who pays close attention to the mayoral campaign, I still don’t know how the mayoral candidates would answer those questions. Hopefully voters will soon have those insights, because vision matters.
It is difficult for anyone to reach an intended destination without knowing what it is. Lacking the compass of a strategic vision to guide staff selection, budget and legislation preparation, operational management, communication with elected officials and citizens, and other actions, a mayor can lose control of the City Hall narrative, become consumed with daily crises, and deplete that most precious resource: Time. A mayoral administration without vision risks becoming reactive and adrift.
In the nearly 55 years since Jacksonville and Duval County merged to form the consolidated City of Jacksonville, some of the most successful mayors have been those who developed and advanced clear visions before or during their service. For example:
· The late Jake Godbold saw the potential for Downtown Jacksonville to be a vibrant destination and invested in developing the Jacksonville Landing, restoring the historic Florida Theatre, and building the Southbank Riverwalk. Even more impactfully, he believed Jacksonville was a major league city and laid the foundation for what became the Jacksonville Jaguars. If you want to see the moment a vision is realized, please watch the moving November 30, 1993 WJXT video of Jake Godbold learning that the National Football League had awarded Jacksonville a franchise.
· Tommy Hazouri was determined that Jacksonville no longer be known as the “city that stinks”. As mayor, he championed and enacted anti-odor laws to curtail pollution and successfully advocated for the removal of tolls on local bridges and highways.
· John Delaney entered office with a vision to make government more efficient. He advanced that vision, but once in office also realized the city had massive infrastructure deficiencies and a large collection of unprotected natural treasures. Delaney’s vision for rebuilding the city and saving threatened lands and waters resulted in the Better Jacksonville Plan and Preservation Project.
· Faced in his second term with Tallahassee lawmakers imposing restrictive fiscal mandates on local governments, growing pension costs, and the devastating economic challenges of the Great Recession, John Peyton had the vision to stabilize City of Jacksonville finances by diversifying funding streams and enhancing the revenue base.
Each of those mayors provided the community they served a place or places they wanted Jacksonville to reach and a roadmap for how they would lead that journey from City Hall. While their examples help to illustrate effective mayoral vision, it is also important to understand what vision is not. Vision isn’t a slogan on a television advertisement or a direct mail piece. It isn’t an endorsement from another elected official or an organization. It isn’t a recitation of accomplishments, a conclusory list of goals, or a series of policy positions. Vision isn’t about the past unless it applies the lessons of where we have been to where we are going.
With the March 21 first election less than three weeks away and early voting starting next Monday, the potential mayors face their final window of opportunity to communicate with voters. My unsolicited advice to all of them: Don’t waste this remaining time talking about your opponents. Spend it telling voters where you will lead our community if elected. Help citizens understand how you will use the powers of Jacksonville’s strong mayor system to improve the lives of Jacksonville residents. Describe how Jacksonville will change because of your leadership. Forecast the future city in which our children and grandchildren will hopefully live.
The Book of Proverbs counsels that “where there is no vision, the people perish.” Without a well-articulated vision for how she or he will lead Jacksonville, the next mayor may well find his or her hopes for success in office are similarly imperiled. Vision matters. Please tell us yours.
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Chris Hand is a government law attorney who served as Chief of Staff at the City of Jacksonville from 2011–2015. He previously co-authored America, the Owner’s Manual: You Can Fight City Hall — and Win and authored the 50th anniversary update to A Quiet Revolution: The Consolidation of Jacksonville-Duval County & the Dynamics of Urban Political Reform.
