Audrey Moran questionnaire
Content
AUDREY MORAN 1. In recent years, the mayor and City Council have used a mix of revenue increases and cuts in expenses to balance the city budget. Do you agree? If not, what would you do differently? The last two times the City increased the millage rate and new fees wereimplemented, it was done to plug a hole in the budget - not to moveJacksonville forward. This bred enormous distrust of how our government wasbeing run because citizens were balancing their own household budgets withfewer dollars and they expected government to do the same. I will notbalance the budget with tax increases. As mayor, I will overhaul the brokenpension system, create a leaner work force and eliminate waste in governmentto balance the budget. I do, however, believe that our City must continue tomove forward to enhance services, spur economic development and grow our community. Our campaign recently held an event ³Ask Audrey Live´, which was atechnology-based interactive town hall session where the audience respondedto a series of questions electronically. One of the questions I posed was:Which statement best describes how you feel about the taxes and government fees you pay in Jacksonville? An overwhelming majority responded that theywould be ³willing to pay more for better services´. Citizens are willing toinvest if they believe their current dollars are being spent well and theybelieve the city will improve as a result of that investment. I will also make balancing the budget a daily priority. We can no longerafford to look at the budget on an annual basis. We need to look at thebudget over the long term and come up with a long-range plan that goesbeyond 365 days. Cutting expenses and getting our fiscal house in order iscritical. My commitment to the citizens of Jacksonville is to manage ourcity finances efficiently and effectively, while making tough choices onspending. We need to have a budget process in place that allows for publicinput, is open and transparent, and that makes clear what our priorities are as a community. That is why our team is actively engaging in the budget process now. Former City Council President Kevin Hyde is leading a group of smart, creative andfiscally conservative community leaders who are looking with a critical eyeat every single department in our city government. As their work progresses,we will be sharing with the public areas that we have identified forsignificant expense reduction and savings. Appointing an ³A-Team´ ofdepartment heads who will be charged
with trimming their budgets and theirstaffs while maintaining a high standard for city services is a priority formy administration.
2. Do you support the Jacksonville Journey? Explain your answer. Yes, I support the Jacksonville Journey. The Jacksonville Journey broughttogether nearly 140 community leaders to develop a threepronged approach tocrime focusing on prevention, intervention and law enforcement. I was askedby Mayor Peyton to chair the Positive Youth Development Committee for thisinitiative and was a member of the steering committee that developed thefinal program for his consideration. I applaud Mayor Peyton for starting thecommunity conversation that led to an awareness for a comprehensive approachto crime. As mayor, I will bring the participants from the Jacksonville Journey back together and give them a report card on what worked and whatdidn¶t work. The participants will also act as community advocates tobolster support for Journey funding.In the first part of 2010, Duval County saw a crime rate drop by more thandouble the rate compared to the state average for the first half of theyear. As reported in the Florida Times-Union, in one key category, murders, Duval County numbers fell by 20.9 percent from the same time in the previousyear, compared to rising by 3.6 percent for Florida as a whole versus thesame time last year. While that is a positive trend, as a former prosecutor,I know all too well that we can¶t take our foot off the gas. I plan to workclosely with our law enforcement professionals and community experts in thisarena and we will discuss specific improvements to the program, as well asfunding priorities.
3. What endorsements have you received? It is my understanding that only two organizations have formally endorsed acandidate to date: the Fraternal Order of Police and the NE Florida BuildersAssociation. Both groups, as expected, endorsed Mr. Hogan. However, ourcampaign has a policy of meeting with every group that requests an interviewin an effort to outline our plans and to show that open and honestcommunication is a key component of how we will do business at City Hall.Among our many supporters, we are
prout1 to include Mayor Ed Austin andformer mayoral candidate and City Council President, Kevin Hyde. Wayne andDelores Weaver are both supporters of our campaign (notablythey have neverbefore supported the same candidate for mayor), along with former CityCouncil Presidents: Alberta Hipps, Elaine Brown and Matt Carlucci. We arealso proud to have the support of Cynthia Austin, John Baker, Suzanne Bass,George Cable, Dan Connell, Hank Coxe, Andy Crawford, Toni Crawford, LaurieDubow, w.e. Gentry, T.R. Hainline, Hugh Jones, Howard Korman, Marty Lanahan,Helen Lane, Bob Lufrano, Ava Parker, Pam Paul, Paul Perez, Tom Petway, KittyPhillips, Bill Scheu, Buddy Schulz, Hawley and Emily Smith, Bobby Stein, David and Linda Stein, Carol Thompson, Ron Townsend, Cleve Warren and manyothers that are too numerous to list.
4. How much civic activity do you perform outside of work? Civic engagement, community involvement and volunteering are very importantto me. We have worked hard to instill these values in our children byshowing them how to be active participants and give back to the community bysharing our time, talent, and treasure. Some of the organizations I¶minvolved with and have worked with include: Current Truth and Reconciliation Committee - St. John¶s Cathedral Chair of the Board of Visitors for the Florida Coastal School of Law Member of Project Breakthrough, a race-relations initiative sponsored bythe Aspen Institute Trustee of the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund Downtown Rotary, Member Jacksonville Women¶s Network, Member Previous Board of Directors, NE Florida Chapter, American Red Cross Board of Directors, Youth Crisis Center Board of Directors, Children¶s Crisis Center Board of Directors, Jacksonville Children¶s Chorus Board of Trustees, Riverside Presbyterian Day School Board of Trustees, St. Johns Country Day School Board of Directors, Leadership Jacksonville
Leadership Jacksonville Class of 1989 Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Section of Jacksonville Bar Association Jacksonville Bar Association Grievance Committee Jacksonville Bar Association Mentoring Project Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees Study Circles Participant Leader of Mayor Peyton¶s Positive Youth Development Subcommittee of the Jacksonville Journey: A Comprehensive Community-Wide Anti-Crime Initiative Inaugural Member of Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Board Member, Downtown Vision, Inc. Chairman of the Nonprofit Center of Ndrthea~t Florida Executive Board Member of the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership Member of the Board of Directors of Baptist Medical Center Chairman of the Downtown Development Authority
Awards Klechak Award for Downtown Advocacy Rotary Good Government Award Leadership Jacksonville Community Trustee Award
5. How do you intend to comply with Florida¶s public records and governmentin the sunshine laws? If you saw an elected official breaking the sunshinelaw, what would you do? My plan is to create a culture of ethics and integrity at City Hall. Asmayor, I will make sure every employee understands that he or she has aclear responsibility not only to behave ethically, but to report violationsif they are observed. My plan also includes supporting a strong ethicscommission. All appointed officials will undergo ethics training as part oforientation and will be responsible for ensuring that their departmentalemployees undergo the same before September 1, 2011. If I personally observed anelected official breaking the
sunshine law, I would immediately ask them tostop and I would report it to the Ethics Commission.
6. What can you do to help support the clean-up of the St. John¶s River? The St. Johns River is not only a symbol of our city; it is central to ourquality of life. Our city¶s mayors have a long history of advocacy for theSt. John¶s River. From Mayor Hans Tanzler water skiing on the river ± toMayor Delaney fighting with corporate polluters - to Mayor Peyton leadingriver summits, City Hall has long understood the importance of this naturalresource. I will continue this tradition. As a member of the St. JohnsRiverkeeper I plan to work closely with this terrific organization to ensurethat our river is clean, and that the public has every opportunity to enjoyit. State lawmakers recently convened in Jacksonville for a St. Johns Riverlegislative caucus - the first of its kind. Of the 160 members in theFlorida legislature, 24 members represent districts that border the St.John¶s River. Each of the 24 lawmakers represents a district along the St.John¶s River. My plan to help support the cleanup of the St. John¶s Riverincludes continuing the community River Summits and being actively involvedin working with our state lawmakers in the soon-to-be formed St. John¶s RiverCaucus, the EPA and local businesses. In addition to our local efforts, asmayor, I will be involved at the state level because we must have a voice inTallahassee to protect our most precious natural resource and stake a claimin funding for clean-up.
7. How can you become engaged in the city¶s high murder, infant mortalityand suicide rates? As mayor, I will have a Child Ombudsman on my senior team as recommended bya 2008 JCCI study on infant mortality. For every issue, the Ombudsman willask: How does this decision impact our children? We need to put childrenfirst, and as mayor, I will make sure that every decision will have the wellbeing of our children, our city¶s most precious citizens, at the forefront.According to a 2006 report on Infant Morality, the infant mortality rate inJacksonville exceeds the state and national rates. This is unacceptable. Poverty, unemployment, economic development, lack of nutrition, and level
ofeducation all play a role in the infant mortality rate. By implementing apublic policy that ensures access to quality health care, proper nutrition,and education we can help decrease the infant mortality rate inJacksonville. Education is a key component in this area as well, providinginformation on nutrition, basic childcare and child safety to new parents.During my first one hundred days in office, I plan to walk in everyneighborhood in Jacksonville. I will invite our Sheriff and the officerswho work in each of those neighborhoods to join me in meeting and talkingwith our citizens where they live. I will support the community policinginitiatives that are currently in place and will encourage our Sheriff tocontinue to make this a law enforcement priority.As a former Assistant State Attorney in Duval County, as well as a member ofthe Homicide Team and a founding Director of the Special Assault Unit, Iunderstand the factors that lead to cycles of crime. I¶ve seen first-handthe devastating impact that violent crime can have on the whole community.In my capacity as Assistant State Attorney, I sought justice for victims ofcrime, ensuring that criminals were held fully accountable for theiractions. With my years of experience in this arena, I can identify the rootcauses of crime, and as mayor I will take the steps necessary to lower ourcity¶s crime rate. 8. Has consolidation been a good or bad deal for Jacksonville? Pleaseexplain. Consolidation was a real turning point in Jacksonville¶s history and it hasmost definitely been a positive for our community and its future. It streamlined city services like public safety; it made our city more ³business-friendly´ by making the permitting and regulatory process lesscumbersome, and it clarified the important distinction that we are a strongmayor form of government. Other communities look at Jacksonville from allover the country to study consolidation and consider how to make that happenwhere they live. We need to continue to examine our consolidated government to look at wayswe can continue to improve. There were many political compromises made byour forefathers in order to get consolidation to pass. Does it still makesense to have 19 City Council members? What would the savings be if thefunctions of the tax collector and the property appraiser were incorporatedinto the central government? I will be the mayor that asks these toughquestions and looks for ways that our consolidated government can work evenbetter and continue to be the model for the nation.
with trimming their budgets and theirstaffs while maintaining a high standard for city services is a priority formy administration.
2. Do you support the Jacksonville Journey? Explain your answer. Yes, I support the Jacksonville Journey. The Jacksonville Journey broughttogether nearly 140 community leaders to develop a threepronged approach tocrime focusing on prevention, intervention and law enforcement. I was askedby Mayor Peyton to chair the Positive Youth Development Committee for thisinitiative and was a member of the steering committee that developed thefinal program for his consideration. I applaud Mayor Peyton for starting thecommunity conversation that led to an awareness for a comprehensive approachto crime. As mayor, I will bring the participants from the Jacksonville Journey back together and give them a report card on what worked and whatdidn¶t work. The participants will also act as community advocates tobolster support for Journey funding.In the first part of 2010, Duval County saw a crime rate drop by more thandouble the rate compared to the state average for the first half of theyear. As reported in the Florida Times-Union, in one key category, murders, Duval County numbers fell by 20.9 percent from the same time in the previousyear, compared to rising by 3.6 percent for Florida as a whole versus thesame time last year. While that is a positive trend, as a former prosecutor,I know all too well that we can¶t take our foot off the gas. I plan to workclosely with our law enforcement professionals and community experts in thisarena and we will discuss specific improvements to the program, as well asfunding priorities.
3. What endorsements have you received? It is my understanding that only two organizations have formally endorsed acandidate to date: the Fraternal Order of Police and the NE Florida BuildersAssociation. Both groups, as expected, endorsed Mr. Hogan. However, ourcampaign has a policy of meeting with every group that requests an interviewin an effort to outline our plans and to show that open and honestcommunication is a key component of how we will do business at City Hall.Among our many supporters, we are
prout1 to include Mayor Ed Austin andformer mayoral candidate and City Council President, Kevin Hyde. Wayne andDelores Weaver are both supporters of our campaign (notablythey have neverbefore supported the same candidate for mayor), along with former CityCouncil Presidents: Alberta Hipps, Elaine Brown and Matt Carlucci. We arealso proud to have the support of Cynthia Austin, John Baker, Suzanne Bass,George Cable, Dan Connell, Hank Coxe, Andy Crawford, Toni Crawford, LaurieDubow, w.e. Gentry, T.R. Hainline, Hugh Jones, Howard Korman, Marty Lanahan,Helen Lane, Bob Lufrano, Ava Parker, Pam Paul, Paul Perez, Tom Petway, KittyPhillips, Bill Scheu, Buddy Schulz, Hawley and Emily Smith, Bobby Stein, David and Linda Stein, Carol Thompson, Ron Townsend, Cleve Warren and manyothers that are too numerous to list.
4. How much civic activity do you perform outside of work? Civic engagement, community involvement and volunteering are very importantto me. We have worked hard to instill these values in our children byshowing them how to be active participants and give back to the community bysharing our time, talent, and treasure. Some of the organizations I¶minvolved with and have worked with include: Current Truth and Reconciliation Committee - St. John¶s Cathedral Chair of the Board of Visitors for the Florida Coastal School of Law Member of Project Breakthrough, a race-relations initiative sponsored bythe Aspen Institute Trustee of the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund Downtown Rotary, Member Jacksonville Women¶s Network, Member Previous Board of Directors, NE Florida Chapter, American Red Cross Board of Directors, Youth Crisis Center Board of Directors, Children¶s Crisis Center Board of Directors, Jacksonville Children¶s Chorus Board of Trustees, Riverside Presbyterian Day School Board of Trustees, St. Johns Country Day School Board of Directors, Leadership Jacksonville
Leadership Jacksonville Class of 1989 Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Section of Jacksonville Bar Association Jacksonville Bar Association Grievance Committee Jacksonville Bar Association Mentoring Project Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees Study Circles Participant Leader of Mayor Peyton¶s Positive Youth Development Subcommittee of the Jacksonville Journey: A Comprehensive Community-Wide Anti-Crime Initiative Inaugural Member of Jacksonville Economic Development Commission Board Member, Downtown Vision, Inc. Chairman of the Nonprofit Center of Ndrthea~t Florida Executive Board Member of the Schultz Center for Teaching and Leadership Member of the Board of Directors of Baptist Medical Center Chairman of the Downtown Development Authority
Awards Klechak Award for Downtown Advocacy Rotary Good Government Award Leadership Jacksonville Community Trustee Award
5. How do you intend to comply with Florida¶s public records and governmentin the sunshine laws? If you saw an elected official breaking the sunshinelaw, what would you do? My plan is to create a culture of ethics and integrity at City Hall. Asmayor, I will make sure every employee understands that he or she has aclear responsibility not only to behave ethically, but to report violationsif they are observed. My plan also includes supporting a strong ethicscommission. All appointed officials will undergo ethics training as part oforientation and will be responsible for ensuring that their departmentalemployees undergo the same before September 1, 2011. If I personally observed anelected official breaking the
sunshine law, I would immediately ask them tostop and I would report it to the Ethics Commission.
6. What can you do to help support the clean-up of the St. John¶s River? The St. Johns River is not only a symbol of our city; it is central to ourquality of life. Our city¶s mayors have a long history of advocacy for theSt. John¶s River. From Mayor Hans Tanzler water skiing on the river ± toMayor Delaney fighting with corporate polluters - to Mayor Peyton leadingriver summits, City Hall has long understood the importance of this naturalresource. I will continue this tradition. As a member of the St. JohnsRiverkeeper I plan to work closely with this terrific organization to ensurethat our river is clean, and that the public has every opportunity to enjoyit. State lawmakers recently convened in Jacksonville for a St. Johns Riverlegislative caucus - the first of its kind. Of the 160 members in theFlorida legislature, 24 members represent districts that border the St.John¶s River. Each of the 24 lawmakers represents a district along the St.John¶s River. My plan to help support the cleanup of the St. John¶s Riverincludes continuing the community River Summits and being actively involvedin working with our state lawmakers in the soon-to-be formed St. John¶s RiverCaucus, the EPA and local businesses. In addition to our local efforts, asmayor, I will be involved at the state level because we must have a voice inTallahassee to protect our most precious natural resource and stake a claimin funding for clean-up.
7. How can you become engaged in the city¶s high murder, infant mortalityand suicide rates? As mayor, I will have a Child Ombudsman on my senior team as recommended bya 2008 JCCI study on infant mortality. For every issue, the Ombudsman willask: How does this decision impact our children? We need to put childrenfirst, and as mayor, I will make sure that every decision will have the wellbeing of our children, our city¶s most precious citizens, at the forefront.According to a 2006 report on Infant Morality, the infant mortality rate inJacksonville exceeds the state and national rates. This is unacceptable. Poverty, unemployment, economic development, lack of nutrition, and level
ofeducation all play a role in the infant mortality rate. By implementing apublic policy that ensures access to quality health care, proper nutrition,and education we can help decrease the infant mortality rate inJacksonville. Education is a key component in this area as well, providinginformation on nutrition, basic childcare and child safety to new parents.During my first one hundred days in office, I plan to walk in everyneighborhood in Jacksonville. I will invite our Sheriff and the officerswho work in each of those neighborhoods to join me in meeting and talkingwith our citizens where they live. I will support the community policinginitiatives that are currently in place and will encourage our Sheriff tocontinue to make this a law enforcement priority.As a former Assistant State Attorney in Duval County, as well as a member ofthe Homicide Team and a founding Director of the Special Assault Unit, Iunderstand the factors that lead to cycles of crime. I¶ve seen first-handthe devastating impact that violent crime can have on the whole community.In my capacity as Assistant State Attorney, I sought justice for victims ofcrime, ensuring that criminals were held fully accountable for theiractions. With my years of experience in this arena, I can identify the rootcauses of crime, and as mayor I will take the steps necessary to lower ourcity¶s crime rate. 8. Has consolidation been a good or bad deal for Jacksonville? Pleaseexplain. Consolidation was a real turning point in Jacksonville¶s history and it hasmost definitely been a positive for our community and its future. It streamlined city services like public safety; it made our city more ³business-friendly´ by making the permitting and regulatory process lesscumbersome, and it clarified the important distinction that we are a strongmayor form of government. Other communities look at Jacksonville from allover the country to study consolidation and consider how to make that happenwhere they live. We need to continue to examine our consolidated government to look at wayswe can continue to improve. There were many political compromises made byour forefathers in order to get consolidation to pass. Does it still makesense to have 19 City Council members? What would the savings be if thefunctions of the tax collector and the property appraiser were incorporatedinto the central government? I will be the mayor that asks these toughquestions and looks for ways that our consolidated government can work evenbetter and continue to be the model for the nation.
