A look at Jacksonville mayoral candidates ahead of election: Davis vs Deegan
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (FLV) – Jacksonville mayoral candidates Daniel Davis and Donna Deegan are heading into the runoff election Tuesday.
Democrats took the lead by several points with early voting, which ended Sunday.
Republican Davis has served as the president and CEO of Jax Chamber since 2013 with an emphasis on promoting business-friendly policies.
He was previously the executive director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association. It is Florida’s largest local membership trade association representing the building and construction industry in Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties.
Davis also served on the Jacksonville City Council and served four years in the State House of Representatives.
Deegan has 25 years of experience as a news reporter and is a former lead anchor for First Coast News. The candidate described herself as a proud Jacksonville native, award-winning local television news anchor and non-profit executive.
Recently, during a mayoral debate, Davis expressed his support for law enforcement and said he is going to “make Jacksonville a safer, more affordable place to live.”
Democrat Deegan said Jacksonville has “got to create a city that turns the page on fear and division, that turns the page on self dealing politics.”
Throughout the campaign, Davis has touted his support for law enforcement as public safety is one of the candidate’s top priorities.
Davis has consistently pointed back to his track record on city council. Davis said he “led the charge” to add 100 new police officers to the streets and put them in the “highest crime areas.”
If elected as mayor, the candidate said he would partner with Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters, who endorsed Davis, to add 200 new police officers to the streets over four years.
Deegan’s slogan throughout her campaign has been “change for good.”
During an hour-long mayoral forum recently, Deegan said with Jacksonville’s growing population, it is going to be “very important” to fund additional officers to make sure there are enough officers on the streets.
The mayoral race has been heated on the airwaves as Davis attacked his opponent for her “radical policies.”
A recent ad featured Sheriff T.K. Waters, who endorsed Davis, and said Deegan’s “radical policies” would make Jacksonville “less safe” with background footage of Black Lives Matter protests.
Another ad displayed Black Lives Matter protests and a quote from Deegan supporting civilian review boards to “hold our police officers accountable.”
In response, Deegan released an ad to the claims against her and said the “attack ads […] aren’t facts.”
