Audrey Moran questionnaire

8/7/2019 Audrey Moran questionnaire

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AUDREY MORAN

1. In recent years, the mayor and City Council have used a mixof revenue increases and cuts in expenses to balance the citybudget. Do you agree? If not, what would you do differently?The last two times the City increased the millage rate and new feeswereimplemented, it was done to plug a hole in the budget - not tomoveJacksonville forward. This bred enormous distrust of how ourgovernment wasbeing run because citizens were balancing their ownhousehold budgets withfewer dollars and they expected governmentto do the same. I will notbalance the budget with tax increases. Asmayor, I will overhaul the brokenpension system, create a leanerwork force and eliminate waste in governmentto balance the budget. Ido, however, believe that our City must continue tomove forward to

enhance services, spur economic development and grow ourcommunity. Our campaign recently held an event Ask Audrey Live,which was atechnology-based interactive town hall session where theaudience respondedto a series of questions electronically. One of thequestions I posed was:Which statement best describes how you feelabout the taxes and government fees you pay in Jacksonville? Anoverwhelming majority responded that theywould be willing to paymore for better services. Citizens are willing toinvest if they believetheir current dollars are being spent well and theybelieve the city willimprove as a result of that investment.I will also make balancing the budget a daily priority. We can nolongerafford to look at the budget on an annual basis. We need tolook at thebudget over the long term and come up with a long-rangeplan that goesbeyond 365 days. Cutting expenses and getting ourfiscal house in order iscritical. My commitment to the citizens ofJacksonville is to manage ourcity finances efficiently and effectively,while making tough choices onspending. We need to have a budgetprocess 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. FormerCity Council President Kevin Hyde is leading a group of smart,creative andfiscally conservative community leaders who are lookingwith a critical eyeat every single department in our city government.As their work progresses,we will be sharing with the public areas thatwe have identified forsignificant expense reduction and savings.Appointing an A-Team ofdepartment heads who will be charged


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prout1 to include Mayor Ed Austin andformer mayoral candidate andCity Council President, Kevin Hyde. Wayne andDelores Weaver areboth supporters of our campaign (notablythey have neverbeforesupported the same candidate for mayor), along with formerCityCouncil Presidents: Alberta Hipps, Elaine Brown and MattCarlucci. 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, RonTownsend, Cleve Warren and manyothers that are too numerous tolist.

4. How much civic activity do you perform outside of work?Civic engagement, community involvement and volunteering are veryimportantto me. We have worked hard to instill these values in ourchildren byshowing them how to be active participants and give backto the community bysharing our time, talent, and treasure. Some ofthe organizations Iminvolved with and have worked with include:

Current Truth and Reconciliation Committee - St. Johns Cathedral Chair of the Board of Visitors for the Florida Coastal School of Law Member of Project Breakthrough, a race-relations initiativesponsored bythe Aspen Institute Trustee of the Jessie Ball DuPont Fund Downtown Rotary, Member Jacksonville Womens Network, Member

Previous

Board of Directors, NE Florida Chapter, American Red Cross Board of Directors, Youth Crisis Center Board of Directors, Childrens Crisis Center Board of Directors, Jacksonville Childrens Chorus Board of Trustees, Riverside Presbyterian Day School Board of Trustees, St. Johns Country Day School Board of Directors, Leadership Jacksonville


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Leadership Jacksonville Class of 1989 Board of Governors, Young Lawyers Section of Jacksonville BarAssociation Jacksonville Bar Association Grievance Committee Jacksonville Bar Association Mentoring Project Chamber of Commerce Board of Trustees Study Circles Participant Leader of Mayor Peytons Positive Youth DevelopmentSubcommittee of theJacksonville Journey: A Comprehensive Community-Wide Anti-CrimeInitiative Inaugural Member of Jacksonville Economic DevelopmentCommission Board Member, Downtown Vision, Inc.

Chairman of the Nonprofit Center of Ndrthea~t Florida Executive Board Member of the Schultz Center for Teaching andLeadership 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 Floridas public recordsand governmentin the sunshine laws? If you saw an electedofficial 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 reportviolationsif they are observed. My plan also includes supporting astrong ethicscommission. All appointed officials will undergo ethicstraining as part oforientation and will be responsible for ensuring thattheir departmentalemployees undergo the same before September 1,2011. If I personally observed anelected official breaking the


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sunshine law, I would immediately ask them tostop and I would reportit to the Ethics Commission.

6. What can you do to help support the clean-up of the St.Johns River?The St. Johns River is not only a symbol of our city; it is central toourquality of life. Our citys mayors have a long history of advocacyfor theSt. Johns River. From Mayor Hans Tanzler water skiing on theriver toMayor Delaney fighting with corporate polluters - to MayorPeyton leadingriver summits, City Hall has long understood theimportance of this naturalresource. I will continue this tradition. As amember of the St. JohnsRiverkeeper I plan to work closely with thisterrific organization to ensurethat our river is clean, and that the

public has every opportunity to enjoyit. State lawmakers recentlyconvened in Jacksonville for a St. Johns Riverlegislative caucus - thefirst of its kind. Of the 160 members in theFlorida legislature, 24members represent districts that border the St.Johns River. Each ofthe 24 lawmakers represents a district along the St.Johns River. Myplan to help support the cleanup of the St. Johns Riverincludescontinuing the community River Summits and being activelyinvolvedin working with our state lawmakers in the soon-to-be formedSt. Johns RiverCaucus, the EPA and local businesses. In addition toour local efforts, asmayor, I will be involved at the state level becausewe must have a voice inTallahassee to protect our most preciousnatural resource and stake a claimin funding for clean-up.

7. How can you become engaged in the citys high murder,infant mortalityand suicide rates?As mayor, I will have a Child Ombudsman on my senior team asrecommended bya 2008 JCCI study on infant mortality. For every

issue, the Ombudsman willask: How does this decision impact ourchildren? We need to put childrenfirst, and as mayor, I will make surethat every decision will have the wellbeing of our children, our citysmost precious citizens, at the forefront.According to a 2006 report onInfant Morality, the infant mortality rate inJacksonville exceeds thestate and national rates. This is unacceptable. Poverty,unemployment, economic development, lack of nutrition, and level


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ofeducation all play a role in the infant mortality rate. By implementingapublic policy that ensures access to quality health care, propernutrition,and education we can help decrease the infant mortality rateinJacksonville. Education is a key component in this area as well,providinginformation on nutrition, basic childcare and child safety tonew parents.During my first one hundred days in office, I plan to walkin everyneighborhood in Jacksonville. I will invite our Sheriff and theofficerswho work in each of those neighborhoods to join me inmeeting and talkingwith our citizens where they live. I will support thecommunity policinginitiatives that are currently in place and willencourage our Sheriff tocontinue to make this a law enforcementpriority.As a former Assistant State Attorney in Duval County, as wellas a member ofthe Homicide Team and a founding Director of theSpecial Assault Unit, Iunderstand the factors that lead to cycles of

crime. Ive seen first-handthe devastating impact that violent crimecan have on the whole community.In my capacity as Assistant StateAttorney, I sought justice for victims ofcrime, ensuring that criminalswere held fully accountable for theiractions. With my years ofexperience in this arena, I can identify the rootcauses of crime, andas mayor I will take the steps necessary to lower ourcitys crime rate.

8. Has consolidation been a good or bad deal for Jacksonville?Pleaseexplain.Consolidation was a real turning point in Jacksonvilles history and ithasmost definitely been a positive for our community and its future. Itstreamlined city services like public safety; it made our city morebusiness-friendly by making the permitting and regulatory processlesscumbersome, and it clarified the important distinction that we area strongmayor form of government. Other communities look atJacksonville from allover the country to study consolidation andconsider how to make that happenwhere they live.We need to continue to examine our consolidated government to lookat wayswe can continue to improve. There were many political

compromises made byour forefathers in order to get consolidation topass. Does it still makesense to have 19 City Council members?What would the savings be if thefunctions of the tax collector and theproperty appraiser were incorporatedinto the central government? Iwill be the mayor that asks these toughquestions and looks for waysthat our consolidated government can work evenbetter and continueto be the model for the nation.

Audrey Moran questionnaire

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