In the wake of the death of Daunte Wright and many incidents of police brutality plaguing the Black community, Duval County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry released the following statement:

“My condolences to the family of Daunte Wright and his one-year-old son, Daunte Jr. — who now must live his life without his father. Mr. Wright was just 20 years old, and he had a bright future ahead of him. But tragically, his life was cut short and his name has been added to a long list of countless Black Americans who have died at the hands of police brutality. We demand justice for their deaths and the police officers involved in this incident must be investigated and held accountable. 

“Now is the time for Congress to pass the George Floyd Justice In Policing Act, and prevent tragedies like these from happening again. Local and national leaders must commit to fighting the injustices we see and call out the societal ills it perpetuates. We should no longer tolerate discrimination or brutality in policing. Now is the time to take action and demand change. #BlackLivesMatter”

In the wake of many AAPI Hate tragedies plaguing our communities, Duval County Democratic Party Chair Daniel Henry released the following statement condemning the violence and anti-Asian hate:

“My heart is with the countless victims, their families, and the greater Asian American community across the country that has seen a rise in senseless hatred and acts of violence. These hate crimes are a traumatic example of the serious epidemic of racism facing our country. The rising AAPI hate, which is fueled in part by racist COVID-19 rhetoric, needs to stop. Local leaders must commit to fighting the hate we see and call out the societal ills it perpetuates. There’s no room for hate and discrimination.”

Statement: Duval Democratic Party Chair Welcomes Vice President Harris to Jacksonville on her "Help is Here" Tour

• Over 10 million Florida households are going to receive stimulus payments of $1,400 because of the American Rescue Plan.

• This plan more than doubles the weekly unemployment benefits for the average Floridian, with a $300 enhancement included in the weekly benefit.

• This bill also expands the Child Tax Credit which will benefit over 3.8 million children in Florida and will lift hundreds of thousands of Florida children out of poverty altogether. 

• The American Rescue Plan is going to provide over $10 billion to our state government and $187 million to the city of Jacksonville, in state and local funding. 
  

• This bill will offer Floridians over $1.1 billion in rental assistance. 

• The plan will provide $111.7 million to 4 Jacksonville colleges (EWC, FSCJ, JU, UNF) for student financial aid and services.

• Over $2.3 Billion in FEMA funding will help provide more vaccine access to more Floridians, more quickly.

DUVAL DEMOCRATS REACT TO RNC CONVENTION CANCELLATION 

JACKSONVILLE, FL — The Duval County Democratic Party released the following response to President Trump's cancellation of the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville.

"President Trump has finally listened to science and conventional wisdom to cancel the Republican National Convention in Jacksonville. Our local party membership came together, held a press conference, sent letters, sent emails, made social media posts, and sounded every alarm we could – all to urge our elected officials to say NO to this convention.

"However, Governor Ron DeSantis and Mayor Lenny Curry rejected our calls. It’s sad that the leaders who created this potential crisis didn’t have the leadership in our city and state to put a stop to the convention weeks ago.

"Tonight's news is a victory not just for Floridians or Democrats – but for the people of Jacksonville as a whole. We stood for our city, our families, and our children. At the end of the day that is what’s most important.

"Now is the time for leadership to come together to do what we must to make this same effort to defeat COVID-19.

"Our focus as a party returns to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to vote in the upcoming elections and turning Duval Blue this November."

DUVAL DEMS & THE NORTHSIDE COALITION
DEMAND ANSWERS ON SOE'S CLOSURE OF EARLY VOTING SITES
Questions Have Gone Unanswered for Two-Weeks

JACKSONVILLE, FL, Feb. 3, 2020 — The Duval County Democratic Executive Committee and the Northside Coalition of Jacksonville released the following statement in response to the Duval County Supervisor of Elections decision to close Early Voting sites on college campuses:

“The Duval County Democratic Executive Committee calls for transparency from the Supervisor of Elections regarding his decision to close early voting sites at the University of North Florida and Edward Waters College during the Presidential Preference Primary. Supervisor Hogan's decision deviates from the seven other counties that chosen to keep college campus early voting site open across the state: Alachua, Escambia, Hillsborough, Leon, Miami-Dade, Orange, and Palm Beach.

The Supervisor of Elections has cited past low performance as the reasoning for closing these sites. However, no additional information as been released on the multiple mitigating factors that should have been considered before the closures: Depressed turnout in underserved communities, voting access for college students, inconsistent access to voters, and on-site notification of closures.

We request that the Supervisor publicly release all pubic records and data that was used to close these early vote sites. We also ask that signage be placed at closed sites directing students and local residents to the nearest early voting location. Encouraging participation in democracy by voting is the foundation of our government. The Supervisor of Elections should work to make it easier, not harder, for citizens to vote.”

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Duval Dems Condemn Attack on Duval GOP

JACKSONVILLE, FL, FEB. 08, 2020 — The Duval County Democratic Executive Committee released the following statement in response to the February 8th incident where a van plowed through a Duval GOP voter registration tent, narrowly missing volunteers:

"The Duval County Democratic Party condemns this cowardly act of violence. No one’s life should be placed in danger for exercising their first amendment rights. As Democrats, but more importantly, as residents of this great city of Jacksonville, we call on our fellow citizens to act with dignity, civility and respect for one another during this election cycle and beyond. We look forward to JSO’s arrest of the perpetrator."

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DUVAL DEMS WELCOME THE TERMINATION OF AARON ZAHN

Mayor Curry and the JEA Board are ultimately responsible for Zahn’s actions

JACKSONVILLE, FL, Jan. 29, 2020 — The Duval County Democratic Executive Committee released the following statement in response to the JEA Board’s termination of ex-CEO Aaron Zahn and the board’s collective resignation.

"The Duval County Democratic Party welcomes the decision of the JEA Board to terminate ex-CEO Aaron Zahn with cause. This action denies him a tax-payer funded golden parachute, valued at over $800k and concludes his continued mismanagement of the utility.

“Ultimately, the JEA Board and Mayor Leonard Curry are responsible for appointing, promoting and retaining an unqualified showman to run a multi-billion dollar utility. Both the Mayor and JEA Board have a duty to ensure good governance at the utility. The Office of General Counsel reported twenty-four (24) findings of misconduct, gross negligence, and breach of fiduciary obligations by Aaron Zahn. These shocking findings justify the concerns many community leaders expressed in hiring the unqualified personal friend of the Mayor for such a position.

“The JEA Board has taken responsibility for their error in judgment and have collectively resigned their positions. Their lack of credibility leaves them unable to effectively govern the utility. It is now time for the Mayor to stand to account and take responsibility for his actions in this continuing JEA debacle. It was Mayor Curry who appointed Zahn to the JEA Board, supported his elevation to CEO, defended his lack of experience to the city council, and vouched for Zahn’s judgment to the public. Now with reports that Zahn, an independent authority CEO, frequented City Hall over 90 times in the last year, Jacksonville taxpayers deserve to know the full extent of Mayor Curry’s involvement in questionable actions taken by Mr. Zahn during his tenure.  The people deserve to know if Zahn’s corrupt actions had the Mayor’s blessing or were made at the Mayor’s direction.

“This fiasco shows the risk of having the entire JEA board appointed solely by the Mayor without additional input by City Council. That is why we support efforts to change the current method, such as the bill proposed by Councilman Garrett Dennis to require three members of the seven-person JEA board to be appointed by the City Council. This would allow more input from the City Council, and cause independent agencies to truly be independent in more than name only.

“The Duval County Democratic Party has never wavered in our opposition to the sale of JEA, which was clearly against the best interests of rate-payers and the dedicated front-line JEA workers who are ably represented by the IBEW union. We hope all decision-makers in the City will not soon forget the circumstances around this sale debacle and we can forever put to rest any notion to sell our electric and water utility.”

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