Daily Record FINANCIAL NEWS &
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 25, 2017
Vol. 104, No. 052 • Two SecTioNS
35¢ www.jaxdailyrecord.com
HRO bill attracts massive crowd
Hearing resumed today; vote could come Feb. 14
Photo by Maggie FitzRoy
By Max Marbut Staff Writer
State Rep. Tracie Davis, D-Jacksonville, is preparing for her first legislative session, which begins March 7.
Newfound passion for politics When the Democratic Party nominated Jacksonville native Tracie Davis for the House District 13 seat in the Florida Legislature, there wasn’t time to put her name on the ballot. She had lost by about 400 votes to incumbent Reggie Fullwood in the primary election in August. Fullwood pleaded guilty to felony charges in October, resigning his seat and ending his political career. But his name remained on the ballot. A vote for Fullwood in the November election was actually a vote for Davis. A fact she had to present to voters as quickly and positively as possible. She won, beating Republican Mark Griffin in the heavily Democratic district. Recently sworn into office along with other freshmen representatives, Davis didn’t delay getting started. The session won’t start until March 7, but she already has filed House Bill 231, WORKSPACE CONTINUED ON PAGE A-7
Davis, left, met several constituents as she walked in this month’s Martin Luther King Day Jr. parade Downtown.
I enjoyed the campaigning. Meeting people. Sharing ideas with people. Talking to them, listening to them. It’s quite fulfilling to me.
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By Maggie FitzRoy Contributing Writer
Special to the Daily Record
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Freshman lawmaker embracing new career
Tracie Davis District 13 representative
The line to get in the front door went around the building. The line to get to the speaker’s podium went into Wednesday. City Hall was filled to capacity Tuesday evening when City Council conducted the only public hearing before members are scheduled to vote on the third attempt to expand the city’s equal rights laws to prohibit discrimination based upon sexual orientation and gender identity. After more than four hours of comment on Ordinance 2017-15, council President Lori Boyer at midnight recessed the public hearing until 9 a.m. today, when more than 100 people who filled out speaker cards Tuesday will be given the opportunity to be heard. There were signs the hearing might go past midnight when council staff ran out of the color-coded speaker cards for the hearing and another when Boyer was advised the fire marshal determined City Hall was at its capacity and no one else would be allowed into the building. In addition to the council chamber, seating was provided in the nearby Lynwood Roberts Room and in the auditorium at the Main Library. When the hearing began at about 7:30 p.m. after council completed the rest of it agenda, comments made by people on both sides of the issue mirrored what was said in 2012, when a proposed ordinance was narrowly defeated by council. Speaking first and on the supporting side of the issue, Dan Merkan with the Jacksonville Coalition for Equality said enacting the ordinance is “the right thing to do.” The next speaker, Southside resident Pam Robbins, warned council the ordinance is merely “a bill for special rights” that would lead to “the eroding of the rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion.” Harry Houston, who lives in Arlington, echoed Merkan’s sentiment and then compared the current debate to the struggle over Civil Rights for African-Americans in the 1960s. “Look at where we’ve come,” he said. COUNCIL
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Wawa to break ground this spring in NE Florida
A year ago, after almost three years of expectations, Wawa Inc. confirmed it was coming to Northeast Florida. Now it’s full throttle. The company expects to break ground in the spring on its first stores. As of Monday, 10 sites have been confirmed in public records toward the first stores Wawa wants to open. The latest is at Oakleaf Corner in Southwest Jacksonville. Civil engineer England, Thims & Miller Inc. submitted plans to
Public
the city for Wawa at 8251 Old Middleburg Road S. Spokeswoman Lori Bruce said Tuesday she will soon have the official dates for ground-breaking of Wawa’s first stores in Duval and Clay counties. At that ceremony, Pennsylvania-based Wawa will share information about its larger Northeast Florida investment, its construction schedule and specific store locations, Bruce said. She said while she can't confirm specifics for Duval and Clay
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counties, Wawa projects 30 store openings this year in Florida. In Oakleaf Corner, Wawa wants to build its standard 6,119-squarefoot store on 1.72 acres at northeast Old Middleburg Road and Argyle Forest Boulevard. It is designed for 16 fueling
positions. The property owner is Oakleaf 31 Development Corp., led by President Kevin Carpenter. He did not return calls Tuesday. Oakleaf Corner is a new development represented by Cantrell & Morgan. A flier on its website states future tenants at the almost 11.7acre site include a gas c-store, grocery store and automotive service retailer. No tenants were identified, although Wawa and an Aldi gro-
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cery store have been speculated as possibilities. The site plan depicts the grocer at more than 17,000 square feet, which matches the footprint of Aldi. It sits next to the convenience store. Cantrell & Morgan Senior Vice President Pete Fraser said in addition to the gas station site, there are five more parcels for development. He declined comment about the identities of potential tenants. MATHIS CONTINUED ON PAGE A-2
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