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Holy Spirits “I believe Jesus is God” — Lyric that received the rowdiest applause from the uniformly wasted, sold-out crowd at Merle Haggard’s Jan. 30 performance at The Florida Theatre. “And a pig is just ham,” continues the 2010 song, “I Am What I Am.”
Skeleton Keys “I used to hang out in St. Augustine for the summers at my grandma’s house. I’d work at my uncle restaurant and peel onions and stuff.” — Dan Auerbach, guitarist and vocalist for the Black Keys, giving the Ancient City a shout out during a recent episode of “Austin City Limits.” (In fact, the restaurant, Gypsy Cab Co., was owned by Auerbach’s considerably older cousin, Ned Pollack.)
Always Lower “The Walmart of Cities” — The unfortunate way Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton described his city at a University of North Florida business forum. Peyton didn’t mean that Jacksonville discriminates against women, eats smaller mom-and-pop towns as it strives to become one giant megatropolis, or that its work product is provided by slave labor pools overseas. He explained: “We’re very good at being the cheapest,” referring to the city’s low tax rate.
He’s Baaaaack! One of the craziest headline makers of the past 20 years is back in the news. Furman O. Clark, subject of a 2001 Folio Weekly cover story, was arrested last week in a scheme to defraud dozens of investors, and charged with the theft of some $250,000. That’s nothing! Furman previously served prison time for killing prominent lawyer and lobbyist Julian Singman, and had several felony convictions for fraud and theft. Despite his shady past, he went on to reinvent himself in Fernandina Beach’s land development community. As recently as 2006, he was vice president of the Rotary Club in Amelia Island. To read the full 2001 Folio Weekly cover story, go to folioweekly.com.
Business partners: Daniel Davis (left) and Ronnie Fussell have started a political consulting biz.
All in the Family
Two local lawmakers sell influence packaged as political expertise to up-and-coming city candidates
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onnie Fussell and Daniel Davis shared the City Council dais for three years. They are related by marriage. They’re both influential Westsiders, and both have served as executive director of the politically powerful Northeast Florida Builders Association. So the fact that current Councilmember Fussell and former Councilmember (and now state Rep.) Davis have extended their collaboration to the business world isn’t a total surprise. What is interesting is that the pair’s new political consulting group, The Vineyard & Company, is finding a way to transform their political influence into cold hard cash. Two candidates for Jacksonville City Council have hired the consulting firm, which the politicians formed in November with Davis’ nephew Drew Messer, to manage their campaigns in the upcoming election. Group 4 City Council candidate Greg Anderson has paid Vineyard $3,000 so far for political consulting. Group 5 candidate Sean Hall has paid $2,500. Additionally, District 14 City Councilmember Michael Corrigan, who is running for county tax collector, has hired Drew Messer individually, paying him $5,565 for “get out the vote” efforts. There’s nothing illegal about politicians earning money from political consulting, but paying (current or former) councilmembers to deliver elections to (aspiring) councilmembers certainly carries the whiff of political intimacy. Add to that the fact that both Anderson and Corrigan landed endorsements from the Northeast Florida Builders Association, and
that the company’s articles of incorporation list the same address as NEFBA, and it all starts to look extraordinarily cozy. Which isn’t to say that it makes anyone blink. “Politics is basically interconnecting relationships,” says a sanguine city of
There’s nothing illegal about politicians earning money from political consulting, but paying (current or former) councilmembers to deliver elections to (aspiring) councilmembers certainly carries the whiff of political intimacy. Jacksonville Ethics Officer Carla Miller. “That’s the way things get done. If citizens take a look at it and say they don’t like it, they can change laws or organize.” John Daigle, who has done political consulting through his advertising and public relations firm Principal Creative, says he can’t remember any other elected officials working as paid political consultants, but he doesn’t see
anything inherently wrong with it. “As elected officials, you’re allowed to have businesses outside your office. I can’t see something wrong or distasteful in having a business related to campaigning.” Daigle suggests that the close relationship might trouble folks who disagree with NEFBA’s agenda more than others. “I think it depends on your personal beliefs,” he says. “A lot of people believe in what the NEFBA is doing, and they would have no problem with them forming a company.” He said there might be some instances in which Davis may have to declare a conflict of interest, but couldn’t think of any. Davis says he got involved in the company as vice president because he wanted to help out his 27-year-old nephew. “I wanted to give him guidance as he starts off his career,” says Davis. “I enjoy helping family.” Asked if candidates would hire Vineyard looking for future favoritism or special access, Davis says no. “He’s talented,” Davis says of his nephew. “I think that’s why someone will hire him.” Though Davis is a fan of keeping family close, he did put some distance between his consulting company and his day job as executive director of the Northeast Florida Builders Association. Though the address of The Vineyard & Company is listed on the Florida Division of Corporations website as being the same as NEFBA’s, Davis says that Messer decided against leasing space from that group and has his offices on the Westside. Susan Cooper Eastman sceastman@folioweekly.com FEBRUARY 8-14, 2011 | FOLIO WEEKLY | 9