In a poll of Duval County registered voters from the University of North Florida (UNF), released Wednesday, Mayor Alvin Brown of Jacksonville -- who is running for a second term in early 2015 -- was shown to start off his re-election bid in solid shape. Brown upset then-Duval County Tax Collector Mike Hogan in the 2011 mayoral election and was the first Democrat to win a mayoral election since Ed Austin back in 1991.
Brown garners the approval of 59 percent of those surveyed while 22 percent disapprove of the mayor. Browns numbers are good, but that is a slip from where he stood in a UNF poll from last February when 70 percent of those surveyed approved of him and 18 percent disapproved of him.
Matched up against potential Republican candidates in possible 2015 match-ups, the poll finds Brown starts out in the lead. Duval County Sheriff John Rutherford comes closest against the Democrat but Brown still bests him 41 percent to 35 percent. Brown does better against Duval County Property Appraiser Jim Overton, beating him 42 percent to 31 percent. Brown takes 43 percent when matched up against City Councilman Bill Gulliford, 43 percent to 28 percent. Matched against Lenny Curry, the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida (RPOF), Brown has his biggest lead, routing him 45 percent to 25 percent.
Currently, Brown is the only major candidate to have filed to run in the 2015 mayoral election, though independent Tiffany Wingo is also running. The first round of the Jacksonville mayoral contest will be held on March 24, 2015. If nobody garners a majority, the top two candidates in the first round will meet in the general election on May 19, 2015.
The poll finds voters continue to back the Duval County sheriffs office, with 66 percent of those surveyed approving it while 28 percent disapprove. Last February, a UNF poll found 71 percent approved of the Duval County sheriffs office while 26 percent disapproved of it.
The poll finds the Jacksonville City Council is in worse shape. Less than a majority of those surveyed -- 45 percent -- approve of the City Council while 36 percent disapprove of it. Back in the February 2013 UNF poll, 48 percent approved of the City Council while 34 percent disapproved of it.
The poll of 442 registered Duval County voters was taken from Feb. 10-17 and had a margin of error of +/- 4.66 percent.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com.
