Jacksonvilles mayoral race is getting a lot of attention but theres an interesting House race shaping up in 2016 as Charles McBurney faces term limits.
Two Republicans are already off and running for McBurneys seat and they offer a sharp generational contrast.
Jason Fischer, an engineer who worked for FPL, CSX and with the Navy in a civilian role, became the youngest member ever elected to the Duval County School Board back in 2012. Fischer started with a bang, getting in the race on Dec. 1 and bringing in $53,765 in his first month of the campaign. Its an impressive haul with a lot of impressive names, like former Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver, Jim Horn and other familiar faces.
Standing in Fischers way is Dick Kravitz, a very familiar face in Jacksonville politics. Now 73, Kravitz spent 12 years on the City Council starting in 1987 and chaired both the Duval County Tourist Development Council and the Northeast Florida Regional Planning Council. Back in 2000, Kravitz was elected to the Florida House.
But since leaving Tallahassee, Kravitz has not had much luck. He set his eyes on running for the Florida Senate, bringing in more than $15,000, but ended up abandoning his bid as Aaron Bean emerged to run for the seat instead. Then Kravitz turned his eyes on running for Duval County tax collector. While he made the runoff, he lost out to Michael Corrigan by 7 percent in May 2011.
Getting in the race back in November, Kravitz came nowhere close to Fischer in December. Kravitz raised only $2,100 in that month though his operations have been nowhere near as active as his Republican rival. Having said that, Fischer clearly won the first round.
This is going to be an interesting race as a young lion takes on a far more established politician who has been a bit of a losing streak. Despite that, Kravitz can still throw a punch and take one, something Corrigan can attest to after their ugly race. Despite his decades in politics, Kravitz will probably focus on his record in the private sector, though it didnt exactly work against Corrigan.
This is a pretty solid Republican district and whoever wins the primary should easily keep this seat for the GOP. And, for the moment, Fischer has the early edge.
Tallahassee political writer Jeff Henderson wrote this analysis piece exclusively for Sunshine State News.
