Gov. Rick Scott, R-Fla., came to Jacksonville on Wednesday to showcase job growth and offer some help to a close political ally running next month in the final round of the mayoral race.
Scott came to the First Coast on Wednesday to showcase that the Adecco Group, a staffing company that is in the Fortune Global 500, moved its North American headquarters from New York to Jacksonville, bringing 185 new jobs to the area.
I am proud to announce that Adecco took a one-way ticket from New York to Florida to establish their headquarters in Jacksonville, creating 185 new jobs, Scott said on Wednesday. Adeccos investment in Jacksonville is further proof that our hard work to make Florida the global destination for jobs is creating more opportunities for our families to succeed. We will keep working every day to make our state the No. 1 place to grow a business, and we look forward to welcoming even more job creators to Florida.
When Adecco made the decision to move our North American headquarters, we knew that Jacksonville was the right fit for our organization, said Bob Crouch, the CEO of Adecco Group North America. As the leader in workforce solutions, we have a unique understanding of cities across the United States, and the economic growth taking place on a local level appealed to us greatly. We look forward to building our presence in Jacksonville and appreciate the efforts of Governor Scott and the economic development officials that made this move a reality.
Jacksonvilles been on Scotts mind this week for political reasons as well. On Monday, he endorsed former Republican Party of Florida (RPOF) Chairman Lenny Curry who faces Jacksonville Mayor Alvin Brown in the second run of the Jacksonville mayoral election next month. Brown, a Democrat, has stressed he has worked well with Scott and the governor did not go after the Jacksonville mayor in his endorsement on Monday.
Lenny Curry is a principled conservative who is committed to job growth and has what it takes to lead Jacksonville toward a prosperous future," Scott said. "I support Lenny Curry as Jacksonvilles next mayor.
Rick Scott has made Florida the best place to live, work, and raise a family, Curry said.Im proud to have worked side-by-side with him for his re-election, and humbled to have the governor endorse my vision to restore Jacksonvilles greatness.
Unlike Scott and Curry, Florida Democratic Party Executive Director Scott Arceneaux took off the gloves on Monday.
Its no surprise that Rick Scott would endorse his former party boss Lenny Curry who fought so strongly to defend the governors voter purge that sought to disenfranchise Floridas minority voters, Arceneaux said. Time and time again, Curry has shown that hes just the kind of person that Scott likes to surround himself with -- a career political hack who prioritizes partisan politics over doing whats right for the people of Florida. Lenny Curry and Rick Scotts backroom dealings and assaults on Floridas Constitution represent everything that the residents of Jacksonville hate about Tallahassees broken politics.
Still, the governors endorsement should help Curry since Duval County has always been Scott country. Back in 2010, Scott beat out Democratic opponent then-state CFO Alex Sink, 52 percent to 46 percent, in Duval County with a 15,000-vote margin. Four years later, Scott did even better here, taking 146,407 votes while former Gov. Charlie Crist pulled 112,026 votes, giving the governor a 13 percent lead in Duval County.
While Scott threw his support to Curry, another Republican is going to remain on the sidelines for the rest of the mayoral race. Former Jacksonville City Council President Bill Bishop, a Republican who was knocked out of the mayoral election in the first round, said on Tuesday he will not support either Brown or Curry and, no matter who wins next month, will run again in 2019.
Reach Kevin Derby at kderby@sunshinestatenews.com or follow him on Twitter: @KevinDerbySSN
