Emergency Jacksonville council vote looms on Republican convention, free speech zones
The fate of the Republican National Convention is now in the hands of the Jacksonville City Council.
Council President Tommy Hazouri on Wednesday released draft legislation that seeks to create a special downtown convention zone and free speech area from Aug. 23 through Aug. 28, setting up a vote Tuesday by the city’s 19-member council that could make or break President Donald Trump’s plans to celebrate his nomination in Florida.
The ordinance would allow permitted demonstrations, temporary structures and signs, and extended hours for alcohol sales and entertainment. Two-thirds of council members present for the vote must support the legislation — brought on an emergency basis — for it to pass.
“The nature of the emergency is that the event is scheduled for the week of August 24, 2020, and the city needs the approval of this legislation in order to adequately prepare for the event,” states the legislation, crafted by Office of General Counsel attorney Jason R. Teal.
The Jacksonville vote looms after statements this week by Republican Jacksonville Sheriff Mike Williams and Republican Mayor Lenny Curry — co-chairman of the 2020 Jacksonville Host Committee — who both warn that public safety plans and resources for the event remain inadequate. The sheriff raised the alarm Monday, saying that plans to provide security for the event have gone “past the point of no return.”
Efforts to prepare for the event continue, according to Curry. But Williams has not changed his opinion, an aide told the Miami Herald Wednesday.
The U.S. Secret Service would handle security within a zone accessible only to those holding convention tickets and credentials, according to the draft legislation provided to the Herald Wednesday by Hazouri’s office. The remainder of the zone would fall under the jurisdiction of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, which Williams said this week has only about a quarter of the “thousands” of law enforcement members needed to safely handle the event and expected crowds.
The legislation allows Curry’s administration to receive and transfer a $33 million U.S. Department of Justice grant to pay for policing and services associated with the convention. It also gives Curry the ability to sign a service agreement with the RNC and the host committee, a mutual aid agreement with outside government agencies to provide additional law enforcement personnel for the convention
Curry did not respond to a call to his cellphone and a request for comment placed with his office.
Jacksonville council member Matt Carlucci said in an interview that he remains concerned about public safety, as well as the spread of the novel coronavirus. Florida’s outbreak has increased in Jacksonville and around the state of Florida in the weeks since the Republican National Committee and President Donald Trump chose to move most the convention festivities from Charlotte to Jacksonville in mid-June.
“What I have to know is how safe this city will be,” said Carlucci, noting that the sheriff’s concerns weigh heavily on his mind. “I am still concerned about how it might ... spike COVID in our city, and I’m also concerned about protests and civil commotion.”
Hazouri, who filed the legislation on Curry’s behalf, has also expressed reservations and told the Miami Herald Monday that he wasn’t inclined to sponsor the ordinance. He could not be immediately reached.
A council workshop is scheduled for Friday morning.
The legislation would create a “convention overlay zone” in downtown Jacksonville to allow for special permits and exceptions otherwise prohibited by city code. Rules restricting the hours of alcohol sales, music and pyrotechnics, for example, would be loosened.
Any group larger than 20 people intending to demonstrate in the convention zone would need to apply for a permit with the city’s planning department no later than Aug. 14 allowing for a one-hour march — referred to in the proposed ordinance as a “parade” — between the hours of 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
This story was originally published July 22, 2020 at 5:10 PM.
