On “Rick’s Blog Live,” I sat down with Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves and three of his opponents in the Aug. 18 election—Alicia Trawick, Jermaine Williams and Eric Shorter.
Jasimine Brown wasn’t able to come on the show, but she agreed to do a “We Don’t Color with the Dog” podcast the following day.
Ann Hill declined to do the BLAB interview: “I truly appreciate the opportunity. At this time, our campaign is focusing on written interviews and candidate questionnaires. I believe they allow me to provide the most complete and thoughtful explanations of my positions, and they reflect the style of communication I have valued throughout my career in journalism and public service.”
I asked if she would do a separate interview last Thursday, similar to what I did with Brown, and didn’t get a response.
D.C. Reeves
Pensacola Mayor D.C. Reeves talks about why he’s seeking a second term under the city’s strong-mayor charter. Reeves discusses the proposed 11 p.m. curfew for minors following the July 4th weekend shooting, his plan to tackle affordability through workforce development and higher-paying jobs, the regional competition for shipbuilding talent tied to the Birdon deal, and why he believes the city’s “strong mayor” system has driven rising citizen confidence since 2010.
Alicia Trawick
Mayoral candidate Alicia Trawick makes her case against incumbent Mayor D.C. Reeves. The disaster recovery consultant discusses her 13,000-doors-knocked campaign, why animal services and reliable trash pickup have become surprise top priorities, her plan to chase FEMA and state grants for stormwater flooding mitigation, her cautious take on the proposed downtown minors’ curfew, and why she says the city isn’t pursuing available funding to close affordability gaps for developers building attainable housing.
Jermaine Williams
National Peer Specialist of the Year and community organizer Jermaine Williams makes his case in the Pensacola mayor’s race ahead of the August 18th primary. Williams talks about leveraging his mental health and social work background to tackle the city’s affordability crisis, unhoused population, and public safety concerns, pushes back on the mayor’s proposed curfew ordinance, and pitches his “Pensacola Launch Initiative” to bring remote work opportunities to local residents.
Eric Shorter
Colonel Eric W. Shorter, a Pensacola native and retired military officer, lays out his “vertical economic initiatives” platform, including turning the Port of Pensacola into part of the National Strategic Defense Initiative, pushing for a guaranteed share of local jobs from the Birdon shipbuilding project, and tapping ECUA land for development. He also talks affordable housing in Brownsville, a proposed youth curfew, downtown parking woes, and why he says his outsider status and military leadership set him apart in the race.
Jasmine Brown
Jasmine Brown talks about her path from FPL rate-hike organizing to city hall. She lays out her top priority — affordable housing on public land — and argues Pensacola’s storm-recovery dollars should have gone to damaged homes instead of downtown port repairs. On the proposed youth curfew, Brown points to research showing curfews alone don’t reduce crime and pushes instead for violence interruption programs and after-hours youth resources. She closes by contrasting her door-to-door campaign with what she calls the “movers and shakers” approach favored by incumbent Mayor Reeves.
