Mayoral candidate Daniel Davis fails to lock in firefighters’ endorsement

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville mayoral candidate Daniel Davis came up short in a vote to earn the endorsement of the Jacksonville Fire Fighters Association.

An email obtained by Action News Jax shows the Republican pulled 54 percent support from rank-and-file firefighters but failed to reach the 66 percent needed to earn the endorsement of the union.

“They clearly do not think that Daniel has their back,” said Councilmember and mayoral candidate LeAnna Cumber.

Cumber is Davis’ best-funded Republican challenger in the mayoral race.

She said she sees Davis’ failure to lock in firefighters’ endorsement as a signal of a tight race.

“They said no to him. So, you know, I think that should be a big sign that they’re looking at who will be the best to have their backs and have the backs of their families and it was not him,” said Cumber.

President of the Jacksonville Firefighters Association Randy Wyse told Action News Jax he was disappointed to see the vote turn out the way it did.

“We felt that Mr. Davis was the best candidate,” said Wyse.

There appears to have been a concerted effort against Davis.

Wyse confirmed a 2014 email sent by Davis to city leaders on behalf of the JAX Chamber was distributed to fire stations, highlighting his past support for cutting pension benefits.

Wyse said Davis addressed those concerns with leadership.

“We’re comfortable with his answer to that letter. So, you know, people can read it and take it as they will,” said Wyse.

The Davis campaign issued a statement pointing out, while Davis may have failed to clench the endorsement, he pulled majority support among firefighters.

“Daniel is grateful for the leadership’s recommendation, and for the support of the majority of the voting firefighters,” said Erin Isaac with the Davis campaign in a statement.

UNF political science professor Dr. Michael Binder argued the Cumber campaign is right to see the failed endorsement bid as a victory, but in the grand scheme of things, it likely won’t make or break the race.

“You can paint this a couple of different ways and I don’t think this is a traumatic death nail to the Davis campaign,” said Binder.

The firefighters union said it likely won’t endorse any candidate for mayor at this point unless the March election heads to a May runoff.

Action News Jax has also confirmed we can expect another major endorsement announcement next week, from the local police union.

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