By Ken Underwood and Dave Van Saun
The vision of the Navy at Cecil Field is one of prosperity in Jacksonville. Our community can welcome 31,000 new jobs. We can protect positions at the Naval Air Depot. We can upgrade Naval Station Mayport and base a new nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. And we can bring to Jacksonville tens of thousands of jobs that pay more than $50,000 a year. That's the future of Jacksonville with the Navy at Cecil Field, and all our city has to do is reach out and take it.
So why is City Hall desperately trying to scare you into voting against the Navy? Because in the spirit of Halloween, Jacksonville's developers have dressed up as politicians.
Public records show "Neighbors Protecting Neighbors," the prime group opposing the Navy at Cecil Field, has received $527,000 from the Northeast Florida Builder's Association - a construction-industry group. The executive director of NEFBA is City Council Vice President Daniel Davis. Wearing his "public servant" hat, Councilman Davis has denounced Cecil Field and has emerged as the leading spokesman opposing the Navy.
Then there's the Mayor. His family business has become one of the largest and most successful developers in Northeast Florida, and it's a member of Davis's NEFBA. Both the mayor and Davis have been working hard to raise money to buy expensive TV ads they hope will fool you into voting against the Navy and Jacksonville's prosperous future.
Here's an October sample of the developers' tricks you may see on TV soon, and the treats which the reality of the Navy at Cecil Field would bring for our community.
Trick: Jet noise from Cecil Field would terrorize the city.
Treat: As a jet base, Cecil Field coexisted with our community for decades, and anyone who lived here before 1999 knows jet noise is not the nuisance Navy opponents are claiming. Even today, Cecil Field remains an active jet base hosting more than 60,000 military flight operations a year - an average of 170 a day, according to FAA data. Over the past five years, there have been no noise complaints from any of these thousands of military operations out of Cecil Field, as the mayor testified last year under oath to the BRAC commission.
Trick: The people of Jacksonville don't want the Navy at Cecil Field.
Treat: Three separate polls last week showed Jacksonville supports the Navy at Cecil Field by a whopping 2:1 margin - with some of the strongest support coming from the Westside.
Trick: The Navy doesn't want to come to Cecil Field.
Treat: The Department of Defense has no official position, and the Navy is precluded from taking sides in BRAC controversies. However, Navy pilots are almost unanimous in their conclusion that Cecil Field provides the best training environment in the world.
Trick: Even if the referendum passes and Jacksonville meets its commitments, the Navy still won't come to Cecil Field.
Treat: Federal law requires the Navy to relocate to Cecil Field if Jacksonville and the State of Florida comply with the BRAC requirements. These laws were designed to maximize cost savings to taxpayers while improving the Navy's military readiness and fighting power.
Trick: If the Navy returns to Cecil Field, everyone working at Cecil Commerce Center would lose their jobs.
Treat: There is no reason why our community can't have the best of both worlds - the Navy at Cecil Field and the Commerce Center businesses elsewhere. Companies such as Bridgestone/Firestone could function as well or better if we helped find them a new home with better access to rail, port and Interstate infrastructure.
Trick: The return of the Navy would overcrowd schools and cause taxes to rise.
Treat: Cecil Field will bring $900 million in new revenues to state and local government over 11 years. Moreover, millions and millions of state and federal dollars will pour into our local school districts as military children enroll in schools.
This Halloween, don't be tricked by professional developers, disguised as elected politicians. Vote for Jacksonville's economic prosperity, vote for America's national defense, and vote "Yes" for Cecil Field.