JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville City Council member LeAnna Cumber announced Monday she's running for mayor in a kick-off event where supporters waved "Time to Get Moving" signs as she sounded that theme repeatedly in her speech.
Cumber becomes the latest Republican to enter a wide-open contest in 2023 because term limits prevent Mayor Lenny Curry from seeking re-election.
"It is time to get moving on building infrastructure that truly improves communities," Cumber said. "It is time to get moving on lower gas taxes. It is time to get moving on making this city safer and more prosperous for our children and our grandchildren."
"It is also time to get moving on holding our leaders accountable so they always do what is best for everyone in this city and not just a select and powerful few," Cumber told about 100 supporters gathered in a warehouse at the Bowden Yard of Florida East Coast Railroad off Philips Highway.
Testing the water: Jacksonville city council member 'seriously looking' at mayor's race
LeAnna Cumber has represented District 5 that covers San Marco
Cumber said in September she was "seriously considering" a run and formed a political committee JAX First that has raised just over $2 million.
She has represented District 5 that covers San Marco, where she lives, and a portion of the Southside since winning election unopposed in her first run for elective office in 2019. Her district covers the Southbank side of downtown, and she said Jacksonville needs a "thriving, vibrant downtown" that is the centerpiece of its diverse neighborhoods.
Cumber, 49, is an attorney who owns a transportation consulting firm that works with clients at the state and federal levels.
She has been a staunch opponent of the Jacksonville Transportation Authority's planned makeover of the downtown Skyway system, calling it a "boondoggle" that will consume money that would be better spent on citywide transportation work.
Her positions on taxes have put her in the minority on some high-profile votes.
She was a "no" when City Council voted 14-5 in 2021 to double the city's local gas tax for a long list of road, drainage and transit projects including the Skyway conversion. She voted last year to roll back the city of Jacksonville's property tax rate but City Council kept it at the same rate.
She was in the City Council majority that opposed putting a half-cent sales tax referendum for public schools on the ballot until after the Duval County School Board sued the city. Voters approved the sales tax increase with 67% in favor in November 2020.
"There are other ways to finance projects," Cumber said in her campaign announcement. "Just ask Tampa, Nashville, Indianapolis, Charlotte, and every other city that has far exceeded their growth expectations over the past decade."
She sponsored bills that moved up the date for shutting down Internet cafes in 2019 and created a Public Nuisance Abatement Board in 2021 that can penalize businesses that generate high levels of police and fire rescue calls to them.
She carried legislation in 2020 requiring strip-club dancers to have work identification cards and be at least 21 years old, an increase in the minimum age from 18. Strip clubs have been challenging that ordinance in federal court.
"As your mayor, I will work with our community, and civic and law enforcement leaders to address our problems head-on, which I have a proven record of doing," she said in her speech.
The half-cent sales tax referendum for school buildings and the doubling of the gas tax for transportation work were billed by supporters as ways to make long-range improvements in Jacksonville's quality of life.
Cumber said she believes her stance on taxes reflects the view of residents. She said opposition to higher gas taxes cuts across party lines.
"So I am fully in step with the majority of people in this county who don't want to pay more for taxes and more for gas," she said.
In announcing her candidacy, she used her maiden name in calling herself LeAnna Gutierrez Cumber. Her father came to the United States from Cuba and she is fluent in Spanish, which she used twice during the speech that noted Hispanic residents have grown to 11% of Duval County's population.
"I think it's indicative of how this county has changed and how diverse we are, both culturally and racially, and we need to start recognizing that," she said after the speech. "I can speak it (Spanish) and I can also speak to those who want to be spoken to in their original language and also want to be part of the American fabric."
