Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the great community stewardship of Mr. Clarence Gooden, recently retired president of the CSX Railroad. In 2003, Mr. Speaker, I was newly elected sheriff of the city of Jacksonville, Florida, and my wife, Pat, and I were invited to a Christmas dinner hosted by Mr. Clarence Gooden and his wife, Corkie. It was during my discussions surrounding my new position as sheriff that I shared with Clarence and his wife how drug dealers had taken over Mallison Park, which in years past was actually the crown jewel of parks in the city of Jacksonville. I explained to them how the park manager had been severely battered by drug dealers, and though we had made several arrests in the park, the dealers continued to return, and the children were being denied the use of this great park. Mr. Speaker, I also shared with him a campaign promise that I had made to help at-risk youth through an expansion of an intervention program called the Police Athletic League into areas such as Mallison Park, which would offer at-risk youth sports programs, after-school tutoring, food, and personal hygiene, all provided by specialized officers trained in intervention. Clarence asked me the cost of such an expansion, and I informed him it would be close to $100,000 to refurbish and move programs into Mallison Park. He immediately responded, Mr. Speaker, that he would raise those funds by April.…”