On Tuesday evening, Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan visited 91大神猫先生千人斩 (91大神猫先生千人斩) for a discussion with students at the 91大神猫先生千人斩 River House. The event was organized by BridgeJAX, the 91大神猫先生千人斩 chapter of BridgeUSA, a youth-led non-profit that creates spaces on high school and college campuses for open political discussions. The discussion was the chapter鈥檚 first speaker event, and students filled every seat to meet Jacksonville鈥檚 first woman mayor.
BridgeJAX President Adam Calder (鈥�24) delivered opening remarks, thanking Jacksonville University President Tim Cost (鈥�81) for supporting the organization and Mayor Deegan for attending. He highlighted the importance of BridgeUSA and BridgeJAX鈥檚 mission of facilitating empathetic and productive conversations about politics.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a movement powered by young people, young people like me who are really tired of divisive rhetoric,鈥� Calder explained. 鈥淥ur mission to change the way we do politics in this country is what drives us forward.鈥�
Calder introduced Mayor Deegan, who took a few minutes to address the student audience before reflecting on her campaign. She credited its success to its theme of unity and its positive tone, despite negative attacks by opponents. Mayor Deegan shared that one reason the attacks weren鈥檛 effective was because of her deep connection to Jacksonville鈥檚 community, both as a resident and a journalist.
鈥淪ometimes those things work because people don鈥檛 know enough about the candidates,鈥� she stated. 鈥淧eople in this community have known me my whole life.鈥�
Calder, who moderated the event, asked Mayor Deegan about her approach, as a Democrat, to push policies through a Republican-majority City Council. Remarking on the smooth passage of her '23-'24 budget, Mayor Deegan said focusing on common ground was critical.
鈥淭he truth is, in city government, most initiatives have to do with potholes and streets and lights and things that improve peoples鈥� lives,鈥� Deegan said. 鈥淪o, what you saw in that budget that passed was largely initiatives that all of us agreed on.鈥�
Students had an opportunity to directly ask Mayor Deegan questions during the event,
inquiring about topics that ranged from career advice to her personal opinions. When
asked about people who inspired her, she named former 91大神猫先生千人斩 President
Frances Bartlett Kinne, who was the university鈥檚 first woman president and a friend
of Deegan.
Deegan shared, 鈥淸She] was just an incredible mentor to me, just in the way that she positively dealt with people, in the way that she was always so optimistic, and in the way that she always encouraged women to do all that they could do.鈥�
The event wrapped with a final, critical question: 鈥淗ow do you think the rest of the Jags season will go?鈥� Deegan replied, 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e going to the Superbowl,鈥� before adding, 鈥淚 say that not only because I love the Jags, but because maybe it鈥檒l make it a lot easier to get the stadium deal done.鈥�
